Delhi Private Placement Agencies (Regulation) Order, 2014 issued in compliance with Delhi HC order

An executive order called the Delhi Private Placement Agencies (Regulation) Order, 2014 has been released in compliance with the order passed by the High Court of Delhi in December, 2010 and December, 2013 in the case of Bachpan Bachao Andolan v. Union of India and others. In the case, the Court had directed the Govt. of Delhi to issue executive directions for the regulation of Private Placement Agencies providing domestic workers in the National Capital Territory of Delhi and to prevent the exploitation of such domestic workers employed through such private placement agencies in Delhi. Read the judgment here.

The order applied to all Private Placement Agencies, providing domestic workers in Delhi whether their office/ place of business is situated within Delhi or outside. The order lays down their conditions of work and the mode of Placement. It also specifies that payments for the domestic worker will be through a Bank Account. It lays down mandatory registration of Placement agencies and imposes a fine of Rs 50,000 for non-registration of Placement Agencies. The order also delegates the adjudication powers to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and Delhi Commission for Women (DCW).

According to the order, a ''Domestic Worker"  means a person of the age of 18 years or more engaged to do domestic work through a private placement agency and includes a person by whatever name and designated, within an employment relationship, but does not include a person who performs domestic work only sporadically and a person employed through a contractor.

It also defines a "Private placement agency" which means a person or body of persons other than a government agency, department or organization engaged in the business of providing domestic workers at the residence of a person.

This order would come into effect on the date of its notification in the Delhi Gazette.

Image from here