Query regarding the pending dues from ex employer?

I wish to understand what is to be done in the following situation.

"If an employee who was associated with, say, Jet Airways for more than a decade, is currently unemployed due to the bankruptcy of the company and is sitting idle at home, gets a job opportunity in another company and accepts the same. Now he/she has to share his PF details with the new employer. The said employee has never officially resigned from Jet Airways as that option was never given. Also, the employees were promised that as and when the company gets revived, their pending dues in terms of PF, Gratuity, and all would be paid to them. So, will this employee be eligible for the dues, or would Jet Airways deny him/her of the same under any kind of reason?"

Dear Vedant,

Jet Airways, once the largest airline in India with a passenger market share of 22.6% in 2010, became defunct later and is facing bankruptcy proceedings in India and abroad. In the meantime, though information about the revival of the airline, which is left with 12 aircraft, is in the media every now and then, its present status is a non-functioning entity with a huge debt of around $1.5 billion. Since the formal closure of the company is not yet announced, those employees rendered jobless are deemed to be still in the service of the company till they attain the age of superannuation or resign and switch jobs. Otherwise, the employees can resort to legal action before the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, which action is said to have been taken by some of the pilots.

Therefore, if an employee of the defunct company who has not resigned nor the company is officially closed joins another company, he would be entitled to all dues just prior to the date of his joining the new company. The defunct company cannot refuse to settle the past dues because of the individual's subsequent employment elsewhere. However, when and how the settlement would take place is a million-dollar question.

Employees would have submitted their claims to the Resolution Professional conducting the insolvency resolution process of Jet Airways. As and when a suitable company comes forward to take over Jet Airways, the claims of all creditors, employees, etc., would get finalized. In insolvency terms, the resolution plan will be submitted by resolution applicants to take over the company. They will submit how much their company will invest in taking over and running Jet Airways, upon approval by NCLT Mumbai.

Employee joining any other company is not an issue at all, as no one can sit at home for the revival of Jet Airways. Their claims would be settled by the new company taking over Jet. Their PF/Gratuity, etc., would be relatively safe as they are crown debts and would have mostly been deposited by Jet with EPFO.