Gratituity fund

Since the Supreme court gave the order a retrospective effect from April 3rd 1997 as such any teacher who retired on 3rd April 1997 or after that shall be eligible for Gratuity, you are eligible for Gratuity   must be calculated from the time of your appointment i.e 1989 ; it may be confusing but need to go through the Judgment;

Birla Institute of Technology Vs. State of Jharkhand And Others [(2019) 4 SCC 513].

The effect is given from 1997 for making those employees eligible to get benefits who retired on or after April 3 1997. That is if any employee who had an active service for five years continuously as on April 3 1997 shall be eligible to have the Gratuity.

Your services are computable from the date of appointment as a regular employee till your retirement subject to condition that you retire on or after 3 April 1997 not before that.

However may be your school people would try to compute your services from 1997 but that is wrong , don’ accept that as that would be wrong computation, the order for payment was made in 2019 – April but it was given retrospective effect from April 1997 for eligibility citera  not for computation

Hope that clarifies.

You are eligible and should claim gratuity.

Dear Querist,

1. In the matter of your query, it is very important to understand the language of the notification of 1997 and the amendment of 2009.

2. The applicability of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, the applicability of the educational institutions is with effect from the date of publication of the notificationF. No. S-42013/1/95-SS-II, dated 3rd April, 1997. As such it is amply clear that that the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972 will be applicable to the educational institutions from 3rd April, 1997.

3. Now as far asPayment of Gratuity (Amendment) Act 2009 is concerned, sec1 (2) of the ibid Amendment Act 2009 clearly mentions that it shall be deemed to have come into force on 3rd April 1997. Vide sec 3 , of the ibid Amendment Act 2009, a new section 13A was inserted which mentions that gratuity shall be payable to an employee in pursuance of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of labour and employment vide number S O 1080 dated 3 April 1997 and the said notification shall be valid and shall be deemed always to have been valid as if the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Act 2009 had been in force at all material times and the gratuity shall be paid accordingly.

4. Since, a new section 13A was introduced vide Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Act 2009, which categorically mentions, Quote, “Gratuity shall be payable to an employee in pursuance of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of labour and employment vide number S O 1080 dated 3 April 1997 and the said notification shall be valid and shall be deemed always to have been valid as if the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Act 2009 had been in force at all material times and the gratuity shall be paid accordingly.” Unquote, it is implied that you're eligible service period  for the purpose of gratuity is from your appointment date as a regular employee for it would be deemedas if the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Act 2009 had been in force at all material times and ideally, therefore the  gratuity is entitled to you from 1989.