Most of the legislations in the country owe its origin to the British Colonial Rule, and even employment law owes its origin to the British rule. The laws in this regard enacted by the British were primarily intended to protect the interests of the British employers. The earliest Indian statute to regulate the relationship between employer and his workmen was the Trade Dispute Act, 1929 (Act 7 of 1929). Provisions were made in this Act for restraining the rights of strike and lock out but no machinery was provided to take care of disputes.

Employment law is the branch of law which governs the employer and employee relationship. It deals with the employer and the employee’s actions, rights and responsibilities, as well as their relationship with one another.

In India there are three main categories of employees: government employees, employees in government controlled corporate bodies known as Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and private sector employees. The rules and regulations governing the employment of government employees stem from the Constitution of India. Accordingly, government employees enjoy protection of tenure, statutory service contentions. Public sector employees are governed by their own service regulations, which either have statutory force, in the case of statutory corporations, or are based on statutory orders.

In the private sector, employees can be classified into two broad categories namely management staff and workman. Managerial, administrative or supervisory employees are considered management staff and there is no statutory provisions relating to their employment and accordingly in case of managerial and supervisory staff/employee the conditions of employment are governed by respective contracts of employment and their services can be discharged in terms of their contract of employment. Employment law deals with all the issues of an employee be it with regard to the workplace or be it with regard to the compensation and its payment.

When employees file claims for employment discrimination or compensation or for any other similar matters then these claims are dealt in accordance with the rules and procedures specified in the employment laws. Furthermore it is imperative for every business entity to oversee the workplace safety and standards, the wages, pensions, employee benefits, and many such areas. Employment laws are the legislations which all the entities employing any manpower must abide by. The smooth and effective functioning of any business entity depends on its workforce. Employment laws specify many mandatory rules which business entities must abide by and any deviation from these would only turn out to be costly.

The Industrial Disputes Act ,1947
It provides for the investigation, and settlement of industrial disputes by mediation, conciliation, adjudication and arbitration, there is scope for payment of compensation in cases of lay-off and retrenchment.

Trade Unions Act 1926
The Act recognizes the right of workers to organise into trade unions, and when registered, they have certain rights and obligations and function as autonomous bodies.

The Maternity Benefit Act
The Act provides for the grant of cash benefits to women workers for specified periods before and after confinements.

The Employment of Children Act, 1938
The Act prohibits the employment of young children below the age of 15 years in certain risky and unhealthy occupations.

The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946
The Act requires employers in Industrial establishments to define precisely the conditions of employment under them and make them known to their workmen. These rules, once certified, are binging on the parties for a minimum period of six months.

Minimum Wages Act 1948
The Act ensures the fixation and revision of minimum rates of wages in respect of certain scheduled industries involving hard labour.

The Payment of Wages Act, 1936
The Act regulates the timely payment of wages without any unauthorized deductions by the employers.

The Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923
The Act provides for compensation to injured workmen of certain categories and in the case of fatal accidents to their dependants if the accidents arose out of and in the course of their employment. It also provides for payment of compensation in the case of certain occupational diseases.

The Factories Act, 1948
The Act provides for the health, safety and welfare of the workers.

Shops and Establishment Act
The Act provides statutory obligation and rights to employees and employers in the unauthorized sector of employment, i.e., shops and establishments.