Wrongful Termination of Employment
Kumar Doab
(Querist) 04 April 2010
This query is : Resolved
X is Sales Manager with a Private Life Insurance company, in India, since 3.3 Years. His services have been terminated by a letter of termination of service without assigning any reason.
Kindly answer following queries:
• His age is 44 years. His job profile was to canvass for business and recruit insurance agents. X had no administrative/ supervisory control over them.
• as per appointment letter X did not have any binding on the company. Do X fall under the category of Workman, and can X raise industrial dispute. Can X go to labor court? Are their any chances of reinstatement with full wages? Shall the culprits for termination be punished, and if so what punishment they can get.
• is there any court case in which Sales Manager of a Private Life Insurance Company has been declared a workman like Development Officer of LIC of India. Is Development Officer of LIC of India is a workman.
• X was given sales target. No one in the company, except 20 Sales Managers in the country was able to achieve annual targets. The company was not able to achieve its sales targets.
• Each Year in annual appraisal i.e. July06 to Dec06, Jan07 to Dec07, Jan08 to Dec08, X got the highest increment in the branch and one of the best in the region and country, corresponding to his sales and overall performance. However none of the Sales Manager or even the bosses including Branch Manager was able to achieve their annual target. From Jan08 to Oct08 sales target achievement of X was low, and so was for every one.
After 3.3 years of the service can the company terminate services on the basis of low performance? Can X win such a case if company declares in court that I was terminated on the basis of low performance?
• During Jan09 to Dec09 the company put many employees including X in Hr process termed as " Verbal Challenge" and gave extraordinary high sales target, which were not achieved by all who were put under this process. Then they including X were then put under another program termed "Capability Process" and were given even higher targets, which no one could achieve. Many of them were forced to resign. However no one was terminated in this program. This program was discontinued in July09 by the company, and another program was initiated termed as "post selection process". Many Sales Manager/ Asst. Sales Manager were included in this, and some of them were coerced to resign, and some were terminated. Name of X was not included in this program. Then this program was also discontinued and another program termed as "Performance Enhanced Program" was initiated, and name of X was included in this program, to start in Oct09, during which some training was also to be given. Before this the sales performance of X started improving. In the first week of Oct09 X had already achieved almost 1/4th target set for month of Oct09, and would have achieved the target of Oct09 and for the year Jan09 to Dec09. Each year major sale was achieved between Oct09 to Dec09. X had replied to all the emails that he shall be able to achieve the sales target of Jan09 to Dec09.
• All of a sudden before X could even attend this program his services were terminated, and company verbally told X that he is terminated because he was not able to achieve his extremely high sales target set for " Verbal Challenge" and "Capability Process" which had ended in July09.
• What is the legal remedy available to X. What legal recourse shall be taken?
Raj Kumar Makkad
(Expert) 04 April 2010
In your case I am of the firm option that the sales officer of a private company is not a workman nor is a D. O. of LIC. If law of natural justice has been violated then delinquent employee can approach to civil court and can raise all defence available with him. If a target was to be achieved by him and he failed to get it achieved within the stipulated time then the consequences can be ascertained from the agreement executed between the company and the employee but nowhere it might be there to terminate the service without assigning any reason. You cannot raise any industrial dispute rather file a civil suit and if you prove your case then you shall be entitled to be reinstated in service with full back wages.
Ashok Yadav
(Expert) 05 April 2010
I do agree with Mr. Makkad. Your nature of job does not fall under the defination of workman under I.D. Act, you should initiate civil proccedings against your employer. Terms of termination depends upon your employment agreement with the employer.
Kumar Doab
(Querist) 05 April 2010
Mant thanks to experts:
Mr.Raj Kumar Makkad,
Advocate Siva Subramanian,
Ashok Kumar Yadav .
I request Advocate Siva Subramanian, to kindly send me the deatils of the case at the earliest.
With Regards
Kumar
kumardoab@gmail.com
Adv.Shine Thomas
(Expert) 09 April 2010
I agree with Mr.Rajkumar Makkad & Mr.Yadav.Sales Manager With a Pvt.LIC does not come under the definition of workman under the ID Act.
Kumar Doab
(Querist) 14 August 2010
I request Advocate Siva Subramanian to provide the judgment of the case.This shall help a lot.
Kumardoab@gmail.com
