Employment Act 1968 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 15 · Claims, Complaints and Investigations Into Offences
115. Commissioner’s power to inquire into complaints
Feedback & supportLast amended by an amending law of 2016. 3 amendments in all.
Subject to this section, the Commissioner may inquire into and decide any dispute between an employee and his or her employer or any person liable under the provisions of this Act to pay any salary due to the employee where the dispute arises out of any term in the contract of service between the employee and his or her employer or out of any of the provisions of this Act, and pursuant to that decision may make an order in the prescribed form for the payment by either party of such sum of money as the Commissioner considers just without limitation of the amount thereof.
employee
“employee” means a person who has entered into or works under a contract of service with an employer and includes a workman, and any officer or employee of the Government included in a category, class or description of such officers or employees declared by the President to be employees for the purposes of this Act or any provision thereof, but does not include any of the following:(a)any seafarer;(b)any domestic worker;(c) (d)any person belonging to any other class of persons whom the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare not to be employees for the purposes of this Act;
The Commissioner must not inquire into or decide a dispute mentioned in subsection (1) unless —
the dispute is of a type prescribed by regulations made under section 139; or
a claim is lodged under section 119, in relation to the dispute, before 1 April 2017.
The Commissioner must not inquire into any dispute in respect of matters arising earlier than one year from the date of lodging a claim under section 119 or the termination of the contract of service of or by the person claiming under that section:Provided that the person claiming in respect of matters arising out of or as the result of a termination of a contract of service has lodged a claim under section 119 within 6 months of the termination of the contract of service.
contract of service
“contract of service” means any agreement, whether written or oral, express or implied, whereby one person agrees to employ another as an employee and that other agrees to serve his or her employer as an employee and includes an apprenticeship contract or agreement;
The Commissioner may direct the parties to a dispute mentioned in subsection (1) to attend a mediation conducted by an approved mediator (as defined in section 2(1) of the Employment Claims Act 2016) or a conciliation officer (as defined in section 2 of the Industrial Relations Act 1960).
The powers of the Commissioner under subsection (1) include the power to hear and decide, in accordance with the procedure laid down in this Part, any claim by a subcontractor for labour (called in this subsection the claimant) against a contractor or subcontractor for any sum which the claimant claims to be due to the claimant in respect of any labour provided by the claimant under the claimant’s contract with the contractor or subcontractor and to make such consequential orders as may be necessary to give effect to the Commissioner’s decision.
subcontractor for labour
“subcontractor for labour” means any person who contracts with a contractor or subcontractor to supply the labour required for the execution of the whole or any part of any work a contractor or subcontractor has contracted to carry out for a principal or contractor, as the case may be;
Where the employee is employed in a managerial or an executive position, an order for the payment of money under subsection (1) must not exceed $20,000.
Subject to subsection (3C), any order made by the Commissioner under subsection (1) in the absence of a party concerned or affected by the order may be set aside or varied by the Commissioner, on the application of that party, on such terms as the Commissioner thinks just.
An application to set aside or vary an order made by the Commissioner referred to in subsection (3B) must be made no later than 14 days after the date of the order.
In this section, “employer” includes the transferor and the transferee of an undertaking or part thereof referred to in section 18A.
employer
“employer” means any person who employs another person under a contract of service and includes —(a)the Government in respect of such categories, classes or descriptions of officers or employees of the Government as are declared by the President to be employees for the purposes of this Act;(b)any statutory authority;(c)the duly authorised agent or manager of the employer; and(d)the person who owns or is carrying on or for the time being responsible for the management of the profession, business, trade or work in which the employee is engaged;