----------Eligibility of Teachers for Payment of Gratuity:
Gratuity is payable in addition to pension or contributory provident fund, if any. The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 was made applicable to local bodies with effect from 8.1.1982. Therefore, the schools under the control of local bodies were covered under the Act with effect from 8.1.1982 itself. However, the employees of other educational institutions were facing denial of gratuity as they were not covered under the Act. The employees of the Government schools are already entitled to gratuity under the extant rules of the Government governing gratuity and pension but the employees of the private schools were having no legal entitlement to gratuity. As gratuity is an old age retiral social security benefit, it was considered desirable to extend the benefit of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 to all employees employed in all educational institutions having ten or more persons. Accordingly, the Central Government extended the provisions of Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 to the educational institutions employing 10 or more persons vide the Ministry of Labour and Employment Notification No. S.O. 1080 dated 3 April 1997. The Notification came into force w.e.f 19.4.1997, date when it was published in the Gazette of India.
The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2009 as passed by both the Houses of Parliament has amended the definition of ‘employee’ contained in the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 for covering teachers in private institutions.
The Government has made the amendment with retrospective effect from April 3, 1997.
Amended Definition
Section 2(e) : “employee” means any persons (other than an apprentice) who is employed for wages, whether the terms of such employment are express or implied, in any kind of work, manual or otherwise, in or in connection with the work of a factory, mine, oilfield, plantation, port, railway company, shop or other establishment to which this Act applies, but does not include any such person who holds a post under the Central Government or a State Government and is governed by any other Act or by any rules providing for payment of gratuity’.
---------Age of Superannuation:
Section: 2
Definitions.
(h) "family", in relation to an employee, shall be deemed to consist of -
(q) "retirement" means termination of the service of an employee otherwise than on superannuation;
[8] [(r) "superannuation", in relation to an employee, means the attainment by the employee of such age as is fixed in the contract or conditions of service at the age on the attainment of which the employee shall vacate the employment;]
---------Payment to Nominee
Section: 4
Payment of gratuity.
(1) Gratuity shall be payable to an employee on the termination of his employment after he has rendered continuous service for not less than five years, -
(a) on his superannuation, or
(b) on his retirement or resignation, or
(c) on his death or disablement due to accident or disease:
Provided further that in the case of death of the employee, gratuity payable to him shall be paid to his nominee or, if no nomination has been made, to his heirs, and where any such nominees or heirs is a minor, the share of such minor, shall be deposited with the controlling authority who shall invest the same for the benefit of such minor in such bank or other financial institution, as may be prescribed, until such minor attains majority.]
Section: 6
Nomination.
(4) If at the time of making a nomination the employee has no family, the nomination may be made in favour of any person or persons but if the employee subsequently acquires a family, such nomination shall forthwith become invalid and the employee shall make, within such time as may be prescribed, afresh nomination in favour of one or more members of his family.
Section: 7
Determination of the amount of gratuity.
(1) A person who is eligible for payment of gratuity under this Act or any person authorised, in writing, to act on his behalf shall send a written application to the employer, within such time and in such form, as may be prescribed, for payment of such gratuity.
(2) As soon as gratuity becomes payable, the employer shall, whether an application referred to in sub-section (1) has been made or not, determine the amount of gratuity and give notice in writing to the person to whom the gratuity is payable and also to the controlling authority specifying the amount gratuity so determined.
(3) The employer shall arrange to pay the amount of gratuity within thirty days from the date it becomes payable to the person to whom the gratuity is payable.
(4)
(e)
(ii) where the applicant is not the employee, to the nominee or, as the case may be, the guardian of such nominee or] heir of the employee if the controlling authority is satisfied that there is no dispute as to the right of the applicant to receive the amount of gratuity.
Approach Controlling Authority of Gratuity as ap.