Dear HR team,
I have worked in a Singapore-based IT company located in Bangalore as an "Admin Executive" for four years. All of a sudden, they have sent me a termination letter by email. I was shocked and asked for the reason, but there was no reply from the management. There was no proper reason given, no one-month salary, and not even a notice provided. When I asked for the settlement of my salary (I was supposed to receive a bonus for the year), they replied with "no settlement." I was left jobless with significant commitments, and I had no choice but to file a case in the LABOUR COURT. Now, the opposing lawyer is stating that I am a workman and can be terminated without any notice or a one-month notice period.
Kindly advise me on this matter.
Thank you.
From India, Bangalore
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I have worked in a Singapore-based IT company located in Bangalore as an "Admin Executive" for four years. All of a sudden, they have sent me a termination letter by email. I was shocked and asked for the reason, but there was no reply from the management. There was no proper reason given, no one-month salary, and not even a notice provided. When I asked for the settlement of my salary (I was supposed to receive a bonus for the year), they replied with "no settlement." I was left jobless with significant commitments, and I had no choice but to file a case in the LABOUR COURT. Now, the opposing lawyer is stating that I am a workman and can be terminated without any notice or a one-month notice period.
Kindly advise me on this matter.
Thank you.
From India, Bangalore
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Dear All,
I had been working for a Singapore/US-based company for 4 years as an Admin. I was working very sincerely, putting my 100% contributions into the company. We were working only 5 days a week, but I was doing all my work on Saturdays, Sundays, and all holidays using my personal laptop and data card while sitting at home due to the time difference between India, Singapore, and the US. I even worked during my maternity period for three months from home.
After the maternity period, I rejoined the company and continued working as usual. However, one Wednesday, I received an email from HR with an attachment. Upon opening the attached letter, I was shocked and cried. Can you guess why? It was a Termination Letter from the company. I couldn't even tolerate it. I was unable to accept this termination without any reason or notice. I was simply shocked and walked out of the office.
The next day, I tried to log in to my email to write an email to my Singapore-based HR but couldn't.
From India, Bangalore
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I had been working for a Singapore/US-based company for 4 years as an Admin. I was working very sincerely, putting my 100% contributions into the company. We were working only 5 days a week, but I was doing all my work on Saturdays, Sundays, and all holidays using my personal laptop and data card while sitting at home due to the time difference between India, Singapore, and the US. I even worked during my maternity period for three months from home.
After the maternity period, I rejoined the company and continued working as usual. However, one Wednesday, I received an email from HR with an attachment. Upon opening the attached letter, I was shocked and cried. Can you guess why? It was a Termination Letter from the company. I couldn't even tolerate it. I was unable to accept this termination without any reason or notice. I was simply shocked and walked out of the office.
The next day, I tried to log in to my email to write an email to my Singapore-based HR but couldn't.
From India, Bangalore
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Dear Amudha.Das@gmail.com,
I have gone through both of your postings. You mentioned that you filed a case in the Labour Court. If so, you should fight the case through your advocate and rely on the outcome. Why do you need to bother yourself about what the opposing lawyer says?
Thank you.
From India, Mumbai
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2584I have gone through both of your postings. You mentioned that you filed a case in the Labour Court. If so, you should fight the case through your advocate and rely on the outcome. Why do you need to bother yourself about what the opposing lawyer says?
Thank you.
From India, Mumbai
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In your first post, you said that "Now the opposite lawyer is saying that she is a workman and can terminate without any notice or one month's notice." Let me take it as an error, and the respondent's lawyer (company's lawyer) has said that "she (you) is NOT A WORKMAN." It is common that whenever a case is filed, the company will defend by saying that the person who has filed the case does not fall under a workman as defined in section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act, and hence the suit is not maintainable in the Labour Court. If, on the other hand, there is no error in your statement or the advocate has said that you were a workman and therefore, the services can be terminated without notice, then the advocate is wrong, and the case will be ordered in your favor only. If the statement reproduced by you is wrong and the company has defended by saying that you were not a workman, then you have to prove that you belonged to the workmen category.
Many courts, including the Supreme Court of India, have interpreted the definition of a workman u/s 2(s) to include all employees whose FUNCTIONAL responsibilities do not call for any supervisory or managerial responsibilities. As such, if you have been entrusted with the responsibility of supervising the subordinates with rights of either sanctioning leave to your subordinate(s), conducting performance appraisals of your subordinates, or initiating disciplinary action against your subordinates, then certainly you will be out of the definition of a workman, and your case will be dismissed without a hearing. On the other hand, if you were not given the above-said rights, then you will be coming under the definition of a workman, and as such, you will get all the protection which is conferred on an employee under the Industrial Disputes Act.
Regards,
Madhu.T.K
From India, Kannur
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Many courts, including the Supreme Court of India, have interpreted the definition of a workman u/s 2(s) to include all employees whose FUNCTIONAL responsibilities do not call for any supervisory or managerial responsibilities. As such, if you have been entrusted with the responsibility of supervising the subordinates with rights of either sanctioning leave to your subordinate(s), conducting performance appraisals of your subordinates, or initiating disciplinary action against your subordinates, then certainly you will be out of the definition of a workman, and your case will be dismissed without a hearing. On the other hand, if you were not given the above-said rights, then you will be coming under the definition of a workman, and as such, you will get all the protection which is conferred on an employee under the Industrial Disputes Act.
Regards,
Madhu.T.K
From India, Kannur
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Dear Amudha,
Please check your letter of appointment. It should have a clause for termination of services and the notice period to be given on both sides. If there is 1 month mentioned to be given by the company, then the company has to give you either 1 month notice in writing or relieve you immediately with 1 month's salary, excluding the days you worked. Also, what's the reason for termination in your letter? They have to give some reason for termination. The company can terminate only in case of poor performance or disciplinary issues. If they say that your performance is not good, then they should have given you a written letter, memo, or email for improving your performance. If they have only then they can terminate. Even in disciplinary issues, they should have to give at least 1 formal notice to the employee before termination.
If they haven't given you any letters and 1 month notice required is mentioned in your appointment letter, then they have to pay you 1 month's salary.
From India, Mumbai
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Please check your letter of appointment. It should have a clause for termination of services and the notice period to be given on both sides. If there is 1 month mentioned to be given by the company, then the company has to give you either 1 month notice in writing or relieve you immediately with 1 month's salary, excluding the days you worked. Also, what's the reason for termination in your letter? They have to give some reason for termination. The company can terminate only in case of poor performance or disciplinary issues. If they say that your performance is not good, then they should have given you a written letter, memo, or email for improving your performance. If they have only then they can terminate. Even in disciplinary issues, they should have to give at least 1 formal notice to the employee before termination.
If they haven't given you any letters and 1 month notice required is mentioned in your appointment letter, then they have to pay you 1 month's salary.
From India, Mumbai
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Hi,
Even though a one-month notice clause is included in the appointment letter, there have been case laws indicating that simple notice is not sufficient to terminate an employee's services!
Rajinder Arora
From India, Delhi
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Even though a one-month notice clause is included in the appointment letter, there have been case laws indicating that simple notice is not sufficient to terminate an employee's services!
Rajinder Arora
From India, Delhi
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Dear Neeraj Sir,
In my appointment letter, the clause for termination of services states that a one-month notice period should be given by both parties.
However, in my case, they did not provide any prior notice or one month's salary. Additionally, in my termination letter, the company cited "downsizing/cost-cutting" as the reason. Could you please advise if the actions taken by the company are legal? The management also did not grant me any time to search for new employment. When I inquired about my salary settlement (including the bonus I was supposed to receive for that year), the company responded that "there is no settlement from the company."
Could you kindly inform me if the judgment is likely to be in my favor, considering that the case is still pending in the "LABOUR COURT"?
My Date of Joining: 26 May 2008
Last Date in the Company worked: 30 November 2011
Am I entitled to any dues from the company? I have only received my November 2011 month salary (they were supposed to pay the December 2011 salary and bonus).
Your kind advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks and regards,
From India, Bangalore
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In my appointment letter, the clause for termination of services states that a one-month notice period should be given by both parties.
However, in my case, they did not provide any prior notice or one month's salary. Additionally, in my termination letter, the company cited "downsizing/cost-cutting" as the reason. Could you please advise if the actions taken by the company are legal? The management also did not grant me any time to search for new employment. When I inquired about my salary settlement (including the bonus I was supposed to receive for that year), the company responded that "there is no settlement from the company."
Could you kindly inform me if the judgment is likely to be in my favor, considering that the case is still pending in the "LABOUR COURT"?
My Date of Joining: 26 May 2008
Last Date in the Company worked: 30 November 2011
Am I entitled to any dues from the company? I have only received my November 2011 month salary (they were supposed to pay the December 2011 salary and bonus).
Your kind advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks and regards,
From India, Bangalore
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Dear Anonymous,
In the interest of natural justice, the company needs to bring the fact of downsizing/cost-cutting due to losses to the notice of all employees well in time so that the employees are ready for the same.
While downsizing/cost-cutting, they need to follow the principle of 'last come, first goes'!
Giving you one month's notice salary is the least the company should have done.
If the bonus clause is mentioned in your appointment letter, you are definitely entitled to the bonus.
Best of luck!
Rajinder Arora
From India, Delhi
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In the interest of natural justice, the company needs to bring the fact of downsizing/cost-cutting due to losses to the notice of all employees well in time so that the employees are ready for the same.
While downsizing/cost-cutting, they need to follow the principle of 'last come, first goes'!
Giving you one month's notice salary is the least the company should have done.
If the bonus clause is mentioned in your appointment letter, you are definitely entitled to the bonus.
Best of luck!
Rajinder Arora
From India, Delhi
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Dear Amudha,
They have to give you a 1-month notice or 1-month salary in lieu of the notice period. Downsizing is fine, but they must provide notice. The bonus depends on the company policy. Check the terms and conditions in your appointment letter regarding the bonus. Was the bonus given yearly or half-yearly? If it was given yearly, you cannot fight for the bonus, as they may provide 10 reasons for not giving it to you. They can simply claim they are experiencing losses, so they cannot pay. However, they must pay 1 month's salary. If you have all the necessary proof, the judgment will surely be in your favor.
From India, Mumbai
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They have to give you a 1-month notice or 1-month salary in lieu of the notice period. Downsizing is fine, but they must provide notice. The bonus depends on the company policy. Check the terms and conditions in your appointment letter regarding the bonus. Was the bonus given yearly or half-yearly? If it was given yearly, you cannot fight for the bonus, as they may provide 10 reasons for not giving it to you. They can simply claim they are experiencing losses, so they cannot pay. However, they must pay 1 month's salary. If you have all the necessary proof, the judgment will surely be in your favor.
From India, Mumbai
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Dear Anonymous,
In the interest of natural justice, the company needs to bring the fact/intention of downsizing/cost-cutting due to losses to the notice of all employees well in time so that the employees are ready for the same.
While downsizing/cost-cutting, they need to follow the principle of 'last come, first goes'!
Giving you one month's notice salary is the least the company should have done.
If the bonus clause is mentioned in your appointment letter, you are definitely entitled to the bonus.
Best of luck!
Rajinder Arora
From India, Delhi
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
In the interest of natural justice, the company needs to bring the fact/intention of downsizing/cost-cutting due to losses to the notice of all employees well in time so that the employees are ready for the same.
While downsizing/cost-cutting, they need to follow the principle of 'last come, first goes'!
Giving you one month's notice salary is the least the company should have done.
If the bonus clause is mentioned in your appointment letter, you are definitely entitled to the bonus.
Best of luck!
Rajinder Arora
From India, Delhi
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