Which bank is it: nationalized or private?
Does your bank has its IC and union and is your bank staff (including your designation) member of a union????
We have seen that even private bank employees are also members of bank employees union and some of them are active.
The union can help you.
The service conditions are regulated by standing orders of the company and appointment letter/contract of employment. The service conditions stated in standing orders can not be negated by appointment letter. Therefore you may obtain standing orders of the bank extended to your designation and check what the notice period is as in standing orders and notice pay in lieu of notice. If it is one month it can not be 3 months in appointment letter. If there is a provision of notice pay in lieu of notice period it can not be denied in appointment letter. Employer should display standing orders on notice board/near entry and should provide certified copy of standing orders to employee against a nominal payment sat Rs.10/- You may approach concerned personnel in HR/personnel/admin to obtain standing orders by redg. post ot to know if bank has made these available at HR portal for employees…You can also obtain a copy from your union office or Certifying Authority which may be DLC.
Employer is bound to adhere to the standing orders or can be penalized.
17. Liability of 17[employer].--The [employer] of the establishment shall personally be held responsible for the proper and faithful observance of the standing orders.
The conditions in the appointment letter should ideally be same for employer and employee. Has the bank mentioned that it can terminate your employment by a notice or notice pay in lieu of notice period? If yes your lawyer may opine that appointment letter issued to you is inequitable, arbitrary etc….
The employer may shout that employee is not a workman however designation alone does not decide employee is a workman or not. Your lawyer and your union may opine that your designation falls under the preview of a workman.
Banks are covered under SE Act. You may go thru the SE Act of the state as applicable in your state. Your bank must have displayed the SE Act on notice board in your branch.
You may go thru it and refer to it. As per definition of the employee the enactment is applicable to all employee irrespective of the designation of the employee.
e.g.
SE Act Delhi:
2. DEFINITIONS:
(5) “commercial establishment” means any premises wherein……….. and premises in which business of banking….. is carried on,
(7) “employee” means a person wholly or principally employed, whether directly or
otherwise, and whether for wages (payable on permanent, periodical, contract, piece-rate or commission basis) or other consideration, about the business of an
establishment and includes an apprentice and any person employed in a factory but
not governed by the Factories Act, 1948 (43 of 1948), and for the purpose of any
matter regulated by this Act, also includes a person discharged or dismissed whose
claims have not been settled in accordance with this Act
(8) “employer” means the owner of any establishment about the business of which
persons are employed, and where the business of such establishment is not directly
managed by the owner, means the manager, agent or representative of such owner in
the said business;
30. NOTICE OF DISMISSAL:
(2) No employee who has put in three months’ continuous service shall terminate his
employment unless he has given to his employer a notice of at least one month, in writing. In case he fails to give one month’s notice he will be released from his employment on payment of an amount equal to one month’s pay……….
COMMENTS
(a) Applicability of section 30
The protection of the provisions of the section is available to all persons who fall within the definition of the term “employee” as given in section 2(7) of the Act and who have put in three months’ continuous services. In the absence of any standing orders or any contract between the employer and the contesting respondent containing any particular terms or conditions, the conditions of service of the employee relating to his employment in an establishment at Delhi are covered by section 30(1) of Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954……
(b) Notice or wages in lieu thereof under section 30—When to be given?
(d) Section 30 of the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954 does not exclude the
application of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
Valuable advice of learned experts/members is sought.
