Employment (Record of Services) Act, 1951

This 1951 Act requires employers in classes of employment and areas notified by the Provincial Government to keep a written 'service book' recording each employee's work history. Under Section 4, before hiring someone who claims prior employment, the employer must ask for that person's existing service book; if the employee has none, the employer must provide one at their own cost and keep it, giving the employee a receipt. When employment ends, the employer must hand the book back to the employee, unless the employee has been keeping a duplicate themselves; if a returned book or its duplicate is later lost, the employer must issue a replacement, which may be charged for at a prescribed price.

Section 5 sets out what the service book must contain: the employee's identifying details (with a passport-size photo for male employees), the employer's particulars, periods of employment, occupation, wage rate and allowances, leave taken, and records of conduct and efficiency. Section 6 requires both employer and employee to sign each entry as it is made, and Section 7 lets the Labour Commissioner or an authorised officer demand production of the service book or related documents for inspection.

Section 8 sets penalties for breaching the Act: a fine of up to fifty rupees for an employer and up to five rupees for an employee, including for failing to comply with an inspection request. Section 9 requires the Labour Commissioner's prior written sanction before any prosecution can proceed. Section 12 gives the Provincial Government rule-making power over matters such as the book's form, quality of paper, number of pages, and timing of entries. This is an old statute (1951) with several later amendments, so current penalty figures should be checked against the official text.