Factory Floor Dispute: What Are the Legal Steps to Handle Worker Conflicts?

Dear All,

There was an incident inside the factory premises in our company. I need to understand the legal procedures as per labor laws. The incident is outlined below.

Two workers were quarreling and slapping each other due to work-related issues. As I am new to the manufacturing industry, please kindly inform me of the procedures to be followed.

Regards,
Vinay

Dear Vinay,

You shall have an inquiry session, and as both individuals were involved in a conflict in the office regarding an official matter, you are required to issue a warning letter upon receiving the "reason for the incident."

Thank you.

Dear Vinay,

Take action in accordance with your Certified Standing Orders/ Model S.O. as the case may be if your unit is covered under The Industrial Employment (S.O.) Act, 1946 for this misconduct. If your unit is not covered under this Act, then you have to take action in accordance with the terms & conditions of employment.

With Regards,
R.N.Khola

With the assumption that your factory is covered under The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, I assume that you follow the model standing orders. In that case, you should issue a show-cause notice to both of them for their misconduct. After receiving an explanation from them, if they admit their misconduct, you can take a lenient view and let them go with a warning letter. If they do not admit or accuse each other, you should issue a charge sheet, conduct a domestic inquiry, and follow the proper procedure. If you have more queries, feel free to ask.

K R Ambalia Sr. Officer (HR & ADM) Mother Dairy, Gandhinagar

Dear Mr. Vinay,

You have to obtain a written complaint from the supervisor or HOD. Based on that, you need to issue a charge sheet, asking for their explanation within the next three working days. You have to specifically mention under which clause the act is indiscipline/misconduct (if you have certified standing orders, okay, otherwise follow the model standing orders and issue the charge sheet). Upon receiving the explanation, then based on their response (if they accept their mistake and ask for pardon, discuss with your superiors and issue a serious warning letter, and if they do not feel guilty of the incident, proceed with a domestic enquiry). For the domestic enquiry, you need to appoint an enquiry officer, and the same needs to be communicated to the delinquent employees. The enquiry officer will communicate the date, time, and venue to the workmen, conduct the enquiry, submit the report, and based on the report, issue a show-cause notice and award punishment.

Regards - Kameswarao

1. Suspend the two workmen immediately.
2. Obtain written reports from those who witnessed the incident.
3. Charge sheet the two workmen involved.
4. Institute a Domestic Enquiry against them.
5. Take action after findings of the EO are obtained.
Refer to your Standing Orders if your company has one.

Best Wishes, Vasant Nair 09717726667

Fighting, slapping each other, or physically assaulting a co-worker are acts of serious misconduct that require proper disciplinary action.

What you have suggested is not a very correct appreciation of the misconduct committed.

Vasant Nair

Good advice. However, I feel that in view of the seriousness of the charges, the concerned workmen should be immediately suspended pending further action as suggested by you.

Best Wishes, Vasant Nair

Dear Mr. Vinay,

Please take disciplinary action as per the standing orders of the company. The slapping incident should be considered as "assault" and viewed seriously. Kindly obtain a written complaint from the concerned supervisors, conduct a preliminary investigation, and take appropriate action as per the provisions. Any lenient handling of the situation may give employees the impression that they can take direct and unacceptable actions, leading to a potential loss of control. The approach should be fair but without adopting a paternalistic attitude. Work-related issues or any concerns should be escalated to higher management rather than issuing direct orders. Such behavior needs to be addressed promptly upon the first reported instance.

Regards,
BR Mohan
Bangalore

First, you suspend them pending an inquiry. The rules for the domestic inquiry follow the principle of natural justice. The thumb rule is:

1. Issue a show-cause notice and give them a reasonable time to reply. (This can be done simultaneously with suspension.)
2. Arrange for an advocate to conduct the inquiry. This should be conducted on the office premises during office hours.
3. Pay them a subsistence allowance.
4. The inquiry officer must record the evidence and provide the charged employees with a reasonable opportunity to represent their case.
5. No advocate is allowed to represent either side.
6. The inquiry officer should not give any verdict or findings. They have to submit the report for the management to decide the quantum of punishment.

M S Viswanathan
Senior Manager Legal & Administration
Scientific Publishing Services (p) Ltd
Chennai.

Dear Friend,

It is not very critical; such incidents sometimes occur in manufacturing companies where unskilled, semi-skilled, or skilled individuals are employed. However, it now depends on you how capable you are in managing or minimizing the dispute. You should not take any legal action initially (if it's the first time), but you may penalize them under certain circumstances.

Regards,
Satyendra
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First, you can conduct a preliminary inquiry and try to find out the facts.

Get the written complaint from the Incharge of the particular department, and if possible, get a signature from a witness as well. The complaint should be very clear and detail the incident.

Discuss with your higher authority whether the management is ready to take disciplinary action against such workers.

If management gives a green signal, you can proceed by giving an order of suspension pending inquiry if the acts were very serious. (Ensure that you have to pay subsistence allowance for the suspending period as per the law).

If the incident is not so serious, you can serve them a show-cause notice clearly mentioning their violation and finally ask them to submit their reply within three days from the date of receiving the show-cause notice.

If you are satisfied with the reply, you can proceed with minor punishments like suspending them for a few days, imposing fines as per the Payment of Wages Act, serving a warning notice, etc., after conducting a Domestic Enquiry. (Follow the principles of natural justice). It is better to have a lawyer conduct the inquiry.

By taking all these actions, you can show your labor force that you are strict in taking actions to maintain the peaceful running of the industry and that culprits will be punished at any cost.

Absolutely right. Only if you don't mind, it is a Charge Sheet that needs to be issued to the workmen along with their suspension order or even later. Rest of the actions as per your advice is the correct way of addressing the issue at hand.

Best Wishes, Vasant Nair

If physical assault is "not so serious" and it is natural for such things to happen in manufacturing units, then what is serious? I find such comments very disturbing. It reflects very poorly on the understanding of the whole matter.

Vasant Nair

Dear Vinay,

First, we go for an inquiry into the peers of the two workmen regarding the issue. Second, we provide counseling to the two employees. If they belong to the same department, it is better to change the departments of both persons at different levels.