Labour law in Nepal: Working Hours and Leave Allocations

Labour law in Nepal: Working Hours and Leave Allocations

Nepali workers often face various problems in their workplaces, such as challenges to their regular payment and safety, which directly violate their rights as guaranteed by labor law. To protect labor rights, the government has issued numerous laws, directives, and circulars to regulate the labor market, with the Labor Act 2017 being the principal law. The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security is the concerned ministry in Nepal.

Here are some essential provisions of the Labor Act 2017, the primary labor law of Nepal, that every worker should know as they are directly related to their fundamental rights:

Working hours
Under Section 28 of the labor law, no employee can work for more than eight hours a day or 48 hours a week. For overtime, the employee cannot work for more than four hours a day or 24 hours a week.

Leave and holidays
Chapter 9 of the labor law has provisions regarding the leave and holidays to be provided to employees, as follows:

SNLeaveAnnual allocations
1Weekly offOne day every week
2Public holidays13 days (14 days including International Women Labour Day for female employees)
3Home leaveOne day for every 20 workdays
4Sick leaveFully paid up to 12 days
On a proportional basis for those employees who have not completed one year of service
5Maternity leave14 weeks, fully paid for 60 days
6Paternity leave15 days, fully paid
7Mourning leave13 days, fully paid
8Leave in lieuFor the labourers put in work on public holiday or weekly off

Remuneration/stipend
According to Section 34 of the labor law, every worker is entitled to receive timely remuneration and benefits from the starting day of work. Section 107 of the labor law requires the government to fix the minimum remuneration as per the recommendation provided by the minimum remuneration fixation committee. As of now, the minimum remuneration is Rs 13,450/- per month, Rs 192/- for a day and Rs 26/- for an hour. Section 36 of the labor law states that an employee should be entitled to an annual increment of remuneration each year in an amount equal to at least half a day’s remuneration based on the monthly basic remuneration.

Terminal benefits
The labor law provides some terminal benefits for employees, as detailed below:

SNBenefitsDetails
 1Provident fundContribution: 10% by the employer and 10% by the employee of the basic remuneration of the concerned employee
Eligibility: permanent employee
 2GratuityRate of Gratuity: 8.33% of basic remuneration  
Time of allocation: Every month (at the time of payment of the remuneration)  
Eligibility: Since the first day of employment
 3Leave encashmentAccumulation:  Home leave up to 90 days, sick leave up to 45 days
Encashment: At the time of discontinuation of service at the rate of last drawn salary

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UNICTS Nepal is a registered trade union that represents the interests of workers in the ICT sector, including those in software development, network and infrastructure management, cybersecurity, and IT consulting. We are committed to promoting the rights and welfare of ICT workers in Nepal and to advocating for policies that support their interests.

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