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varun Garg (no)     17 June 2021

Labor Commissioner and Civil Court.

Hello

posting this query on behalf of my Colleague.

she has filed a civil suit against the company for not paying her last month salary, I suggested her to also file a complaint with labour department.

can she file the complaint with labour department as well given the case is pending in civil court.

Thanks
varun


Learning

 5 Replies

Vasundhara Singh (Student)     19 June 2021

Hello!  

It is advised that if the employer is not paying salary to the employee, then the first step is to approach the labor Commissioner who will further submit the matter to the court. If the Labour commissioner is unable to handle the matter, then the employee can directly approach the labor court under Section 33C of the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947. Such application to the labor court should be made within one year from the day when the payment becomes due. The labor court has the same powers as the civil court under Civil Procedure Code, 1908.  

If the employee is at the executive level or above or as a manager, he or she can also file a suit against the company in civil court. The Act does not bar the civil court from entertaining the pleas of such even if a case is pending with the labour court.  

Regards   

Vasundhara Singh  

1 Like

Nirali Nayak   19 June 2021

Hello sir, greetings of the day.
As per your query, your colleague cannot file the same complaint in two different courts. In Maladri Reddy v. State of Karnataka, 2018, The Karnataka High Court observed that, there cannot be two complaints by the same person about the same incident in two different courts. 
But as per the problem of your colleague, she can seek action against her company for the non- payment of salary under section 447 of the Indian Companies Act 2013. To begin with, a meticulous legal notice, issued by a lawyer for and on behalf of the claimant employee, demanding payment of the due salary in a fixed timeframe should be served upon the employer organization. legal notice is sent once the employee has exhausted its options informally within the employer organization. The notice must cover all rights of the employee and all obligations of the employer as may be agreed under the contract of employment.
This Notice, in case of non-payment by the employer, will serve as a strong basis for approaching the appropriate civil court for the filing of the suit for recovery of money and for this purpose, a summary suit under Order 37 of the Code of Civil Procedure would be most appropriate.
Hope this answers your question.
Regards
Nirali Nayak
Law Student

1 Like

Ritesh Maity (Labour Law Advocate)     20 June 2021

If the employee falls within the definition of 'workman' as contemplated under Section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act, then only he can approach labour commissioner and labour court otherwise not.

If he is considered as 'workman', he may withdraw the suit filed before the Civil Court first before approaching the labour commissioner. 

If he is not a 'workman', he may pursue his case before the civil court. 

1 Like

varun Garg (no)     23 June 2021

Hello 

Can someone please also tell me the address of labor court and not ( Labor commissioner). 

Thanks 

Varun

Ritesh Maity (Labour Law Advocate)     26 June 2021

Originally posted by : varun Garg
Hello 

Can someone please also tell me the address of labor court and not ( Labor commissioner). 

Thanks 

Varun

Each city has its own labour courts in India. You need to do a "google search" using your city's name. 


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