Unfair Termination Without Notice: Seeking Advice on Next Steps and Gratuity Eligibility

Dear All,

As I have been working in our company for the past 5 years, I have diligently worked since my joining date. I want to inform you that on behalf of the head office, I have frequently traveled to and worked at various locations. I have even stayed at these locations for company work, worked on Sundays, government holidays, and sometimes even beyond 8 hours, including late nights.

Do you know, sir, that I was on duty on April 1, 2009? The previous day, I worked late into the night to complete my monthly and FY reports. The very next day, without prior notice, someone was sent to replace me while I was on duty, and unexpectedly, I received an email of termination.

The email stated, "Based on the complaints received from our Branch office and the noted reasons specified by our employees, management has decided to terminate your services with immediate effect. Therefore, today, i.e., April 1, 2009, will be your last day."

I have sent several emails requesting a reply regarding my termination, but there has been no response to any of them. Now, I find myself unemployed, and my family depends solely on my salary.

My questions are as follows:
- They did not provide any show cause notice or charge sheet before terminating me.
- Despite working more than 8 hours, on Sundays, government holidays, and late nights without extra wages, I was terminated without any notice period.
- Am I eligible for gratuity since I worked for 5 years and 1 month?

Is this correct? Please provide me with detailed advice on what to do next.

Thank you.

It's a sad scenario. They should have given you notice. Does your appointment letter say that both parties have to give one month's notice? Probably then you can take some action. This letter looks like they have terminated you because of some misconduct. So if they prove in court that you have misused your work or your work performance was inadequate, the decision may go in their favor. I would suggest you go and speak to the concerned person and ask them the reason for termination. Maybe there has been some miscommunication. You are eligible for gratuity. If nothing works out, go and meet a good lawyer. All the best.

Regards,
Asha

Dear all,

You have a strong case and can proceed with all the documents related to your appointment, confirmation, appreciation (if any), and a copy of the termination letter. An employee should be given an opportunity to face a domestic inquiry before termination.

As I have been working in our company for the past 5 years, I have consistently worked hard and sincerely since my joining date. I want to inform you that, on behalf of the head office, I have traveled to and worked at numerous locations multiple times. I have even stayed at these locations for company work, including working on Sundays, public holidays, and at times, for more than 8 hours, and occasionally late into the night.

Do you know that on April 1, 2009, I was on duty? The previous day, I worked late into the night to complete the monthly and FY reports. The very next day, without any prior notice, someone was sent to replace me while I was on duty, and I received an unexpected termination email stating:

"Based on the complaints received from our branch office and the reasons noted by our employees, management has decided to terminate your services with immediate effect. Hence, today, i.e., 1-4-2009, will be your last day."

I have sent multiple emails requesting a response to my termination, but none have been acknowledged. I am now unemployed, and my family depends solely on my salary.

My questions are:

- They did not provide any show cause notice or charge sheet before terminating.
- Despite working more than 8 hours, on Sundays, public holidays, and late nights without any additional compensation, they terminated me without a notice period.
- Am I eligible for gratuity since I worked for 5 years and 1 month?

Is this correct? Please provide detailed suggestions on what steps to take next.

Regards,

Nagaraz, we understand that it's very sad :(, but you have to rise up to this and challenge them in labor court. :-x

As pointed out above, please keep all the documents or letters you have received from the company in your employee file handy. Even if there is no notice period clause in your appointment letter, still a company cannot terminate the services with immediate effect unless there is some grave misconduct on the part of the employee. There has to be a disciplinary procedure set up that generally leads to termination on the 3rd warning in most companies. Also, with the law of the right to information in place, the company has to give you reasons for termination.

As far as gratuity is concerned, yes, you are eligible for it.

Please do not hesitate to talk to the top boss of the company and show him your intentions of going to labor court; this itself will sort most of the problems as employers do not prefer such hassles, especially if they are wrong on their part.

It's very sad to hear about termination without any reason. My advice is to speak/write to the company's top official and get to know the reasons. Without any valid reason and before asking for any explanation from the employee, no company has the right to terminate an employee unless otherwise mentioned in your employment letter. If you are a 'confirmed' employee working for more than 6 months, you can even take legal action by sending them a notice.

Stand up firmly for your own cause if you are correct in your past actions.

Saurabh
Manager - HR