Forged salary reciept vouchers

If salary vouchers are forged then you have to complain and you have to cite which salary vouchers are forged.

You have posted:

-"The 'Cash' payment was cited as  to help us , the employees, to lessen our tax burden."

Employer has to deduct tax at source for the salary paid to you, and has to pay the salary as per your salary expressed in terms of appointment. How can salary paid in cash lower the tax burden?

-"It was a prolonged and stressful process, as the person didn't maintain the ledger for each employee."

As per Payment of wages Act

5. Time of payment of wages.- (1) The wages of every person

employed upon or in--

(a) any railway, factory or 1*[industrial or other

establishment] upon or in which less than one thousand

persons are employed, shall be paid before the expiry

of the seventh day,

(b) any other railway, factory or 1*[industrial or other

establishment], shall be paid before the expiry of the

tenth day

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.

(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.]

14.

Inspectors.

3*[(4) An Inspector may,--

(c) supervise the payment of wages to persons employed

upon any railway or in any factory or

2*[industrial or other establishment];

(d) require by a written order the production at such

place, as may be prescribed, of any register or

record maintained in pursuance of this Act and

take on the spot or otherwise statements of any

persons which he may consider necessary for

carrying out the purposes of this Act;

(e) seize or take copies of such registers or documents

or portions thereof as he may consider relevant in

respect of an offence under this Act which he has

reason to believe has been committed by an

employer;

14A.

Facilities to be afforded to Inspectors.

2*[14A. Facilities to be afforded to Inspectors.- Every employer

shall afford an Inspector all reasonable facilities for making any

entry, inspection, supervision, examination or inquiry under this

Act.]

15. or delay in payment

of the wages,

You may first lodge a gentle representation with appointing authority, MD, Head-HR and then if you are provided with salary vouchers you can mention which salary voucher is not signed by you.

Hi

As per the advice I will make a gentle representation to the MD regarding my doubts about the forged vouchers.

A few more details regarding my employer and appointment letter are as follows:-

The company is an electronics device manufacturer and IT solutions provider . The number of employees being about 100.

As per my appointment letter I am eligible for a fixed pay and a variable pay per annum. The variable pay is subject to my performance as well as companies business performance, to be paid as per the discretion of the company at the year end. No need to guess, I haven't received any variable pay.

Now, at this stage of reconciliation of salary, the accountant discloses  something strange happened  during the financial year 2009. The company revised the fixed pay to a lower amount and clubbed the reduced amount to the variable pay. I recall that  there was no formal letter or information regarding this during 2009. All I remember was a long narrow slip with lots of numerical figures, given to all employees including myself.
Also he says that fixed pay was increased in 2010 to compensate for the  reduction in 2009.

Regarding the 'Cash' payment of salary and tax deductions, as per my limited knowledge, I think a lesser payment transferred to my account from the company salary account would reduce my taxable income, while company is giving me a higher amount. In that case, I wonder what my salary is per the company records. Could it be that my salary is the half of that shown in my appointment order? Could it be that the company is spared of deduction of taxes at source? What document should I ask from the company, which provides me with the amount of tax paid on my behalf?

It seems unlikely that the company is deducting and paying the tax, just as it is not deducting any standard deductions like PF and ESI. Also, no Pay slip has been ever given, either in paper or electronic form.

My calculation of pending recievables is simple as totalling the fixed pay for all the months in the past 3 and half years and reducing all the reciepts, be it bank or cash. Unfortunately, as per the accountant, the company has some arcane formulii playing  for calculatiing the my payables, considering  the variable pay factor.

I am awaiting the company's decision, before which I need to tackle the forged voucher issue.`

Did you ever agree in writing for reduction in your salary/wages?

The salary as expressed in appointment order/increment letter is the salary to be paid in full, and disbursed after statutory deductions. All other cash incentives etc are to be paid under pay and be subjected to tax treatment by employer. Tax is to be deducted at source and deposited by employer and form 16 is to be issued and supplied by employer to employee.

If employee does not understand any numerical values, employee can ask verbally/in writing and employer is under obligation to explain to the full satisfaction of the employee.

Employee can demand pay slip/salary certificate. Employer has to adhere to the applicable rules for PF/ESI.

Company and good offices of the company are under obligation to supply you the details of salary-fixes wages and variable pay disbursed to you. This becomes unavoidable as no pay slip-salary slip is issued by company in any form. Variable pay is to be disbursed as per the form and formulae expressed in appointment order/increment letter etc.

The lawyers practicing at your location/state shall be well versed with laws applicable to your state and your type of industry and can help you. You can also contact LCI lawyers and their profile is given in “related lawyer” at the bottom of this web page.

I have never agreed to reduction of salary in writing.

Most of my friends in the industry tell me that it would be detrimental and a waste of time for me, if I am ever to go for a confrontation in the form a litigation. Their view is that I would be hard pressed to pursue this issue personally, since I would definitely have to go for a new employment or be engaged in setting up a business of my own. While the company being a big entity would surely be able to delegate the job of dealing with the case and prolong the case very much. Eventually, as per their opinion, I would be fed up pursuing a litigation and better for me is to go for an appeasment approach with the company. Appeasement in the sense that it amounts to begging.

As per the attitude of the company in the later months of my employment, I am sure they won't just easily give me what I want, I mean the pending emoluments. One of the approaches is to just prolong by ignoring the requests. On the other hand my resignation has been accepted with a one month's notice which is fast approaching. I believe I should not accept the relieving order until my issues are settled. Anything else that I need to be aware about?

While the FNF statement is supplied to you, you may lodge your protest and should not accept it. You may collect the payment under protest in writing under acknowledgment.

Relieving letter is issued post all settlements by employee. You may handover the charge, company property etc under acknowledgment and retain the copies and complete the formalities due at your end.

Thereafter you can adopt any style that is suitable to you or approach the lawful authority e.g. o/o Labor Commissioner/wages inspector, courts of law etc.

While in employment you may submit a gentle representation in writing under acknowledgment, seeking details, illustration, explanation on all points you want.

It is a wrong contention that companies are not wary of litigation or law suits. Companies are. In the lifetime of promoters one properly informed, determined employee is enough.

Promoters adopt strategies to deter the employees from approaching lawful authorities and due to lack of knowledge, will at the end of employee in unorganized/non unionized sector like IT, they succeed.

Employers can not prolong a case as per its wishes.

Like company you can also legate your matter to your lawyer and focus your daily attention to your line of business. Do keep in touch with your lawyer and discuss the case regularly. If the facts are on your side, you shall have an upper hand.

Please prepare a detailed statement of account from the beginning and the difference/shortage. Confide with your boss and insist that the accountant should make good of the money he has not paid, by faking the vouchers. If this does not work, you have the option of filing a police complaint agains the accountant. As per the Payment of Wages Act, if the payment is made in cash,  the onus of proof of payment to the employee is on the employer.

vasudevan

Hi

I have prepared the statement after sitting with the accountant. As I said, there are 8 entries from his side which don't figure in my list, which he has the vouchers with my signature. One of the signatures being very different from mine, another looks like being over written. But other six are as good as mine.

On the other hand, i have a four  entries which are not there in his, I mean he has no vouchers for them ,and also he isn't aware of that payment. A big strange  mess! Throughout the boss, who is also the  Managing Director  of the company, has been assuring us the employees that he knows each and everything being done by the accountant, so nothing to worry about  our pending salary. My own immediate boss has been totally complacent, though I have been telling about this issue for the past one year.

Tommorrow I am to meet the MD in person. Don't know why I am so apprehensive about it.

Learned Mr. Vasudevan has given valuable advice. Kindly follow it.

For the record which is with you and not with company (accountant) apply your conscience.

For the vouchers which are with accountant but not in your knowledge & record (and this should be perfect), and thus for the wages which are not paid to you, even if the signatures are like your signatures, stake your claim.

If the employer is willing to make good for your loss i.e. applies correct formulae substantiated with records and documents and pays you rationally for fixed pay, variable pay and resolves all matter to the satisfaction of both the parties, relieves you by issuing form 16, work experience/service certificate, relieving letter preferably with good comments than no comment ( adverse comment to be challenged) acceptance of resignation, FNF statement, NOC/NDC, certificate of handing over the charge and completing all assignments, acknowledgment of submission of company property, etc you should also be reasonable and separate on good note.

As an employee you should not lower your guard. Therefore even if you are sitting with MD, you must find your way to submit your contentions in writing in a gentle manner. Employer shall always innovate ways and means to not to let the employee transact in writing.

Even if employer pays you in cash, you are also accountable and responsible to file correct return including interest earned (at least from bank saving accounts in which you deposited your salary).

If you operate systematically you shall get better response be it company, bank, etc.............

If the establishment is covered under the PF act and the employer has not covered the employees you can always raise a dispute.

Hi I had a prolonged discussion with my MD regarding the vouchers. Unfortunately the management isn't buying into my claims. They took out all the vouchers of mine and tell me that all my signatures are very different from each other. Hence it is impossible to verify the signatures by having good look into those. Moreover, they seem to be  taking it bit emotionally about raising a doubt about their trusted accountant.

For years since I remember, I don't put a signature  in a deliberate fashion. It is an automatic almost unconcious task. Thus the relative pattern of each sign ought to be same, despite it looks different in each document. Something like a amplified wave with different amplitudes, but the wave pattern being the same so to reproduce the same music, albeit at a different volume.

Is there an authentic agency that would verify the signatures for me? Do I need to move legally for such a procedure? Are there agencies that do this for me and don't cost a fortune? In fact, I am quite weary about going through the hassles of a litigation procedure. For all practical purposes I am a lone wolf, and have to attend to each and every task on my  own.