Facing a Salary Dispute with an Employee Over Christmas Holidays – How Can I Resolve This Peacefully?

I am managing HR in a school in Hyderabad. I had asked the employee to forgo her salary for the Christmas vacations in 2008 for 10 days as a punishment for her sick leaves (leaves treated as LOPs already). Now the employee is threatening to go to the Assistant Labour Commissioner if the payment of salary is not disbursed immediately. I had also issued a letter to the employee in 2008 and taken her signature, which states, "Attend school in Christmas holidays or forgo salary." The school remained closed during Christmas holidays for all the teachers; these are paid holidays.

Please advise on how to resolve this. The management has taken this issue on egoistic grounds, and I wish to avoid any dispute. Thank you. Please consider this urgent.

If the school was closed for Christmas holidays and when all other teachers had paid holiday, why was this particular employee (teacher) denied the holidays?

I do not understand how sick leave (also without pay) can be compensated by working on holidays when there is no work available for him. On the other hand, if you instruct a clerk, machinist, or welder to finish all pending work by working on holidays, there is some genuineness in that they can finish all work at their convenience. This is not possible if you had earlier treated the sick leaves as Loss of Pay (LOP).

Now, in your case, it is a teacher who is supposed to work on holidays. Will she teach to desks and benches? If she makes a complaint that she was asked to come to school during vacations with some other motive, to be very precise, she was sexually harassed, where will your management's ego stand?

Now, do some homework on the matter. I presume that your educational institution is not owned or aided by the government. If so, you must have registration under the AP Shops and Commercial Establishments Act. If yes, she will get 12 sick leaves with pay and other leaves as mentioned in the Act. If you have not taken registration, then she is in a better position to expose it before the District Labour Authorities. Therefore, make your own assessment, advise the Management of it, and solve the problem. Find out why she has raised this matter after a long gap of nearly 10 months.

Regards,

Madhu.T.K

Hi Uday,

Thanks a million. It has happened with my wife in a so-called 'reputed' public school in Kondapur, Hyderabad. Thanks for the input. I had wanted an objective view on the matter. That's why I had put the question to the forum that way. I have already written a letter to the school authorities, a detailed one with all the harassment issues.

Thanks again

Dear Roopchand,

CiteHR is a website where you can share your experiences, whether good or bad, with others. You can be very straightforward, and there is no need to misrepresent yourself as anyone else. In your initial post, you mentioned being the HR Manager who requested an employee to work during vacations, and now you have admitted that it was actually your own case study! Please be more realistic and bold in your approach.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K