Salary Deductions Without Benefits: Can I Claim My Money Back from the Company?

Company deducts CTC from my salary, but after 6 months, they haven't initiated any PF-ESI, PTax facilities. My question is, if I want those deductions in cash, is the company liable to pay me? And if they deny, what should I do against them? Please help me.

Understanding Salary Deductions

Are you aware of what deductions are being made from your salary? How can someone deduct CTC from a salary?

CTC is the cost to the company that is offered to an individual and includes components like Gross Salary (Basic, Dearness Allowance, House Rent Allowance, any other Allowance, Medical Reimbursements), Employer PF and ESIC Contributions, Gratuity Contribution, and any other costs that they incur on you. Please first understand the terminologies and use them appropriately and reframe your query. If you think you've framed your query right, kindly elaborate, as nothing can be deduced from what you wrote.

Thank you, Ankita. My CTC is 13,000, and I am getting 11,200 as take-home from 1st October 2012. However, they are yet to register us in PF and ESI as we have only 8 manpower. I am going to leave the office next month. How can I retrieve those deducted amounts? I expect to receive 1,080 in cash from the company for 1,800*6. If they refuse, what should be my course of action? I have my offer letter with me.

I am sorry... The figure will be 1800 * 6 = 10,080/-. If they refuse to provide that amount, can I go to court? Labour court or any other.

How is this salary paid to you? Cash or cheque? If your appointment letter states the composition of your salary, then perhaps we can understand better.

The possibility of deducting the TDS from your salary is ruled out, knowing that your monthly salary is ₹13,000. If we take the annual amount, it comes to ₹1,56,000, which means there is still ₹46,000 to reach the basic ₹2,00,000 exempted limit. There is a very meager amount of professional tax deducted from your salary (depending on your city), which should be something around ₹200, thus not bringing your in-hand amount to what you quoted.

Can you ask your employer to give you a salary slip that mentions all the composition of your salary and the deductions they made under what headings? Also, note that many SMBs do not provide any salary slips to employees; however, they cannot deny if you ask them to provide one, as an employee has the right to claim and ask for a salary slip.

Kindly first ask your HR to provide specific details and a salary slip. According to the header under which the deductions are made, we can then decide if it was fair to deduct that amount from your salary in the first place and whether they are liable to pay you back if you are resigning.

They pay me in cash. I am the only HR here, but when I joined, they informed me that within two months, the workforce would exceed 20, so I could register for PF and ESI. Now, I realize they are not interested in expanding the workforce. I am resigning from this company next month. Please advise me on how I can retrieve my deducted amount.

They pay me in cash. I am the only HR here, but when I joined, they informed me that within 2 months, the workforce would exceed 20, so I could register for PF and ESI. Now, I see they are not keen on increasing the workforce. I am leaving this company next month. Please suggest how I can retrieve my deducted amount.

Did you inquire with your accounts department why they deducted these amounts?

If they are not registered under the PF Act or other Acts and have deducted amounts under these headings, it is illegal. A company cannot deduct contributions if they are not covered under the PF Act. If, by chance, they had 20 workers before, they should have contributed to PF and other related accounts. In that scenario, they should have given you PF Account details.

Steps to Address Deductions

Firstly, go to accounts and:

1. Inquire under which category they deducted 1,800 from your salary.
2. Request a salary slip from them.
3. If they claim it was deducted for PF or other purposes, ask for the PF account number and other details or the deducted amount.
4. Do you have any proof that you received the stated amount? Did you have to sign any vouchers if cash was given to you? What amount was indicated in the voucher?

Another point -

Since you mentioned you are the HR for the company, you should be familiar with formal procedures. If you are not well-versed in the rules, laws, and procedures, how can you execute them for your staff and colleagues?

Just a piece of advice, nothing personal.

Regards.

I signed a voucher for Rs 11,200/-. I am sorry to say that this company is not interested in things like manpower growth. I have 4 years of experience in HR but have never faced this type of situation.

You mention you have 4 years of experience in HR, and yet you didn't collect a salary slip from your employer? Did you ask under what headings they deducted the amount? I do not know why they deducted it and can't comment further unless you get the information from them.

Regarding their interest, I don't think that is the subject matter of the post. Let's not deviate and talk about your salary. Regardless of their interest in growth, they should have paid you the whole salary less the professional tax (as far as my knowledge goes). If they have deducted some amount, they are liable to explain it to you.

Again, you have been with this firm for around 4 months, I believe. Have you ever raised this concern with your employer? Or did you believe all the while that your money was in a safe deposit vault of the employer, and they would rightfully give it back to you when you resign? How can an experienced person make such a mistake?