You have posted that:
--‘"You may approach a competent and experienced labor consultant/service lawyer ............"
will definately do that sir“
Approach your lawyer with elders in the family, competent and experienced well wishers, with copies of all documents, appointment letter and communications, give inputs in person and spend quality time with your lawyer, understand the remedies in various situations and proceed under expert advice of your lawyer. Let your lawyer structure and draft your representations and build record in your favor.
Based on the documents and your inputs let your lawyer’s opinion be final on all points discussed in this thread initiated by you.
--“they have not written it clearly that contract starts from this or that period”
Apparently it starts from date of appointment mentioned in appointment letter.
--“Is it leagal to get signed a contract from an employee”
The company shall claim that the employee signed by his/her will. The validity of any documents and its clauses is by test of law.
--“Though the documents i have signed is on appointment letter one copy is with me (on which the head signed the copy ) & one with them (on which i have signed).’
The clause on service agreement is incorporated in appointment letter.
--“I have not signed on any legal affidavit, want to know whether it is bond or they just want to frighten us to stay with them for particular duration by signing on appointment letter (this is not clear so if any one can clarify it that will b good)’
The consultants who craft such agreements, employer who get such agreements crafted as per specifications given by them, HR/line management who implements such instructions believe/know that majority of the employees are ignorant of their rights/are ill informed/can be subdued/won’t approach a lawyer/lawful authority/court of law and the matter is civil matter and they won’t be imprisoned. Hence they indulge with impunity.
Employees who agitate are subjected to a drill of tantrums/are coerced by flaunting denials of reliving letter/attestation of PF forms and adverse referral checks etc…..and again it is believed that many of the employees shall succumb to the pressure.
Employs that are properly informed are able to protect their rights without any damage done to them.
Still it shall be worthwhile for the employee to approach good offices and drill sense into the heads, and resolve the situation in his/her favor.
Employee should not limit his/her representations to line management and HR.
--“Deduction of salary during the service period is not mentioned anywhere on appointmenet and offer letter; But they have mentioned that if we leave the company during the contract period then we owe them 6 months remuneration.’
The deductions are hence unlawful, illegal, in violation of the applicable enactments e.g:
SE Act; e.g. SE Act Delhi:
19. TIME AND CONDITIONS OF PAYMENT OF WAGES.
20. DEDUCTIONS WHICH MAY BE MADE FROM WAGES: (1) The wages of an employed person shall be paid to him without deduction of any kind except those specified in sub-section (2).
(3) Any employer desiring to impose a fine on an employed person or to make a deduction for damage or loss caused by him shall explain to him personally and also in writing the act or omission…….
(4) The amount of fine or deduction mentioned in sub-section (3) shall be such as may be
specified by the Government. All such deductions and realisations thereof shall be recorded in a register maintained in a form as may be prescribed.
(5) The amount of fine imposed under sub-section (3) shall be utilised in accordance with the directions of the Government.
(6) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect the provisions of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (4 of 1936).
21. CLAIMS RELATING TO WAGES.
Write to good offices for supplying the salary slips ( and claim that company has not been supplying salary slip, detail of deductions in writing despite representation made in office to Mr/Ms…….on dated……and dated….)
Salary slip should be supplied and signed by both employee and employer. ( Refer to section 13A in Payment of Wages Act which is given in next Para also.)
33. RECORDS.
35. INSPECTION OF REGISTERS AND CALLING FOR INFORMATION.
41. WILFULLY MAKING FALSE ENTRIES
43. DETERMINATION OF EMPLOYER FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS ACT:
The registration certificate must be put on notice board and you can find out who is declared as Manager/Employer and accordingly you may take him/her in loop for issuing representations and notices.
2. Definitions: (8) “employer” means
THE PAYMENT OF WAGES ACT, 1936:
2. Definitions:
3*[(vi) "wages" means all remuneration (whether by way of salary, allowances or otherwise) expressed in terms of money or capable of being so expressed which would, if the terms of employment, express or implied, were fulfilled, be payable to a person employed in respect of his employment or of work done in such employment, and includes-
3. Responsibility for payment of wages.
4. Fixation of wage-periods.
5. Time of payment of wages.
7. Deductions which may be made from wages.
8. Fines.
13A.
Maintenance of registers and records.
[13A. Maintenance of registers and records.-(1) Every employer shall maintain such registers and records giving such particulars of persons employed by him, the work performed by them, the wages paid to them, the deductions made from their wages, the receipts given by them and such other particulars and in such form as may be prescribed.
(2) Every register and record required to be maintained under this section shall, for the purposes of this Act, be preserved for a period of three years after the date of the last entry made therein.]
--“I have resigned without any notice period because they were not paying the said amount and they deducted my salary every month frm the month of joining, so i had to take this step’
You may claim in resignation or subsequent communications that since your earned wages were not being paid, salary slips were not being provided, unauthorized deductions were being made and good offices despite many representations did not provide any relief you has no other alternative but to give up your employment.
You are not at fault and employer should waive off the notice period and pay since misconduct is on part of employer.
30. NOTICE OF DISMISSAL: Check what is your service period and notice period applicable as per the act, and claim the situation that is beneficial for you.
Notice pay is @ Basic pay + DA.
If company has mentioned any bonus, Gratuity in CTC sheet, claim it.
--“Whenever i used to ask them, they used delay it weeks by weeks; and the company is @ 2:30 min distant from my place and there was no particular time to get back to home;
daily 8 hours shd b the working hours but this company asked me to sit and work for longer duration. I used to get back home by 12 / 12 :15 “
Rules prohibit employer to hold female staff for late evenings.
8. Employment of adults, hours of work.—No adult shall be employed or allowed to work about the business of an establishment for more than nine hours on any day or 48 hours in any week and the occupier shall fix the daily periods of work accordingly:
Provided further that advance intimation of at least three days in this respect has been given in the prescribed manner to the Chief Inspector and that any person employed on overtime shall be entitled to remuneration for such overtime work at twice the rate of his normal remuneration calculated by the hour.
COMMENTS
(a) Mode for calculation of overtime wages
Claim for overtime should be made within reasonable time.( Claim that you have been asking for OT every month and defeat the claim of employer that employee was sitting in office by his choice.)
--‘I have mailed my resignation letter but there was no reverting mail i got frm them.”
Submit reminders obtain acceptance and avoid a situation where employer claims that you have been absconding /abandoned.
--‘No, they have also not given induction (ppt or training )also. Which is the prime most needed part for any employee joining the company.”
Apparently there is no justified ground to claim the validity of the agreement. However as already pointed out let your lawyers opinion be final and you may proceed under expert advice of your lawyer.
Some stated had granted blanket exemption granted to IT companies from the provisions of IESO Act, as per their IT/ITES policy. Some states did not.
You may check the status for your state, ands accordingly obtain certified copy of standing orders from company or DLC.
State of Karnataka has ended the blanket exemption granted to IT companies from the provisions of IESO Act and hence companies should frame certified standing orders in 6 months and get these certified from certifying officer which may be DLC in o/o Labor commissioner. Till then Model standing orders shall apply.
Model Standing Orders:
4. Publication of working time , 5. Publication of holidays and pay-days , 13. Termination of employment, 11. Payment of wages
15. Complaints., --16. Certificate on termination of service.-, 17. Liability of 17[employer].-- 18. Exhibition of standing orders.--
The payment of wages and certificate of service should have been supplied to employee on last day in office or within two days.
The Labor Inspector may issue notice and this may work in your favor and your payments may be released and the matter may end.
The company may relent and yield to your representation to good offices, demand notice, Notice by Wages Inspector, Inspector under SE Act, and legal notice by your lawyer. The option to approach civil court is there too.
Valuable advice of learned experts/members is sought.
