Fraud company

It shall be appropriate to show your offer letter to a competent and experienced labor consultant/service lawyer. If possible you may attach these in this thread. You may erase the names etc to maintain the confidentiality.

Your current employer has to issue you salary slip, FNF statement, termination letter stating reason as that company is closed down as………Form 16, work experience/service certificate, relieving letter, PF number, PF accumulation report etc

If you are in IT industry your state might have exempted the industry from the provisions of standing orders. However Karnataka has ended this blanket exemption. You may check it from Dept. of Labor for your state.

SE Act is applicable to IT Industry.

Employees can approach Inspector/Chief Inspector under SE Act. The addresses and contact details may be available on Labor website of the state.

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.

SE Act West Bengal {you may obtain the full/latest version from Dept. of Labor or Market}:

Definitions-I

Employer means a person owning or having charge of a establishment and includes an agent or a manager

Payment and recovery of wages:

• In case non-payment within the stipulated time and unauthorised deductions, such a person can make an application to the appropriate authority within six months
• In case of non-compliance of direction, the relevant amount may be recovered by a magistrate so designated

Notice of termination of service:

Employees are eligible for notice pay and may succeed in retrenchment compensation.

Registration

• In case of winding up, shopkeeper and employer shall within fifteen days inform the registering authority in prescribed form

Keeping records

• Every shopkeeper and employer maintain and keep register of employees in prescribed manner
• Every shopkeeper and employer shall furnish every person employed with a letter of appointment in such form as may be prescribed

Records/Registers to be produced

Visit Book

It is felt that state Govt. of West Bengal has not exempted the BPO from opening business and closing it at its whims and fancies. Laws are applicable.You may look at attachments.

You may claim your wages under Payment of Wages Act, also. Designation alone does not decide employee is a workman or not. Your lawyer may opine that you can agitate under ID Act if the need be. 

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

Apparently this company has violated the norms for PF, ESIC etc also. Hence employees can report to authorities of PF, ESIC also.

All employees may join hands and lodge a complaint with Commissioner of Police, DGP and demand action. Follow up by RTI. Your lawyer would advice how to draft your comaplint.

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.

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.

You have posted that:

--“ they are bluntly refusing by telling- "Do whatever you want to do."

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

--“ The ED, CEO, asst to the MD and his legal advisor are playing blame games.”

Let them and thier legal advisor state verbally whatever it wants. The legal advisor is not a governor who shall enact a new rule and law for its clients.Designation alone does not decide the employee is a workman or not. YOur lawyer shall help you to decide the appropriate forum.

All employees may submit carefully structured and  final representation to the good offices of ED, CEO, owner of the company and narrate all representation ns made so far giving date wise detail of all representations made by you in person, in office, by email, letter etc and highlight the ones made to good offices and line management, HR, and minutes of discussion} and conclude that due to huge and heavy delay in paying you your wages you have faced acute financial hardships and you are not able to manage your kitchen expenses, education of your children, and you have borrowed from all near and ear ones and now can’t borrow any more, and the good offices on its own should ensure the due payments { by bank DD only} and documents are supplied to the employee{s} by redg. post in next 7 days time, failing which you shall be constrained to approach the institutions available to you in a lawful manner at their cost and consequences.

Mr. Kumar Doab,

Thank you so much for your valuable suggestions. We would like to follow the same. Please find attached the e-copy of a sample offer letter of the company.

You have posted that:

--“You will be eligible to receive an Appointment Letter upon your completion of 3 (Three) months from the date of joining.”

Appointment Order should be provided upon joining. You may relate with SE Act.

The Inspector can call for records and company is under obligation to maintain copy of the appointment order.

--“ Your consolidated salary per month would be Rs 14000/- (Fourteen Thousand only) inclusive of all other allowances.”

You can agitate under Payment of Wages of Act as your wages { forget allowances} are far below Rs.16000/pm.

--“You will be eligible for your first salary only after you have completed 30 calendar days. In case you are terminated or you decide to resign within the first 30 days then you are not eligible for any pay”

It is felt that even a trainee should not be made to work without payment of wages and wages should be paid in time.

Company may try to explain that as 30 days notice period is applicable hence such a statement is mention in offer letter. However you may relate the notice period with SE Act. It is felt that as in case of Delhi SE Act, Bengal SE Act may also have a clause that if period of service is more than 3 months notice period of 1 month may have to be given.

--“Furthermore if you resign within your probation period or after completing your probation period you will have to serve a notice for 30 days.”

 It is felt that 30 days notice period in probation period may not be approved under SE Act.

Labor website of West Bengal:

https://www.banglarmukh.com/portal/WBLabour/LabourDirHome/WBLCMSPortletLabourWindow;jsessionid=E78C7FECFA59152D88A72B570C2ED4FB.node1?alf_f_name=body_content.txt&dtname=LabourDir&action=e&windowstate=normal&alf_path=WebContent%2FDirectorates%2FLabourDir&mode=view

SE Inspectorate:

https://www.banglarmukh.com/portal/WBLabour/ShopsAndEstablishmentsHome/WBLCMSPortletLabourWindow?alf_f_name=body_content.txt&dtname=ShopsAndEstablishments&action=e&windowstate=normal&alf_path=WebContent%2FDirectorates%2FShopsAndEstablishments&mode=view

Department /Directorate/Organisation Name
Government of West Bengal
Office of the Chief Inspector
Shops & Establishments Directorate
(Under Labour Department),
6, Church Lane, 3rd Floor, Kolkata - 700 001
Phone: 22488622/21, 22484675

Information on key officials and Kolkota Office is given at the links:

Kolkata Offices

Your state has many active trade unions like FMRAI.

The unions may also be approached. They have a way to move such unscrupulous employers and can guide you on process you should adopt.

Lodge complaints in writing under proper acknowledgment only and peruse RTI route to make the office and officials move. All of you may join hand s and approach a competent and experienced labor consultant/service lawyer. This shall lower your expense also.

Thank you so much for making things easier for us. We are following your suggestions, will let you know the developments. Thanks once again.