THE UTTAR PRADESH EMPLOYMENT OF SUBSTITUTE WORKMEN ACT, 1978

THE UTTAR PRADESH EMPLOYMENT OF SUBSTITUTE WORKMEN ACT, 19781 
[U.P. ACT No. 4 OF 1978] 

(As passed by the Utar Pradesh Legislature) 
CONTENTS 

Sections Sections 
6. Permanent appointnment of reserve 

pool workmen 
7. Penalty 
8. Cognizance of offence 
9. Offences by companies 10. Savings for other laws 

11. Repeal 

1. Short title, extent and commence 
ment 

Definitions 
3. Employer to maintain register of pool 

workmcn 
List of pool workmen to be displayed 

5. Payment of disappointment allow 
ance on failure to provide work 



  

218 

 THE UTTAR PRADESH EMPLOYMENT OF SUBSTITUTE WORKMEN 
ACT, 19781 

(U. P. ACT No. 4 OF 1978) 

[As passed by the Uttar Pradesh Legislature and assented to 
by the Governor on April 16, 1978 under Article 200 of the 
Constitution of India and published in U.P. Gazette extraordinary on 
April 18, 1978] 

 AN 

ACT 

 to provide for the employment of substitute workmen in 
certain in certain industrial establishments and for matters 
connected therewith.   

 IT IS HEREBY enacted in the Twenty-ninth Year of the 
Republic of India as follows : 

Short title, 
extent and 
commencement 

1. (1) This Act may be called the Uttar Pradesh Employment of 
Substitute Workmen Act, 1978.  

(2) It extends to the whole of Uttar Pradesh.  

(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on January 26, 
1978. 

Definitions 2. In this Act,— 

(1) “disappointment allowance” means an amount equal to 
Thirty-Three per cent of the wages payable to a workman for one day ;  

 
 
 
 

(2) “industrial establishment” means any establishment 
pertaining to cotton, jute, woolen, textiles, synthetic fibers, synthetic 
yarn factories, and includes such other establishments as may be 
notified by the State Government in this behalf ;  

 (3) “reserve pool workman” means a person who was employed 
by an employer for 300 days or more during the twenty-four calendar 
months immediately preceding the commencement of this Act on a job 
of permanent nature ;  

 (4) “wages” means all remuneration (whether by way of salary, 
allowances or otherwise) expressed in terms of money, which would, if 
the terms of employment express or implied were fulfilled, be payable 
to a workman in respect of his employment or of work done in such 
employment ; 

 (5) the words “employer” and “workmen” shall have the 
meanings respectively assigned to them in the U. P. Industrial 
Disputes Act, 1947 ; 

(6) the word “factory” shall have the meaning assigned to it in 
the Factories Act, 1948. 

Employer to 
maintain 
register of pool 
workmen. 

3.  Every employer shall maintain a register of reserve pool 
workmen and shall enter therein the names of all reserve pool 
workmen category-wise and arrange in order of seniority reckoned on 
the basis of the highest number of days worked during the twenty-four 
calendar months, immediately preceding the commencement of this Act. 

 

 

 

—————————————————————————————————————————— 
1. For S.O.R. see at the end of this Act. 



[The Uttar Pradesh Employment of Substitute Workmen Act, 1978]  

220 

List of pool 
workmen to 
be 
displayed. 

4.  A list of the names of the reserve pool workmen category-wise 

shall be pasted on the notice board of the industrial establishment 

concerned within thirty days from the date of commencement of this Act.   

Payment of 
disappoint-
ment 
allowance 
on failure to 
provide 
work.  

5.  When a reserve pool workman presents himself for work and 

the employer fails to give work to him, he shall pay to such workman 

disappointment allowance for every such day ; 

Provided that no disappointment allowance shall be payable for 

more than ninty days, during any period of continuous twelve calendar 

months.  

Permanent 
appointment 
of reserve 
pool 
workmen. 

6.  Every employer shall while making permanent appointment of 

reserve pool workmen in relation to any category in which vacancy occurs, 

follow the order in which the names of such workmen are entered in the 

register maintained under section 3.  

Penalty 7.  Whoever contravenes any provision of this Act shall be 

punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three 

years, or with fine or with both.  

Cognizance 
of offence.  

8.  (1) No court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable 

under this Act except on a report in writing of the facts constituting such 

offence made by the District magistrate or any officer authorized by him 

in this behalf.  

(2) No Court inferior to that of a Magistrate of the first class shall 

try any offence punishable under this Act.   

Offence by 
companies. 

9.  (1) Whenever an offence under this Act has been committed by 

a company, every person who at the time the offence was committed was 

incharge of, or was responsible to the company for the conduct of the 

business of the company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be 

guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and 

punished accordingly : 

 Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render 

any such person liable to any punishment under this Act, if the proves 

that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised 

all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.   

 (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where 

an offence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is 

proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or 

connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, 

manager, secretary or other officer, he shall be liable to be proceeded 

against and punished accordingly.   

 Explanation — For the purpose of this section — 

(a) “company” means anybody corporate and includes a firm or 
other association of individuals ; and 



[The Uttar Pradesh Employment of Substitute Workmen Act, 1978]  

222 

 (b) “director”, in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.  

Savings for 
other laws.  

10.  The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and not in 
derogation of the provisions of any other law for the time being in force.  

  Repeal. 11. (1) The Uttar Pradesh Employment of Substitute Workmen 
Ordinance, 1978 is hereby repealed.   

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action 
taken under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or 
taken under this Act as if this Act were in force at all material times.  

 
 
 
  



[The Uttar Pradesh Employment of Substitute Workmen Act, 1978]  

224 
 

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS 
 

In several cotton, jute, wollen textiles, synthetic fibres and yarn factories and 

relative industrial establishments, substitute workers in the reserve pool who are unable 

to get work for a number of days have been getting a raw deal. This results in labour 

unrest and avoidable industrial disputes. It is, therefore proposed to provide that if a 

reserve pool workman presented himself for work and the employer failed to provide work 

to him the latter shall pay to the former a specified sum as ‘‘disappointment allowances’’ 

for each such day. It is also considered advisable to make the contravention of provisions 

of the proposed legislation a penal offence punishable with imprisonment for a term 

extending upto three years or with fine or both. 

The Uttar Pradesh Employment of Substitute Workmen Bill, 1978 is accordingly 

being introduced. 

  



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