Am I Eligible for Gratuity After Working 4 Years and 10 Months? Seeking Advice

I worked in my last company from 01 Nov 2007 to 15 Sep 2012, totaling 4 years, 10 months, and fourteen days. Am I eligible for gratuity? Please help.

Regards,
Amar Srivastava
Mob: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]
Gurgaon, Haryana

Dear Amar ji, Surenderji is correct in replying to you. However, you can make a request to your employer. It is up to the employer whether to accept your request or not. If I were your employer, I would not accept. Why should I accept a request from a person who is leaving me? You are requested to go through earlier threads/postings on the same subject, including those from me.

Dear Surender Ji, I read the threads and found a judgment of the Madras High Court for gratuity as per the attachment, which I believe is for 4 years and 240 days. Please confirm if I am correct.

Regards,
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Eligibility for Gratuity

If you have worked 240 days in the last year (including valid leave days), you are entitled to gratuity. You should file a gratuity claim with your employer first. If the employer fails to make the payment of gratuity within 30 days from the separation of service, you may file an application for gratuity before the controlling authority of your area (Labour Commissioner).

If you have any case in which the controlling authority has directed the employer to pay Gratuity under similar circumstances, then please share it with The HR Community. You are advised to go through earlier threads and postings on the same subject matter by some of the members and review your view.

Legal Steps for Gratuity Claim

Please find the order of the Honorable Court and take legal steps for the Gratuity Claim.

Regards,
Anand

Dear Anand ji, with due respect to you, I say that you have responded without going through the earlier threads and postings on the same subject by some of our colleagues. I am providing a link to one of the threads for your reference, in which many points are discussed, including the case law you mentioned in your above posting.

https://www.citehr.com/437987-grartuity.html

After reading the above thread and postings in the said link, you can form your own view or inference, which may be different from mine and other colleagues. Dear Anand ji, I appreciate your posting. We have to learn (and unlearn some things) in this way only. All the best.

After completion of 240 days, an employee is not entitled to receive gratuity. Please refer to the Gratuity Act. The act states that an employee is entitled to receive gratuity if they have completed 5 years of continuous service. In that case, they will receive gratuity as per the following formula: Basic + DA * 15/26.

I believe this information will help you get the right details.

Regards,
Devendra

For gratuity claim, the minimum continuous years of service required is 4 years and 240 days by an employee.

With regards,
Manoj

It is correct that after the completion of 4 years and 240 days, an employee can claim Gratuity. Although this is not explicitly defined in the Payment of Gratuity Act, it can be claimed as per the attached decision.

Thanks,

Regards
Ravindra Kumar Dubey
Personnel Officer
Allanasons Limited
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

I think the Madras High Court's decision in this regard is also upheld by the Supreme Court. i.e., 4 years and a minimum of 240 days of physical work in the 5th year - this period is eligible to receive gratuity. Experts, please confirm.

Gratuity Eligibility Under the Gratuity Act 1972

The gratuity eligibility as per the Gratuity Act 1972 is 5 years of continuous service. Subsection (2) of section 4 is for the calculation of gratuity and not for the eligibility of gratuity.

Supreme Court Judgment on Gratuity Eligibility

However, as per the judgment of the Supreme Court, an employee is eligible for gratuity if they have completed 4 years of continuous service and 240 days of continuous working in the 5th year. On the day when they complete their 240 days in the 5th year, they will be eligible for gratuity.

The judgment of the Supreme Court, rendered under the provisions of the Industrial Dispute Act in Surendra Kumar Verma vs. Central Govt. Industrial Tribunal, [(1980) (4) S.C.C.433)], states that it is enough for an employee to have a service of 240 days in the preceding 12 months, and it is not necessary to have completed one whole year's service. As the definition of continuous service in the Industrial Dispute Act and the Payment of Gratuity Act are synonymous, the same principle can be adopted under the act. Hence, an employee rendering service of 4 years, 10 months, and 11 days is considered to have completed 5 years of continuous service under sec.4(2) and thereby is eligible for gratuity.

Now, almost all organizations are paying gratuity if an employee has completed 4 years of continuous service and 240 days of continuous working in the 5th year.

Regards

Eligibility for Gratuity After 4 Years and 240 Days

You mentioned that, according to the judgment of the Supreme Court, an employee is eligible for gratuity after completing 4 years of continuous service and 240 days of continuous work in the 5th year. When he completes his 240 days in the 5th year, he becomes eligible for gratuity. I would like to inquire, where can I find this judgment?

The Supreme Court judgment in Surendra Kumar Verma vs. Central Govt. Industrial Tribunal, [(1980) (4) S.C.C. 433)], falls under the ID Act and not the Gratuity Act. The definition of continuous service under the ID Act and the Gratuity Act is similar; however, it may not be appropriate, in my opinion, to apply it to gratuity. These two enactments serve different purposes.

While many employers (not all) are now paying gratuity upon completion of 4 years and 240 days in the 5th year, you cannot force any employer to provide gratuity under these circumstances.

Regards

Thank you very much. As per the court decision, 4 years and 240 days are eligible for gratuity. The HR head of my last company discussed this issue extensively and decided to grant me the gratuity. I have finally received the same. Thanks to all.

Regards