Section 2. Interpretation

(i) "employee" means any person who is employed for hire or reward to do any work, skilled or unskilled, manual or clerical, in a scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed; and includes an out-worker to whom any articles or materials are given out by another person to be made up, cleaned, washed, altered, ornamented, finished, repaired, adapted or otherwise processed for sale for the purpose of the trade or business of that other person where the process is to be carried out either in the home of the out-worker or in some other premises not being premises under the control and management of that other person; and also includes an employee declared to be an employee by the appropriate Government; but does not include any member of the armed forces of the Crown. (b) any other amenity or any service excluded by general or special order of the appropriate Government; (e) "employer" means any person who employs, whether directly or through another person, or whether on behalf of himself or any other person, one or more employees in any scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under this Act, and includes, except in subsection (3) of section 26,— (h) "wages" means all remuneration, capable of being expressed in terms of money, which would, if the terms of the contract of employment, express or implied, were fulfilled, be payable to a person employed in respect of his employment or of work done in such employment, but does not include— (c) "competent authority" means the authority appointed by the appropriate Government by notification in its official Gazette to ascertain from time to time the cost of living index number applicable to the employees employed in the scheduled employment specified in such notification; (a) any house-accommodation, supply of light, water, medical attendance, or (iv) any sum paid to the person employed to defray special expenses entailed on him by the nature of his employment; or (v) any gratuity payable on discharge; (g) "scheduled employment" means an employment specified in the schedule, or any process or branch of work forming part of such employment; (iii) any travelling allowance or the value of any travelling concession; (ii) any contribution paid by the employer to any Pension Fund or Provident Fund or under any Scheme of social insurance; (d) "cost of living index number" in relation to employees in any scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed, means the index number ascertained and declared by the competent authority by notification in the official Gazette to be the cost of living index number applicable to employees in such employment; 22. Penalties and procedure.—(1) Any employer who pays to any employee less than the minimum rates of wages fixed for that employee's class of work, or less than the amount due to him under the provisions of this Act, or infringes any order or rules made under section 13 shall be punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both. Provided that in imposing any fine for an offence under this sub-section, the Court shall take into consideration the amount of any compensation already awarded against the accused in any proceedings taken under section 20. (i) in a factory where there is carried on any scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under this Act, any person named under clause (a) of subsection (3) of section 6 of the Factories Act, 1954 (XXX of 1954), as manager of the factory; (ii) in any scheduled employment under the control of any Government in India in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under this Act, the person or authority appointed by such Government for the supervision and control of employees or where no person or authority is so appointed, the head of the Department; (i) the value of—