Form F - Register of Leave Wages

Whether you are working in a public or a private company or factory, every employee deserves and has the right to take some leaves, as prescribed by the company/factory rules and policies, which are paid leaves.

Shishir recently joined an existing team of employees at a shopping arcade in Bangalore, and after serving the business for a year, he wanted to visit his hometown in Uttar Pradesh to meet his family. He asked for a leave of 10 days, which was approved as unpaid leaves.

This became a matter of concern for Shishir, who was disheartened because of the cut in his wages. He inquired about the matter online and came to know about certain leave-related rights that all employees are entitled to, as specified under the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act,1961

He learned about the various kinds of leave with pay that he could avail of and about Form F, which is a mandatory register that needs to be maintained by the employer noting the leaves taken by each employee, the reason for taking leaves, and the balance of leaves, etc.

Let us learn about Form F, the kind of leaves employees and workers can take as paid leaves, and more about the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act,1961 here.

Table of Contents

About Maintaining Form F Under the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961

There are various kinds of leaves that an employee of any shop, establishment, restaurant, facility, or even a factory gets as paid holidays. Form F is The Leave with Pay Register maintained under the provisions of the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961.

Every state in India has its norms regarding shops, stores, and establishments, and the left culture and compliances may vary as per the situation, location, and culture of that particular state. Form F was created to protect the rights of all employees, and the employer is obliged to keep records.

About Leave Policy under the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961

Form F under the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act,1961 specifies the details of each employee's paid leave. As per policy, employees are entitled to 1.25 Paid Leaves every month or 15 Paid Leaves in a financial year. If the employee doesn't avail all his leaves, then the unused ones will be carried forward to the next financial year.

There is a limit to the total number of leaves each year that an employee can accumulate, which is a maximum limit of 45 days. If any leave days as per Form F exceeds the number, they cannot be availed by the employee.

According to Form F of the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, the calculation of paid leaves is done based on the following structure:

1 day for every 21 days of work serviced by an adult employee
1 day for every 15 days of work is serviced by a young person

Types of Leaves that Employees Can Avail of Under Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961

Form F should signify the category of leaves that an employee is taking. The different types of leaves that a person working in a shop, store, or establishment can take are:

Privilege Leave (PL)/ Earned Leave (EL)/ Annual Leave (AL)
Casual Leave (CL)
Sick Leave (SL)
Maternity Leave (ML)
Marriage Leave
Paternity Leave
Bereavement Leave

Form F – Leave Entitlements Under the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961

Type Of Leave under Form F - Leave Entitlement - Max Carry Forward Days:

Sick Leave to be mentioned in Form F -12 (During the first twelve months of continuous service) - NA
Casual Leave (Days) to be mentioned in Form F – NA - NA
Earned / Privileged Leave to be mentioned in Form F - 18 (one day for every twenty days' work) - 45

Working Hours specified for employees under the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961:

Normal Working Hours-Nine hours in a day and forty-eight hours in a week
Interval For Rest-After five hours of work, the interval of rest of at least one hour
Maximum Over Time Hours-Fifty hours in a quarter
Spread-over Hours-Twelve hours in a day
Rate of OT Wages-Twice the rate of normal wages

Compliance Form F Under the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961

The employers must prepare and maintain Form F – an employee leave register with wages register, which can regularly or occasionally be asked and checked by the inspector. The employer can appoint an authority to work on the same, whose name and other details should be maintained in Form F and percolated to the inspector as per the application of Chapter IV of the law.

The Act specifies a written order that Form F or the register of leaves taken by each store employee should be kept in the appropriate place and assimilated to the declaration, which, according to these regulations, are necessary for the establishment.

Form F is kept by subsection (1), which must be kept preserved for at least 3 years from the last entry date and made available to the inspector upon request.

Sample of Form F

FORM F
(SEE RULE 8)

Register of leave with wages

1	Sl No in the Register of Adult/young person:	2	Date of entry into service:

3	Name of the person :				4	Father's Name :

PART I EARNED LEAVE

	No of the Days worked	Leave earned	Leave at a credit (incl balance if any, on return from leave on the last occasion)	leave availed	Balance on return from leave	The date on which wages for leave paid and amount paid	Remarks
From	To	Total days worked	From	To	No. of days
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11










PART II - Sick/Accident Leave (with pay)

	Year	Sick/Accident leave	Balance at the end of the year
of credit	Availed
	1	2	3	4
					-

Inclusions of Form F

Form F – The register of leave with wages shall have the serial number allotted to each employee and the day he joined the shop/establishment
The employer must note the name and father's name of each employee in the Form F Register
Form F is divided into certain parts, and each part should be well-maintained by the employer.
The first part of Form F is on Earned Leaves with Pay, and the second part is related to Sick or Accident Leaves with Pay
The details of leaves along with starting and ending dates and a total number of days in the particular month should be noted by each employer
Employers must note the number of days worked, the number of leaves earned leaves at credit including balance if any, or on return from leave on the last occasion
Form F also required employers to note the details of leave availed, balance on return from leave, and the date on which wages for leave were paid and the amount paid, along with any specific remarks by the employer, if any
For part two of Form F, the employer must note down the year, the dates when the sick/accident leaves, and the balance of leaves at the end of the year

Important Factors to Consider Before Filling Form F

Each employee in an establishment has the right to take leave with wages and can take such holidays during the number of days, which is calculated as:

1 day for every 21 days of work serviced by an adult employee
1 day for every 15 days of work is serviced by a young person

Maternity leave, as specified in Form F, is allowed for a maximum of twelve weeks
Each employee has no more than twelve days at most during the first year of his service and 12 days of sick leave for every twelve months following such a service in an establishment; the employer may ask for a medical certificate approved by a certified health specialist for any sick leave taken for more than 3 days
An employee can apply in writing to the director of the establishment at any time, at least 10 days before the date on which he begins his leave; to be eligible for paid leaves as specified in Form F to be maintained by the employer, the employee needs to make sure these are approved and permitted by the employers
A leave request which does not violate the provisions of the sub-section (8) cannot be rejected unless the rejection corresponds to the provisional calendar, which is in operation by sections (10) and (11)
Unused leave of an employee is not taken into account when calculating the notice period for dismissal or dismissal
Advance payment in some cases - The worker who has taken a minimum leave of four days for an adult and not less than five days for a young person must receive the wages due for the period of leave allowed before the start of the leave

Other Compliances under the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961

Besides Form F, the employer must also maintain the following compliance forms as per the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961:

Form A – This Form is prepared and presented by the employer of the shop or establishment, which combines various purposes like the registration of the entity, renewal, or modification of any detail regarding the shop or the store. This document should always be maintained in good condition and displayed on the premises in such a place that is easily visible to all.

Form B – This register contains details about the registration that is done for the Establishment

Form C – This Form is about issuing, re-issuing, modifying, or renewing the Registration Certificate of Establishments

Form E – This Form serves as a Notice

Form H – Like Form F is a register that is maintained to keep a note of all leaves availed by the employees of a firm or company; Form H is given to the employees to maintain a balance and note of all the leaves with wages availed by him

Form J – All details related to the kind of leaves available and leaves taken by each employee, along with reasoning and explanation, are maintained in this Form

Form P – Any official notice of weekly off or a holiday from the establishment should be noted under this Form

Form Q – The employer needs to maintain an appointment order for each employee specifying his details, the kind and nature of his job, and his salary, maintain it properly in the individual employee folders as well

Form R – if there is a situation wherein an establishment requires women to work beyond 8 pm, it needs proper permission and approval of the concerned Deputy Labour Commissioner for consideration.

If there is any change in the work-related timings of women working in the store or shop, the same must be immediately reported in Form R within 15 days of the change being implemented.

For example, in IT-related establishments, the state government makes exceptions towards the working hours and timings for women, according to the requirement of the business. The employer needs to make sure that proper facilities, security and safety procedures, and transport are provided to all women.

If the conditions are approved by the Deputy Labour Commissioner, they will be sent to the employer in Form S.

Form T – The employer must maintain a combined muster roll cum register of wages which is about keeping a record of attendance, overtime particulars, wage details, etc. for each employee for every month and then for every year

Form U – This Form deals with the combined Annual Return, which is a mandatory filing to be maintained by the employer. This Form includes details about the facility, welfare benefits, leaves, and other information related to the employees.

Conclusion

Every employee of a shop, store, or establishment, as specified under the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961, is entitled to paid leave. It is the employer's responsibility to keep a note of paid leaves availed by each employee in Form F – a vital compliance form under the Act. The employer must pay each employee for the approved leaves taken by him based on the daily average of his total pay for the days.

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Key Takeaways

Form F is a paid leave record kept by the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act,1961 that applies to all shops/stores/establishments in Karnataka which employ or have employed more than 10 people on any given day in the preceding 12 months and whose production process uses electricity
For adults, 1 leave is attributed for every 20 working days; for children, 1 leave is counted for 15 working days, and a record of it should be maintained by the employer while maintaining Form F
Form F should be stored for three years after the last entry and should be presented each time an inspector asks
Form F contains information such as start date, approved leave, the effective date of leave, etc.
It also contains information such as leave pay, the date the employee has availed the leave, date, and any other relevant remarks
The Karnataka Shops and Establishment Act governs the operation of shops and retail establishments and monitors the working conditions of women and children and other features of shops or other business establishments
Every employer must keep a visit log in which an inspector visiting the establishment can record his comments on the shortcomings noted during his inspection and must produce it at the request of an inspector