Navigating a 90-Day Suspension: What Should Mr. X Do Without a Charge Sheet?

Dear all, please give your expert reply on the issue.

Mr. X is working in an MNC, suspended for more than 90 days, and has received no charge sheet, memo, or show cause notice. The type of suspension is administrative/preventive, clearly mentioned in the suspension letter. Please help me to know:
- Is the suspension vitiated?
- Does the suspension order expire naturally if no charge sheet is given even after 100 days?
- What if the company's HR issues a charge sheet after 100 days?
- Should Mr. X reply to the charge sheet or not, in case it is given after 100 days?

Please help Mr. X.

If we follow the principles of natural justice, an employee suspended from service pending an inquiry is expected to be served a charge sheet within a reasonable time. However, at the same time, an employee who had committed a mistake or misconduct a year before may still be charged even long after such misconduct. In your case, the employee has been placed under suspension. If so, he is entitled to get a subsistence allowance at the rate of 50% of the salary for the first 90 days of suspension. Though there are separate state Acts and the Industrial Establishments (Standing Orders) Act that govern the payment of Subsistence Allowances, many state Acts provide for 75% of the salary for the period of suspension that is extended beyond 90 days and payment of the full salary for any day of suspension beyond 180 days.

Therefore, strictly speaking, the issuance of a charge sheet and the conduct of an inquiry are the headache of the management and not the employee. Certainly, if the suspended employee is not paid any subsistence wages, then it becomes yet another industrial dispute that will act against the employer.

Regards,

Madhu.T.K