Withholding of retirement benefits during pendency of departmental enquiry
mukesh Gupta
(Querist) 05 July 2013
This query is : Resolved
Sir,
What is the correct position for withholding of retirement benefits if the departmental proceedings are pending? benefits like- gratuity, epf, encashment of leave.etc.
Guest
(Expert) 05 July 2013
Gratuity can be withheld. Leave encashment is normally not withheld unless the the amount of loss considered to be attributed to the employee is more than the amount of gratuity.
However, EPF cannot be withheld at any cost.
Raj Kumar Makkad
(Expert) 05 July 2013
Only Gratuity, which is the ultimate reward of service, can be got withheld and all other service-cum-retirement benefits are required to be released within time.
mukesh Gupta
(Querist) 08 July 2013
Thanks Dhingra jee & Makkad jee. But what is the position of Section 4(6) of Gratuity Act which says the gratuity can be forfeited only when employee is dismissed from service.
Guest
(Expert) 08 July 2013
Mr. Gupta,
Your query was about withholding of retirement benefits during pendency of departmental enquiry and NOT after dismissal of employee.
Please be aware, there is a lot of difference between withholding and forfieture of gratuity. Still further there is a lot of difference between pendency of departmental inquiy and dismissal of the employee from service, which event occurs only after conclusion of departmental inquiry.
I hope you can understand well these distinctions.
mukesh Gupta
(Querist) 08 July 2013
R/sir Dhingra jee,
I would like to trouble you again. U r very right that there is difference between withholding and forfeiture. Can u give the relevant statutory provisions which provide the withholding of gratuity power to employer.
Guest
(Expert) 08 July 2013
Mr. Gupta,
When you shy to state what actually is the case by giving the background of the problem, if any, whether the case pertains to pendency of departmental inquiry after retirement, whether the case relates to central Government, state Government, PSU, or a private company, how you can expect me guess what is what of your case and to presume what type of information would suit your problem.
My reply was according to the nature of your queries. Even by asking a third different type of query than the original query, you have not stated even slightly about the real problem. You should not expect reproduction of entire set of statutory provisions or ruling position merely by keeping the experts in a guessing position about what actually is the problem with the querist.
However, if you are a Central Government employee, you may better read rules on gratuity included in the CCS (Pension) Rules), if State Government employee, read concerned state's rules on pension and gratuity, and if a PSU/ private company employee, you may have to read the terms of retirement or that organisation.
If you have quoted the section of the act, you should also know that the provision does not mention about dismissal, but termination, which includes dismissal also.
Even as of common sense, you can very well understand, gratuity cannot be forfieted without withholding that till the outcome of the departmental inquiry case and the penalty of termination or dismissal is actually imposed.
Sudhir Kumar, Advocate
(Expert) 12 July 2013
you earlier did not intimate that you ae govt employee so the nature of advise changes.
a govt officer retiring under proceedings will get nothing (till proceedings are over) except PF, Gp Insurance.
