Facing Delayed Full and Final Settlement: Should I Consider Legal Action Against My Former Employer?

Hi, my dear HR friends,

I am looking for advice from all of you.

I was working in a private Ltd Delhi-based company. Now, I left the job with proper notice to the company in a healthy atmosphere with all bosses. As per company rules, they clear Full and Final Settlement (FFS) of employees within 45 days. It's now more than 60 days, and still, I have not received my FFS. They sent me only Rs 74, which, as per my records, should be a minimum of Rs 25,000. I wrote an email to all my bosses, accounts, and HR team to check all my claims.

After that, I received my ledger account statement from the account team. They showed me that I have only 7000 claims which they can pay me. However, as per my claims records, my claims should be a minimum of Rs 18,000. I have already sent photocopies of my claims three times to the company, but they always misplaced some claims or told me they did not receive my claims. I know the company does not want to clear claims; they use employee money to do their official work. The company did not give advances to employees.

This company has a history of not paying the full amount of FFS to employees and even holding important claims.

I am very sure that they will not clear my claims. Some of my friends who left the job from the same company are facing the same problem as me, and we all want to file a legal case against the company. I need your help in understanding what steps I can take against the company.

Which law will help me in this? Will it work? How much time will it take?

Please advise me.

If you are sure that your calculation about the full and final amount due to you is correct, you can proceed with legal action against the company. Your interest will be protected if you fall under the category of a workman under the Industrial Disputes Act. An employee who is not a supervisor or manager shall be deemed a workman for this purpose. An employee who has the authority either to approve a leave of his subordinate, to initiate disciplinary action against his subordinate, or to appraise his subordinate shall be regarded as a supervisory or managerial employee.

If your claim includes Gratuity payable, the same will have to be addressed separately. An employer is expected to pay the gratuity amount within 30 days of it becoming due.

Under these circumstances, a representation before the Labour Officer will have to be made who will call the employer for conciliation. If the employer is not turning up or rejects the demands, the Labour Officer will refer the case to the Labour Court. Remember that this opportunity is available only to a workman and not to a manager who may have to file a civil suit for the recovery of the amount.

Regards,

Madhu.T.K

Hi Madhu Sir,

I need some advice. I am in the managerial category and requesting my official claims and incentives from them, which they are currently ignoring. During this time, I received another FFS of 11999, from which 8400 was deducted because I did not serve a 30-day notice to them.

The reason I only served a 7-day notice is that I was handling a project that had ended a month before my resignation. Before I submitted my resignation, I asked management if I could give a 7-day notice since I had no project to work on. They verbally confirmed without any objections. However, after I resigned, they now disagree with that decision.

Can I claim mental harassment for the delay in my FFS payment and charge interest per day as per the law? Is it advisable to do so?

Thank you.

Well, the management has made an F&F. Why should you take legal action for Rs 8400? If you go for litigation, it will take away your good time and peace of mind. Therefore, it is advisable to leave it by sending a letter to the management stating that their action was unfair, but you are accepting it since you are not interested in prolonging the matter.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K