Stuck in a Backdated Transfer: Should I Raise a Grievance with Management?

I joined an Indian Oil PSU in July 2010 at its headquarters. In August 2010, I was temporarily transferred to a peripheral location. I continued in this placement until February 2012 when I received the permanent transfer letter, backdated from August 2010.

Transfer Policy and Issues

Our company's policy states that temporary transfers are only allowed for one month, after which prior approval from the personnel department is required. This approval was not obtained in my case. Furthermore, I was not provided with the temporary transfer allowance as the permanent transfer was backdated. Should I raise a grievance with the management?

Regards

Transfer is an incidence of service but not a condition of service, especially in PSUs with a nationwide network. It is a well-recognized principle of administration that an employer has the privilege to deploy their staff according to their needs. Even the courts do not interfere with this right of the employer unless there is positive evidence that such a transfer was made with malicious intent. The company may have followed the required procedure to regularize your temporary transfer. Therefore, I do not foresee much support for your claim unless you can prove that the transfer was done with malicious intent.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai