Covid-19: To Pay Or Not To Pay Wages

Coronavirus has taken the world by storm and it is not a new recommendation to stay at home and abide by social distancing as much as possible. While the government is struggling to contain the spread, morbidity, and mortality of COVID-19, the companies in India are struggling to maintain a balance between the business demand and the cost. In furtherance to the same, an advisory note was issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment dated March 20, 2020¹ (attached herewith) advising all public and private employers to support their employees and workers by not terminating their employees and reducing/deducing their wages. However, it is pertinent to mention here that this note was issued as an advisory only and was not issued as a direction or order thereby having no legally binding effect on private institutions and establishments.