Can I Still Claim Gratuity and Settlement After Leaving Due to Illness? Seeking Advice

Seeking Advice on Gratuity and Settlement Payments

I worked for a company for almost ten years in the Admin department, from September 2001 to April 2011. When leaving the company, I was unwell and hospitalized for around 15-20 days. Before departing, I followed the company rules by serving a one-month notice. However, due to my illness, I was unable to contact the company for final settlement.

Now, my question is, should the company pay me my gratuity and other outstanding payments? I kindly seek advice on how to proceed to receive the settlement payment.

Regards,
Rajendra

The company is liable to pay you gratuity, salary for earned leave balance, salary arrears, etc.

Regards,
Varghese Mathew
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Dear Sir, Thanks for your quick response. The issue is that they have not mentioned the gratuity payable or gratuity in the appointment letter. Furthermore, there were no explicit leave rules on paper; it was like a company run in an informal manner where there were no casual leave (CL) or earned leave (EL) or medical benefits, and they used to deduct salary for every day an employee was absent.

Under the circumstances, please advise on how to proceed. Should I send a letter to the company requesting payment of my gratuity and other dues, or do I need to send a legal notice?

Awaiting your valuable guidance.

Regards, Rajendra

You resigned in April 2011. You were sick after you completed your notice period, assuming you completed your notice. So why did you wait for two years to ask for your full and final settlement?

You have not mentioned how many employees are/were working in your LALA BABU company. First, we need to see whether the POG Act is applicable to your company. If your company employs more than 10 employees, the POG Act is applicable, and you are entitled to receive gratuity.

Gratuity Claim After Two Years

Now, the question is, since you have not claimed your gratuity and 2 years have passed, is your claim extinguished? As held in P Rama Rao v CA u/r POG 1996 LIC 2765 (AP), Rule 7 is intended only to give an opportunity to the employee to seek expeditious payment. In this rule, there is no time limitation.

You are advised to make an application for gratuity to your company immediately with simple interest at 10% per annum. If your LALA BABU company does not take any action on your application, you need to apply to the Controlling Authority under the Act (i.e., Labour Commissioner) in the prescribed form within 90 days for issuing necessary direction to your employer to pay you gratuity.

Wish you all the best.

According to our labor law, the employer is required to pay the full and final settlement, including E.L. money, gratuity amount, and other company benefits. If the employer fails to pay the full and final settlement, the employee can file a lawsuit against the company.

Please let me know if you need any further assistance or clarification on this matter.