Claim application under Section 45 of the Code on Wages, 2019

A claim arising under the Code on Wages is not brought before a civil court in the first instance. Section 45(1) has the appropriate Government appoint one or more authorities, not below the rank of a Gazetted Officer, to hear and determine those claims, and an application goes to that authority. The authority may order compensation in addition to the amount it determines, and where an employer does not pay, Section 45(3) has the amount recovered by the Collector or District Magistrate as an arrear of land revenue. The Code came into force on 21 November 2025.

What such a document contains

It is made to the authority appointed under Section 45(1)
The claim goes to the authority the appropriate Government has appointed by notification to hear and determine claims under the Code, and not to a civil courtSection 45(1), Code on Wages, 2019 (29 of 2019)
It is filed by one of the three persons Section 45(4) names
The employee concerned; a Trade Union registered under the Trade Unions Act, 1926 of which the employee is a member; or the Inspector-cum-FacilitatorSection 45(4), Code on Wages, 2019 (29 of 2019)
It states a claim arising under the Code
The authority's jurisdiction under Section 45(1) is over claims which arise under the provisions of the Code — wages, bonus and deductions among them. A grievance outside the Code is outside that authoritySection 45(1), Code on Wages, 2019 (29 of 2019)
It is filed within the period Section 45(6) allows
The period runs from the date on which the claim arises, and the proviso to Section 45(6) lets the authority entertain a later application where sufficient cause for the delay is shown.Section 45(6), Code on Wages, 2019 (29 of 2019)
What is claimed, and the period it relates to
The amount said to be due and the period it covers. Section 45 does not say how a claim is to be set out; such applications carry the figure and the period as a matter of practiceConvention rather than law
The particulars of the employment
Who the employer is, the establishment, and what the applicant was employed as. Nothing in Section 45 prescribes themConvention rather than law

The periods that attach to it

  • The period in Section 45(6) is counted from the date on which the claim arises — for unpaid wages, the day the wages fell due — and the proviso allows a later application on sufficient cause. — Section 45(6), Code on Wages, 2019 (29 of 2019)

Not established

  • Section 45 says who may apply, to whom, and within what period. The form the application takes is left to rules, and which rules apply depends on whether the establishment falls in the Central sphere or a State's. No form is stated here for that reason.
  • The authority under Section 45(1) is appointed by the appropriate Government by notification, so which officer hears a claim and where that officer sits varies by State and by establishment. That is not established here.

What this guide is not

Of the points listed below, four are fixed by the Code on Wages, 2019 (29 of 2019) itself and two are convention — such documents carry them, and no provision read for this section requires them. This is a description of a kind of document and not a document — confirm the contents of any document in a particular matter with an advocate.

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