Section 17A of PW Act : Section 17A: Conditional Attachment Of Property Of Employer Or Other Person Responsible For Payment Of Wages

Explanation using Example

Example Application of Section 17A of The Payment of Wages Act, 1936:

Imagine a scenario where an employee, named Rahul, works for a company and has not been paid his salary for the past three months. Rahul files an application under Section 15(2) of the Payment of Wages Act, claiming his unpaid wages. The authority, upon reviewing Rahul's application, realizes that the employer has a history of evading wage payments and there is a significant risk that the employer may not comply with any order to pay the pending wages.

To prevent the employer from evading payment, the authority exercises its powers under Section 17A(1) and, after giving the employer a chance to be heard, orders the conditional attachment of the employer's property. This attachment is sufficient to cover the amount of wages Rahul is owed. The employer's property remains attached as a security measure to ensure that if the authority later directs the employer to pay the owed wages, the funds will be available to fulfill the order.

Meanwhile, the procedures for this attachment follow the guidelines set out in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, regarding attachment before judgment, as mentioned in Section 17A(2) of the Payment of Wages Act.