How Do You Handle Retirement When an Employee's Age Is Uncertain Due to Lack of Records?

Please advise on how we can retire an employee who did not mention his date of birth at the time of his engagement in the company. He is illiterate and could not provide proof of his age. When asked to state his age in the bio-data form, he provided a tentative age as per his understanding. However, based on his appearance, it seems he has surpassed the retirement age.

There are standard, well-laid-out ways to deal with such cases. The Indian labor population is generally illiterate, and they do not have birth certificates that can be relied upon.

Please provide more information about the case, including data such as the date of joining, age as declared in the bio-data form, and the date on which the bio-data form was prepared, to enable us to give appropriate suggestions.

Warm regards.

Thank you very much for your response. The date of joining of the employee is January 1994, and the bio-data form was filled in January 2004. The age shown by the employee is 40 years.

Regards

The date given for statutory requirements like ESI and EPF is also to be considered. If it aligns with 40, then the statutory declaration will prevail.

With regards,
Advocates & Notaries & Legal Consultants [HR]

E-mail: [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]
Mobile: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons].

In case of a dispute, the matter can also be referred to a medical panel of government hospitals. Usually, the general surgeons decide the age based on various physical characteristics that are natural to the respective aging. In extreme cases, help from forensic experts is also sought and is held valid.

Kind regards,
Dayanand L. Guddin

Let me see if I understood your statement: Do you mean to say that on the bio-data form filled in January 2004, his age was shown as 40 years on that date (and not 40 years when he joined in January 2004)? What it implies is, as of 2010, he is only 46 years old and hence years away from retirement.

Steps to Address Age Discrepancy

What should have been done in this case was to have a Medical Examination in 2004 (when this matter came to light) and ask the Doctor to estimate the age, which is considered valid. In case of any protests/dispute, the employee should submit certain documents relating to age like a certificate from the "gram panchayat," records from primary school, any court document relating to age, etc. You can subject the employee to a Medical examination, even now, and get a medical estimate of his age, and act accordingly. However, do remember to give the employee the benefit of the lower side of the range of the estimated age.

Warm regards.

Kindly appraise me about voluntary retirement on account of health grounds. Can we tell a disabled employee who was appointed on compassionate grounds to opt for voluntary retirement, since the magnitude of work has increased and there is apprehension that the disabled employees may become prone to accidents? Is there any legal hassle in the implementation of a voluntary retirement scheme for such employees?