Labour court don't have jurisdiction to award compensation?

Hello,

I am fighiting a case in labour court against employer who had illegally terminated me without giving an experience certificate. Since i didn't get experience certificate, i was unable to get a new job and it has been more than a year, I am still unemployed. In my statement of claims to court, I added compensation for harassment, mental agony and loss of career as my multiple attempts to get expereince certificate was denied by employer and this action of employer has caused irreparable loss to my career. 

But my lawyer is saying that labour court don't have jurisdication to award compensation. Labour Judge can only give your job back with full salary backwages.

1) Is it true that labour court can't give compensation for harassment and loss of career?

2) If i challenge the labour court judgement in high court, will i get compensation there? Will high court have jurisidiction to award compensation in this case? How long will high court take to give the judgement?

Please reply

Regards,

Sachin

Dear mr. Sachin, At the outset let me make it clear that I am not a lawyer, I am only expressing my veiw. 1. Nowadays relieving/experience certificate has been made a precedence by employers and refusal to issue it is a clear vindication to render the employee unemployable and thus is violative of your fundamental rights enshrined under article 21 of the constitution. For remedy you can directly approarch Supreme Court. 2. Compensation for sufferings can be awarded under 'trot'. Approach district court of your area. 3. For wrongful termination approach Dy. Labour Commissioner of your area and if he find merit in your case he will send your case to labour court for adjudication, where from, after several years, you might get reinstatement with full back wages or certain persentage of back wages or a merge lumpsum amount as compensation for wrongful termination. It all depends on the sincirety and ability of your lawyer and what documents you have. However, if your lawyer is unscruplous (as are many in delhi) he will join hands with management and spoil your case, so be alert. 9999eight 9zero523.

Thanks

Thanks anupam for your valuable suggestions. I would like more clarity on first point because in my case, it is more serious in nature. Employer did not only give me my experience certificate but also my post-graduation degree under government recognized skill development programme that was executed in collaboration with the employer. I worked for 4 years and was supposed to get my post graduation degree from employer in 2 months. But the employer took the illegal decisions of terminating me just before I was supposed to get my degree. To file petition in supreme Court, do I need to come in delhi? Can I not file petition in high court of my state?

You can file suit in H.C. of (i) the state where you were employed (ii) where the H.O. of your employer is situated. Was your termination by a speaking order? What was the cause of termination? Have you been paid your Full & Final payment? Are you covered as workman under I.D. Act? If you were on some managerial position you will not get any remedy from labour court. You have to approach civil court in that case. You can call me on my mobile for further discussion. My no. is at the end of my previous post.

Since you were persuing post grduation, it implies, you are young. If you intent to claim compensation, claim it stating that termination being punitive and stigmatic in nature,all your future prospects have been lost. If unmarried state your prospects of getting a suitable marrige partner have been ruiend. Even your generations to come will have to suffer due to illegal act of the employer etc. Claim upto your date of superannuation. Your claim will then run into crores. The higher the claim, higher are chances of mutual settlement.

Yes, the Labour Court is not vested with power  to award compensation for pain, harrassment and mental agony. In case of termination, the Labour court can grant reinstatement along with back wages and other fringe benifits or compensation in liue of reinstatement. However, in case, the termination is found illegal, the workman can file civil suit claiming compensation for his pain, harrassment and mental agony sufferred on account of his illegal termination. Until termination is held to illegal by the competant court, such civil suit would be premature .  The workman can directly file civil suit, if he is not claiming reinstatement for his pain, harrassment and mental agony.