Exclusive HOLI Discounts!
Get Courses and Combos at Upto 50% OFF!
Upgrad
LCI Learning

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on LinkedIn

Share on Email

Share More

Miscellaneous (Media)     02 November 2012

Pending salary

Respected All,

I need a suggestion for the action which we need to take against directors of our company. Our director have not paid salary to majority of employees from September, 2012. Total number of employees were 12. Our 15-day salary for the month of August was kept on hold citing company policy. For the month of Spetember and October, we have not been paid anything.

SO all in all, our over two months plus salary is pending with the company. Every now and then they are giving us new dates saying that they have financial crunch. They have dissolved the entire team without giving prior one month notice to the employees. However, now they are committing new dates for the payment of salaries. Employees have not been paid salary for the past two plus months. And they started to create a fear in the minds of employees by giving examples of labour laws. Directors told us that they have option to go bankruptcy and no need to pay single money to the employees as a salary. They are saying that according to labour laws, they will be liable to pay just basic salary. THough the company is registered, they do not have any registered office. One of the directors of the company has two other businesses, and our company was operating from his office. The another director is working with a private bank on a higher position

Everything is manipulated. Earlier, they were asking for 40 days time to pay two months salary. However, they are not agreeing to give the commitment in writing. Now they are telling us to take half of the amount and other half when the event would be held. Request you all to suggest the solution for the same at the earliest.



Learning

 5 Replies

Kumar Doab (FIN)     02 November 2012

You have posted that:

--“Our 15-day salary for the month of August was kept on hold citing company policy.”

All of the employees now should resort to written representations and should demand that certified copy of the cited company policy be provided to them by redg. post.

--“They have dissolved the entire team without giving prior one month notice to the employees.”

If the company has terminated the employees it has to tender notice pay as per contract of employment. If it is retrenchment employees may succeed to get retrenchment compensation.

--“ And they started to create a fear in the minds of employees by giving examples of labour laws.”

Be assured that Labor laws favor the employees.

--“ THough the company is registered, they do not have any registered office.”

Without office address company may not be registered. If company does not have any office at the address given by it to the authorities it is committing an offence. Employees may provide the residential address of the directors/managers/supervisors.

--“One of the directors of the company has two other businesses, and our company was operating from his office.”

Company might have declared it a corporate office, however it has to inform the authorities.

--“ Now they are telling us to take half of the amount and other half when the event would be held.”

Collect this amount at once but do not sign and full and final settlement. Rather mention on the voucher that due wages/due payments are not paid in full.

The directors are taking undue advantage of the ill informed, hapless employees.

 

You may submit a gentle representation under proper acknowledgment addressed to the good offices of your Appointing Authority, MD, Company Secretary with a copy to Head-HR narrating all representations made by you so far by phone, email, letter, in person etc with each date, and name/designation/dept/address of company personnel to whom you had represented and request to supply you the service certificate, relieving letter, FNF statement showing computation and disbursement of all payables, payment of FNF dues by bank DD only, Form 16, PF number, PF account slips of all years, attested copies of PF withdrawal/transfer forms { if submitted by you or acknowledgment issued by PF office in original, if company has submitted your forms to PF office} etc. by redg. post only, so as to reach you in say next ..7 days. You may mention that this has been heavily delayed and postage prepaid {as purchased from PO} self addressed envelope is enclosed.

You can take help of elders in the family and prepare a statement of payables by company as per your understanding {include all amounts e.g. salary, incentives, reimbursements, paid leave, etc} and request that say…80% of the amount may be supplied to you immediately as you are facing financial constraints due to delay by company.

You are in which state?

 In a given situation employee can invoke the Industrial Employment standing orders Act, Payment of Wages Act, SE Act applicable to the state, and ID Act as per explanation of employee under these Enactments or approach civil court.

Designation alone does not decide employee is a workman or not. Employee can also approach trade union.

If the company do not yield to your representation, it shall be  appropriate to approach  a competent and exeprienced labor consultant/service lawyer, well versed with such matters, show all documents and give inputs in person, and let your lawyer evaluate the merits, and suggest appropriate forum if the need be.

The company may yield to legal notice of your lawyer or you may have to agitate in appropriate forum.

 

1 Like

Miscellaneous (Media)     04 November 2012

Dear Mr Kumar,

Thanks a ton for the reply. Our company was basically an event management company. The the company was registered, and the office address that was registered was of our show producer's office. As i said earlier, the show producer of the company has two other businesses. SO basically they were running two businesses from one office. The director of the company who is working with a private bank on a higher position has showed his wife, who is working with a leading newspaper, as another director on paper. ho is working with a leading newspaper. The director is not receiving employees calls, and not replying to our text messages and emails.

The directors who are regular employees of the other organizations are not even coming to the office. Sir, are they authorized to open a new company while they are employees of other organizations? Can we register our compaint with their respective organizations or police? Where would we stand? 
 
Unfortunately, there is no higher authority we can report to. There was no HR, Company Secretary in the company. It was a new set up. But the show producer's office is very much there from where our company was operating from. We asked him to sign the releiving letter wherein it was mentioned that full and final settlement has not been done. But he refused to do so saying he is not authorized to do so.
 

Kumar Doab (FIN)     04 November 2012

You are in which state and what is your location? All of you need to act.

You have posted that:

--“We asked him to sign the releiving letter wherein it was mentioned that full and final settlement has not been done. But he refused to do so saying he is not authorized to do so.”

This may be placed on record by sending even if an email. However employees should structure all representations carefully and avoid emotional outbursts, and should remain amiable and remain in touch with each other and directors.

All Employees should join hands and be witness to each other.

Employees should record such transactions {audio/visual. Mobile comes handy}, for use at appropriate time in appropriate forum.

--“Our 15-day salary for the month of August was kept on hold citing company policy.”

All of the employees now should resort to written representations and should demand that certified copy of the cited company policy be provided to them by redg. post.

The written representation shall come handy and useful if you have to satisfy the authority for delay at any point of time.

“For the month of Spetember and October, we have not been paid anything.”

The wages have not been paid and have been deducted.

Wages Inspector and Inspector under SE Act should be approached.

--“office address that was registered was of our show producer's office.”

Provide this address and other addresses to the authorities.

“The director of the company who is working with a private bank on a higher position has showed his wife, who is working with a leading newspaper, as another director on paper.”

This lady is Director/promoter on record. The authorities shall determine who is nominated to be manager, director on record and who is responsible for the payment of wages and they know whom and how to prosecute.

You may address your representations to all directors.

--“are they authorized to open a new company while they are employees of other organizations?”

The companies in which they are employed can object and act if they are not allowed to engage in other ventures as per their contract of employment.

However they have various source of income and so far it appears they have not informed authorities that they have to close the company.

--“ Now they are telling us to take half of the amount and other half when the event would be held.”

Collect this amount and as much as possible at once but do not sign and full and final settlement. Employees should be smart enough to apply their negotiation, persuasion, persistence, reasoning skills to the exceptional levels and resolve the situation in their favor.

Designation alone does not decide employee is a workman or not.

All employees can approach o/o Labor commissioner, Trade Union, Wages Inspector and Inspector under SE Act and lodge written complaints under acknowledgment.

All employees may approach a competent and exeprienced labor consultant/service lawyer, well versed with such matters, show all documents and give inputs in person, and let your lawyer evaluate the merits, and suggest appropriate forum if the need be.

The company may yield to legal notice of your lawyer or you may have to agitate in appropriate forum.

 

Apparently company has avoided PF, ESIC and employees can lodge complaint with local o/o these authorities as well.

You may log onto Labor website of your state and you can obtain contact detail of labor officials e.g. Inspector/Chief Inspector under SE Act which may be ALC, Wages Inspector, ALC/DLC etc. All of these authorities fall under the preview of RTI Act hence you can chase them and make them move and at the same time obtain record of action taken, penalties and recoveries made.

 

SE Act Delhi {you may look into Se Act applicable to your state}

1.          Definitions:

(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;

(21) “registration certificate” means a certificate showing the registration of an  establishment;

{ The certificate has to be displayed at the address}

*5. Registration of Establishments.—(1) Within the period specified in sub- section (5), the occupier of every establishment shall send to the Chief Insspector a statement in   a   prescribed form, together with such fees as may be prescribed, containing:

        (a)   the name of the employer and the manager, if any;

        (b)   the postal address of establishment;

 

     19. Time and conditions for payment of wages.—(1) Every employer or his agent or the manager of any establishment shall fix periods in respect of which wages to the employees shall be payable and such person shall be responsible for the payment to persons employed by him or all wages required to be paid under this Act.

     (2) No wage period so fixed, shall exceed one month.

20. Deductions which may be made from wages.—

(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:

(2) Application for any such claim may be made to the authority appointed under sub-section

(1) by the employee himself or any Official of a registered trade union authorised in writing to act

on his behalf or any legal practitioner or the Chief Inspector for a direction under sub-section (3):

     Provided that every such application should be presented within one year from the date the claim for such wages has become payable under this Act:

     Provided further that an application may be admitted after the said period of one year when the   applicant   satisfies  the   authority  that   he   had   sufficient   cause for   not making the   application within such period.

30. Notice of Dismissal.—(1) No employer shall dispense with the services of an employee who has been in his continuous employment for not less than three months, without giving such person at least one month’s notice in writing or wages in lieu of such notice:

33.   Records.—(1)   The   occupier   of   every   shop   or   commercial   establishment   shall,   in   the prescribed   form   and   in   the   prescribed   manner,   keep   exhibited   in   the   shop   or   establishment   a notice setting forth the close day.

(c) Failure to maintain records—if single offence

(d)    Can    an   Inspector      require     an   employer      to   produce      the  record      in   his   office   for inspection?

35.   Inspection   of   Registers   and   calling   for   information.—It   shall   be   the   duty   of   every occupier   of   a   shop   or   establishment   to   produce for inspection   of   an   Inspector,   all   accounts  or records   required   to   be   kept   for   the   purpose   of   this   Act,   and   to   give   any   other   information   in connection therewith as may be required.

41. Wilfully making false entries.— If any person with intent to deceive makes or causes or allows to be made in any record, register, or notice prescribed under section 33 an entry which is to his knowledge false in any material particular, or causes or allows to be omitted from any such record, register or notice an entry required to be made therein, he shall be liable on conviction to an imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months

43. Determination of employer for the purpose of this Act.—(1) Where the owner of an

establishment is a firm or other association of individuals, any one of the individual partners or members thereof may be prosecuted and punished under this Act for any offence for which an employer in an establishment is punishable:

You may also go thru

Payment of Wages Act:

3.

 

 Responsibility for payment of wages.

 

       3. Responsibility for payment     of wages.- Every employer shall be responsible for    the payment   to persons   employed by him of all wages  required to be paid under this Act:

2*[(b) in industrial or other establishments, if there is a                  person responsible    to the employer for the supervision                  and    control     of    the     industrial     or     other                  establishments;]

7. Deductions   which may   be made from wages.

8) All fines and all realisations thereof shall be recorded in a  register to be kept by the person responsible for the payment of wages under section    3 in  such form   as may   be prescribed;   and   all  such  realisations shall    be applied only to such purposes beneficial to the  persons employed    in the   factory or   establishment as are approved by  the prescribed authority.

13A.

 

 Maintenance of registers and records.

 

      5*[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.

15.

 Claims arising  out of  deductions from  wages or  delay in payment ofwages and

 penalty for malicious or vexatious claims.


Attached File : 848175611 payment of wages act 1936.pdf, 848175611 delhi shops & establishments act, 1954.pdf downloaded: 132 times

Miscellaneous (Media)     07 November 2012

thanks. but in the meanwhile, can we write to the higher authorities of the bank that your employee was involved in illegal practices and he has breached the trust of the employees n can we ask for internal enquery from the banks end....the only solid proof we have is written communications with the big brands and also the letter he had sent to another bank for opening the company account; wherein it is mentioned that he and his wife are the directors of the company. 

Kumar Doab (FIN)     07 November 2012

"the only solid proof we have is written communications with the big brands and also the letter he had sent to another bank for opening the company account; wherein it is mentioned that he and his wife are the directors of the company. "

Let the bank a/c be opned and provide the copies to authorities to establish that the Directors have enough assests to pay you.


Leave a reply

Your are not logged in . Please login to post replies

Click here to Login / Register