Glossary
Words explained
Every word a shop owner meets around staff and wages, in one sentence each.
- Advance
- Money given to a worker before pay day, taken off the salary later.
- Absent
- A day a worker did not come in, and is not paid for.
- Attendance register
- The daily record of who came in to work.
- Bahi khata
- The traditional cloth-bound Indian account book, written by hand.
- Basic wage
- The core part of a wage, before anything is added to it.
- Bonus
- Money paid on top of the wage, either because the law requires it or because the owner chose to give it.
- Casual worker
- Somebody taken on for a short time or for particular days.
- Closed day
- A day the shop did not open, which is not an absence for anybody.
- Contract labour
- Workers supplied through a contractor rather than employed directly.
- Daily wage
- A wage agreed for one day of work.
- Deduction
- An amount taken off a wage before it is paid, such as an advance.
- ESI
- Employees’ State Insurance, a health and sickness scheme funded by contributions.
- Full and final settlement
- The last payment worked out when a worker leaves.
- Gratuity
- A payment for long service, due when a worker leaves a covered establishment after a qualifying period.
- Half day
- A day worked in part, normally paid at half the daily wage.
- Hazri
- The everyday word for attendance, and for the register that records it.
- Khata
- An account kept between two people, showing what is owed.
- Kirana
- A neighbourhood general store selling groceries and everyday goods.
- Leave
- Time off that a worker is entitled to take.
- Minimum wage
- The lowest wage allowed for a kind of work, set by each state.
- Muster roll
- A record of workers employed and the days each of them worked.
- Net pay
- What is actually handed over, after deductions.
- Notice period
- The time between telling somebody they are leaving and their last day.
- Overtime
- Work beyond normal hours, usually paid at a higher rate.
- Pay cycle
- How often a worker is paid — monthly, weekly or daily.
- Payslip
- A note showing how a wage was worked out and what was paid.
- PF
- Provident fund, a retirement saving held for a worker.
- Piece rate
- Pay for each item made or job done, rather than for time.
- Present
- A day a worker came in and is paid for.
- Probation
- A trial period at the start of a job.
- Register
- Any book or record kept in order, day by day.
- Salary
- A wage agreed for a month.
- Settlement
- Working out and paying what is owed, usually at the end of a period or a job.
- Shops and Establishments Act
- Each state’s law covering shops, their hours, holidays and records.
- Statutory bonus
- A bonus the law requires a covered establishment to pay.
- Thekedar
- A contractor who supplies and supervises labour.
- UPI
- The Indian instant payment system used from a phone.
- Wage register
- The record of what each worker was due and what was paid.
- Weekly off
- The day of rest a worker gets each week.
- Working day
- A day the shop is open and work is expected.
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