Worker status under the Factories Act depends on control and supervision; leave wages need an workable statutory earnings formula.

A bidi roller is a worker under the Factories Act where the employer retains control and supervision over both the work and the manner of performance, reflecting a contract of service. Leave wages under Sections 79 and 80 are available only if the statutory formula for computing "total full time earnings" can be applied to the actual terms of work. Where the work is flexible and no ascertainable full-time period exists, the computation mechanism fails and leave wages cannot be claimed on that basis. The text states that, on the facts discussed, worker status was accepted but leave wage entitlement was denied because the statutory scheme could not be worked out for the kind of bidi-rolling work involved.

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Issues: Whether the bidi roller was a worker within the meaning of the Factories Act and, if so, whether leave wages could be computed and claimed under Sections 79 and 80 of that Act.

Analysis: The relationship of employment depends on the existence of an employer, an employee, and a contract of service, with the decisive test being the employer's right to control and supervise not merely the work to be done but also the manner of its performance. On the facts found, the worker was subject to sufficient control in the factory to answer that description, and the finding that he was a worker was upheld. But entitlement to leave wages under Section 79 also required the statutory basis for computing wages under Section 80. The expression 'total full time earnings' was held to mean earnings for a day worked for the full time fixed by the factory's notice, and where no ascertainable full-time period existed for such flexible work, the statutory formula could not be applied.

Conclusion: The bidi roller was a worker, but he was not entitled to claim leave wages under Sections 79 and 80 on the facts of the case.

Final Conclusion: The petition succeeded and the order granting leave wages was set aside, as the statutory scheme for leave wages could not be worked out for the kind of flexible bidi-rolling work involved.

Ratio Decidendi: A person is a worker only where the employer retains the right of control and supervision characteristic of a contract of service, and leave wages under the Factories Act can be claimed only where the statutory formula for 'full time earnings' is capable of application on the actual terms of work.

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