#daily wage service

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has ruled that daily wage service must be fully counted toward the five-year qualifying period for gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, affirming that regularization does not erase prior service. This sets a critical precedent for informal and contractual workers across India, ensuring their entire tenure - even if initially on daily wages - is protected under statutory welfare rights.

The Himachal Pradesh High Court ruled that the State’s judicial admission of similarity to the Sant Ram precedent obligates it to regularize daily wage workers after eight years of service, regardless of a pending Supreme Court status quo order. The decision reinforces the binding nature of judicial admissions in service law and ensures equal treatment for similarly situated employees.