Am I Entitled to Pro-Rata LTA and Medical Allowance After 6 Months? Seeking Advice

Hi everyone, my employers say that I am not eligible for LTA and Medical allowance if I leave the company before 1 year. When I leave the company, I will have completed 6 months and 10 days. Should I not be eligible for LTA and Medical on a pro-rata basis? My offer letter stated LTA and Medical allowance as a part of my CTC. What are the sections which I should cite to my employer to confirm that I am entitled to LTA/Medical, and where can I appeal if they don't agree?

Please reply.

Thanks and Regards,
Sharad

Hello Sharad,
The eligibility criteria for taking LTA is after confirmation, i.e., 6 months after joining. The employer says LTA is payable after 1 year as for LTA you have to take Earned Leave/Privileged Leave, which gets applicable or credited after completion of 1 year.

But since you are leaving within 1 year and LTA is shown as a part of your CTC, you are eligible to get the LTA amount on a pro-rata basis in your Full and Final payment.

Regarding Medical, if your medical expenses are being reimbursed upon submission of bills quarterly, etc., you can claim Medical for your fulfilled service period; it doesn't matter if it is 1 month, 2 months, or 20 days. You will also receive this in full and final. Even if you don't produce medical bills, it will be treated as taxable, but it will be paid.

However, I would advise you to check your appointment letter terms with respect to the above. If those are different and you have signed that, I am afraid you will have to accept your employer's decision.

Regards,
Vaishalee

My offer letter says it's a part of the CTC. However, my appointment letter states that you will be paid out LTA and medical based on company rules. There was no mention of what specific company rule applies. Now, they are saying that there is a company rule requiring a minimum of 1-year completion for LTA/Medical. Can they do that?

You can discuss with your employer based on my above-suggested points and see what happens. Ask your colleagues about the past employees who left within a year.

All the best!

Regards,
Vaishalee

Hi Vaishalee, It's a very new company with only two employees. The person who last left didn't get his LTA as he resigned in three months. My probation was for three months, so I am a confirmed employee. If the employer maintains that it's company rules not to give LTA if an employee resigns before a year (which wasn't mentioned in the appointment letter, as it only says LTA based on company rules), can I appeal to some forum saying it's unethical not to have disclosed this earlier and there was ambiguity in the appointment letter?

Thanks and Regards,
Sharad.

Actually, regarding LTA and Medical Claims, it is purely under the company policy. What does your company policy state? If anything about this is written in the appointment letter, that will be valid. Clearly discuss this with your employer. There is no accrual for this.

Regards

Dear Sharad, Yours is a new company, and the employee strength is too low. Obviously, your employer will act upon his wishes if HR policies are yet to be framed. You can politely point out to your employer that company rules need to be clearly communicated to employees. If you both are on good terms, he might provide you with your benefits and take necessary steps to avoid any ambiguity for future employees.

We hope and pray that you receive all your due benefits.

Regards,
Vaishalee