Dhrumil (CS Professtion) 01 October 2008
SHEKHAR MISHRA (public servant) 01 October 2008
No.Occupier can be anybody having control over factory.
K.C.Suresh (Advocate) 01 October 2008
No
P.Elamaran (Law Officer in a CPSU) 01 October 2008
Dear Mr Dhrumil,
Section 2(n) of the Factories Act-1948 defines the word "occupier" The occupier of a factory need not be a Director of a Company (which runs the factory) alone. It may be directors, executive directors, generel managers and other senior level managers of a factory or company. The above definition is an inclusive definition, hence it incldues persons from middle level managirial executives to top level managirial executives. If we combinely read the definition of "occupier" u/s 2(n) and 100 of the Factories Act, the "occupier" not necessarily be a natural person,it can also be a company or legal entity. It can be persons who have ultimate control over the day to day affairs of a factory or company. But for the violation of the provisions of Factories Act, even directors can also be prosecuted. However, as far as the definition of the word "occupier" is concerned, various High Couts and the Supreme Court have time and again given conflicting rulings depending on the facts and circumstances of each case.
Hope this answers your query.
With warm regards,
TS Bhatia (HR Executive) 14 October 2008
no it is not necessary
TS Bhatia (HR Executive) 14 October 2008
no it is not necessary
Dhrumil (CS Professtion) 14 October 2008
(i) in the case of a firm or other association of individuals, any one of the individual partners or members thereof shall be deemed to be the occupier;
(ii) in the case of a company, any one of the directors shall be deemed to be the occupier;
(iii) in the case of a factory owned or controlled by the Central Government or any State Government, or any local authority, the person or persons appointed to manage the affairs of the factory by the Central Government, the State Government or the local authority, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be the occupier:];
P.Elamaran (Law Officer in a CPSU) 14 October 2008
Dear Mr.Dhrumil,
I still belive, the "Occupier " of a factory not necessarily be a director alone , it can be any top level official of a particular organisation. For instance, a company may have its head office in one place and its manufacturing units at various places and the directors and the chairman normally sit and function from the head office while the branches/units may be headed by General Managers , in such cases , the responsibility for labour law compliance immediately falls on the head of the branch, of course if the unit head fails to comply with the Factories Act provisions, then the Statutory Authorities can slap notices on the Directors and Chairman as well. Because, as far as Factory Act violations are concerned , the local Statutory Authorities always look for unit head only for serving notice . They do not immediately look for Directors or Chairmen for taking action. That's why I reiterate the point that the definition of the word "occupier" is an inclusive one and the Courts interpret it according to the circumstances of each case.
With regards.
Dhrumil (CS Professtion) 16 October 2008
thank you all.