Can a Manager Be Suspended Based on a Verbal Complaint from a Contract Employee? Seeking Guidance

Dear all, kindly share your views. Can a manager be issued a charge sheet and placed under suspension based on a verbal complaint from a fourth-class contract employee? Please guide.

Regards,
Sanjay

With reference to your query, without a written complaint or any inquiry, you cannot suspend or issue a charge sheet to any employee.

Without any written complaint, a charge sheet should not be issued, and a copy of the complaint should be attached to the charge sheet. Please write a letter requesting the complaint and obtain acknowledgment. If the copy of the complaint is not provided even after the request, this issue can be raised in the domestic enquiry. Ensure that it is mentioned in the enquiry proceedings. Without a complaint, this entire episode is going to be manipulated by vested interests, and the enquiry, if organized, will be compromised.

Regards,
Kamesh

An enquiry is followed by a charge sheet or suspension; hence, a complaint is required for chargesheeting an employee.

Regards,
Kamesh

Suspension and Charge Sheet Procedures

The general principle is that the suspension of an employee is not dependent on a verbal or written complaint. Even a charge sheet is not contingent upon such complaints. It is the prerogative of the authority to suspend an employee pending an inquiry and keep them under suspension. The authority must inquire into the matter within a specified time limit and make a decision. If the authority fails in their exercise, they must pay you full salary and all consequential benefits. Otherwise, during suspension, half (for a specific period) and thereafter, 75% salary will be paid to you.

The charge sheet is to be issued by the authority (whether the complaint is in writing, verbal, or based on their own observations), and it is their duty to prove the charges contained in the charge sheet. You will be provided details of charges and witnesses beforehand, and you will have a full opportunity to examine and cross-examine their witnesses and also to produce your own witnesses and evidence in your defense.

Thanks,

Regards,
V K Gupta

Dear Seniors, if a charge sheet is issued without the sanction of law, what will happen regarding the charge sheet? In my case, a charge sheet was issued, but there was no such clause in my appointment letter. They issued the charge sheet under the Model Standing Order, but my service is not governed by that statute.

Please guide me properly.

Thanks

I don't understand why members post queries with vague and incomplete information and how they expect a proper response. Both the original query and the new one added to it are incomplete and do not provide details of the circumstances and other vital information.

Written Complaints and Illiteracy

To all those who insist that a written complaint is required to make it valid, please tell me what happens if the employee is illiterate? Will an illiterate employee not have recourse? Does the absence of a written complaint negate the wrongdoing? If complete details of the complaint and the incident are provided in the charge sheet given to the manager, does that not suffice?

Emphasis on Complainant's Status

Regarding the original post, why is there an emphasis on the complainant being a class 4 contract employee? Are you against a manager being suspended on a complaint from a class 4 employee (sweeper, peon, etc.) or that the complaint is from a contract worker?

Discussion on Charge Sheets in Employment

Which appointment letter have you seen that states you can be issued a charge sheet? Does any company put such a thing in the appointment letter? They have issued a charge sheet; you claim that it does not have the sanction of law. In what way? Are you saying that the company has not followed the correct procedure or that they are not allowed to issue you a charge sheet? If they are not required to issue a charge sheet, then they can simply terminate you without a charge sheet, right? Also, tell me why you think the standing orders do not apply.

Dear Avinash, please go through my reply above. I reiterate that it is the prerogative of the authority/management to decide which fact/complaint they rely on and in what form (verbal or written) it should be accepted. It is their duty to prove the charges contained in the Charge Sheet. Can a complainant deviate from their original verbal statement or later support your version? It is your responsibility to refute and prove that the complaint and subsequent charge sheet are incorrect. For the purpose of explanation, if I accept your version of the written complaint as correct, would you acknowledge the complaint as valid and admit that the charge is accurate? If not, then what is the difference between a written and verbal complaint?

Furthermore, if anyone believes that the charge sheet is based on a verbal complaint and is unsatisfied with their suspension, they are free to challenge their suspension in a court of law since the management/authority's suspension order can be legally contested.

It is also the duty of the management to present all evidence to support their claims. We are not here to instruct others about their duties but to guide forum members. I would like to point out that management also thinks carefully before suspending an employee as they will have to pay them without receiving any productive output and may face litigation and expenses.

The discussion and explanation on your question are extensive, and I request you to understand the jurisdiction of each authority. We should not interfere with the jurisdiction of higher authorities except to challenge.

I am eager to reply to your further queries.

Thanks,

V K Gupta

Oral vs. Written Complaints in Disciplinary Actions

Again, I ask: does it matter if the complaint is oral or written, or even if the management takes suo moto cognizance of any incident or misconduct? As long as the details are provided in the charge sheet, it should meet the needs of natural justice.

Tell me, if the sweeper did not complain, but a senior director saw it and asked the plant head to suspend the manager and file a charge sheet, what is the position? Can the director not issue a charge sheet because the sweeper did not bother to make a written complaint?

I had two other queries in my post to which I have not received an answer.

Respected Shri V K Gupta ji, I fully agree with your statement that "It is the prerogative of the authority to suspend an employee pending enquiry and keep under suspension. Authority has to enquire into the matter within a specified time limit and take a decision. If the authority fails in their exercise, then they have to pay you full salary and all consequential benefits. Otherwise, during suspension, half (for a specific period) and thereafter 75% salary will be paid to you. A charge sheet is to be issued by the authority and it is their duty to prove charges contained in the charge sheet. You will be provided details of charges and witnesses beforehand and you will be provided full opportunity to examine & cross-examine their witnesses and also to produce your own witnesses and evidence in your defense."

But in case "The Authority does not give a specific reason as stated in their suspension order and does not reply to any of the letters of the employee for about one year before issuing the charge sheet and also does not pay 75% salary after 90 days and full salary after 180 days with all consequential benefits for 2 ½ years to the employee before disposing of the suspension matter after conducting a vague and biased departmental enquiry in hurry without producing proper evidence and witnesses, which amounts to a fraud on the part of Authority against the employee" – what should the employee do even if he does not get justice from the court?

Regards,
Ashok Gupta

I am not too familiar with this subject, but will an employee actually wait 2.5 years on suspension? Would he not look for a job? Do people actually sit at home for that long? Of course, he is getting full salary.

Mr. Banerjee's comments seem to be the most sensible. A member has put a query without providing any background of the case. We, as readers, are totally confused about what discussion is going on. Requesting clarity, with an example at least, while opening the post to understand better.

Thank you, Shri Banarjeeji and Shri Abhaybandekarji,

As per your query, I have to inform you that the matter is very clear here: the suspended employee received the suspension order from the authority based on some unknown person's report in a departmental matter. The copy of that report has not been supplied to the employee to date, even though the employee has been harshly punished. The authority has not provided that report, even when the employee sought it through an RTI application after receiving punishment. The employee was kept under suspension for about 2 ½ years without receiving the 75% salary after 90 days and full salary after 180 days, along with all other consequential benefits, as mentioned above by Shri V K Gupta ji.

Here, there is no question of the employee waiting for 2.5 years on suspension and sitting at home for that long or looking for another job.

What Should the Employee Do?

The question is: what should the employee do even if he does not get justice from the court? Can he file a fraud case against the authority? If yes, under which section?

Thanks and Regards.

If the courts have already decided against him, then there is no recourse. The court must have taken a decision based on the details of the matter that was put before it, and the lawyer of the suspended employee must have had an opportunity to present the absence of natural justice. If the court has decided that the company is right in suspending and terminating the employee, then that is the end of the matter unless you wish to appeal.

The employee used RTI to get a copy? So, is this a government department or a PSU?

Dear Seniors, we are here to find out some solutions to any specific problem. In my case, company X issued the charge sheet based on Model Standing Orders. However, in my appointment letter, there was no such clause under which they can issue a charge sheet. Additionally, the company doesn't have any service rules in place.

When I challenged this before the Shops and Establishment, Government of West Bengal, company X produced a backdated circular claiming that they have charged me with the help of this circular. This claim was rightly rejected by the Shops & Establishment Authority, Government of West Bengal. Now, company X has produced the same documents before the Honorable High Court - Kolkata, which is currently under process.

I would appreciate your valued opinion on how to proceed in this matter and achieve results.

Investigation of Complaints and Departmental Proceedings

A complaint, whether written or oral, must be investigated by the competent authority to ascertain its veracity. The authority vested with the power to initiate departmental action needs to apply their judgment to determine if there is a preponderance of probabilities to proceed with the departmental proceedings. A final decision must then be taken on whether to suspend the employee or not.

If the departmental proceedings are pursued (by placing the employee under suspension or not), it is the responsibility of the management to prove the charges. During the inquiry process, the complaint can be entered into the record through the deposition by the author of the complaint if it was given in writing or by the personal appearance of the person who made a verbal complaint in the inquiry. These depositions or pieces of evidence will be subject to cross-examination.

Based on the evidentiary value of such documents or depositions, the inquiring authority will present their findings to the Disciplinary Authority, who will then make a decision regarding the imposition of punishment, treatment of the suspension period, and/or the disposal of the chargesheet. It is solely the prerogative of the disciplinary authority to decide whether to obtain a complaint in writing or not.

Regards,
M J P Devadoss

Many learned followers have replied to your query at length. What Mr. VK Gupta has written is most appropriate and justified. I too agree that:

1. In no appointment letter is a clause of chargesheet/suspension mentioned.

2. Since you have said it is a case with the Manager, then the Manager should know by what rules his services are guided. If he himself is ignorant, how can he guide others?

3. The accused employee (AW) cannot challenge the Authority; he can simply face the inquiry and prove himself not guilty. I have discussed the method of departmental inquiry earlier. First, it is the Management Representative (MR) who is to prove the accused employee guilty. Co-worker and AW shall cross-examine the witness and documents submitted by MR. If MR passes his test, it is for the AW and CW to prove the AW not guilty.

4. Before the issue of the chargesheet or suspension order, it is the prerogative of the Authority to inquire or rely upon the complaint made, irrespective of who has made it, provided he is satisfied with the reliability of the complaint made.

5. The AW can move to the Court against the chargesheet or suspension order and seek relief from there as per the Order of the Honorable Court.

Here, what I feel is that the Manager is aggrieved not with the chargesheet/suspension order but with the fact that a fourth-grade employee has made the complaint and he has been accused.

Regards,
AK Jain
HR Personnel
NCL, CIL

Understanding Legal Implications in Employee Actions

When taking any action against an employee, Company X must be aware of the pros and cons of the laws outlined in the appointment letter. The appointment letter should include a clause stating that the terms of service will be governed by a specific act, which the employee must accept before joining the organization. Without such conditions, any charges brought against the employee may not have legal sanction.

Regards

Response to Query on Charge Sheet and Suspension

Your query dated 3-10-13 is as follows:

Query: "Kindly share your views, can a manager be issued a charge sheet and placed under suspension on the basis of a verbal complaint from a fourth-class contract employee."

Position on Issuing Charge Sheets and Suspension

A Charge-Sheet or an Explanation Letter can be issued to any employee on the muster roll of the establishment. The Charge-Sheet or Letter for Explanation is a document on which the charges of misconduct/indiscipline are clearly mentioned, typed, or handwritten, specifying the date, time, place of the alleged occurrence, and the occurrence itself, sufficiently precisely and definitively. The Charge-Sheet or E-Letter must also contain how and why the said act of misconduct is punishable and by what time period the reply or explanation should be submitted to the issuing authority.

An employee can be suspended pending enquiry in case the alleged charge is of a grave and serious nature requiring the removal of the charge-sheeted employee from the premises of the establishment lest they might interfere with witnesses or documentary evidence.

When suspension pending enquiry (S-P-E) is called for, the letter issued to the to-be-suspended employee must follow the issue of a Charge-Sheet (C-S) or Explanation Letter (E-L) first, and a reference/mention should be made in the S-P-E letter.

The complainant can be any person irrespective of their status, designation, or classification.

Preliminary Enquiry for Verbal Complaints

Further, in the case of a verbal complaint, a preliminary enquiry (fact-finding) should be immediately conducted upon receipt of the verbal complaint to ascertain prima facie whether a case exists to frame a C-S or E-L and issue it.

In fact, a preliminary enquiry should be conducted even when there is neither a verbal nor a written complaint lodged, but the manager has come to know about an act of misconduct committed.

Regards,
For Kritarth Consulting Pvt Ltd

Harsh K Sharan

[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

8-10-13

Respected Shri Harsh K Sharan, For Kritarth Consulting Pvt Ltd, the guidelines given by you are really very appreciable and useful. However, I wish to request you to kindly guide if the Authority issues an Order of Suspension to an Employee without issuing any kind of Letter for Explanation or Charge-Sheet and without giving him any Documentary Evidence or any Witnesses against the Suspended Employee, and keeps silent for about a year before issuing a Charge-Sheet and gets punished after about 2 ½ years, what should the Suspended employee do for justice if he is not guilty?

Regards,
Ashok Gupta
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Interesting to note the divergent views on issues surrounding suspension. In my understanding, the act of suspension is at the discretion of the Line Manager/HOD based on the reports or allegations raised against an alleged offender. Suspension is normally done for gross offenses that are likely to result in dismissal or for the sake of investigating an allegation, where the presence of the accused on the company premises may jeopardize the investigations, or in cases that pose financial prejudice to the company. Most companies have a clearly laid out procedure usually recorded in the company's code of conduct outlining the conditions where suspension may be used. The code usually specifies the conditions under which suspension may be applied with or without salary and benefits. My first suggestion to you would be to review your code of conduct and understand what it states in relation to your case.

Suspension itself is not concerned with the source of the report, whether it be from a contract, casual, or domestic employee. It is simply the isolation of the accused from the workplace to conduct investigations and may be issued for only a specified period, not indefinitely. Under civil law, the burden of proof lies with the Line Manager to prove that there is a case against the accused, and it is during suspension that these facts are gathered without interference. Failure to prove or gather facts during this period means that when the suspension lapses, the individual may automatically return to work.

According to the principles of natural justice, you, as the accused, have to be fully aware of the facts surrounding your suspension, and the facts should be clearly laid out in the letter. The letter should also state the validity of the suspension.

I hope I have contributed in a manner that may add value to your situation.

Regards,
Leslie

A Letter of Suspension must reference the Charge Sheet or Letter of Explanation. The Suspension Letter (SL) must document the serious act of misconduct for which the Issuing Authority decided to suspend the employee pending an inquiry. During the suspension period, the suspended employee is entitled to a Subsistence Allowance, which is paid at various rates throughout the suspension duration.

What is even more shocking is the revelation that action was taken after 2 years. Did the management pay the Subsistence Allowance, or was no allowance paid at all? The concerned employee has the option to approach the judiciary (Labor Court if a worker) to seek redressal, citing that the prolonged suspension period was a result of the management's malicious intent.

Regards,
Kritarth Consulting

To,

Kritarth Consulting Pvt Ltd and Leslie Fungai

Dear Sir, Thanks, Kritarth Consulting Pvt Ltd and Leslie Fungai, for your valuable guidelines.

As required, the following are the contents of the Letter of Suspension:

“It has been reported that while working as xxx under xxx, you have committed serious irregularities in the matter of xxx.

As the acts of misconduct committed by you are of a grave nature, your continuance in the post held by you or the office in which you are working is likely to vitiate the inquiry or become detrimental to the proceedings or the interest of the organization.

Under the circumstances, I, the undersigned, being the competent authority as per xxx Employees' Service Regulations, hereby order your suspension with immediate effect until further orders, pending further proceedings and final orders in the matter.

During the period of suspension, you are eligible for subsistence allowance as per xxx rules.

You are directed to report for attendance during suspension every Monday at 11:00 AM to xxx. In case Monday happens to be a holiday, you should report on the immediately following working day.

During the period of your suspension, you should not leave the Headquarters without prior permission of xxx.”

In the above Order of Suspension, no reference to the Charge-Sheet or Letter of Explanation is given. The details of the grave act of misconduct are also not recorded in the Suspension Order, for which the Issuing Authority decided to suspend the employee pending inquiry.

During the entire suspension period of 816 days, he is paid only 50% subsistence allowance and he is not paid 75% salary after 90 days and full salary after 180 days with all other consequential benefits.

The concerned employee had gone to the High Court, but the Court did not decide the matter on merits and disposed of the matter in another way, awarding a minor benefit only. The employee did not get justice after appeal also, and now he has only the option to make a fraud case because here the fraud is absolutely clear, having many pieces of evidence on record against the authority as under:

• Copy of the alleged report received by the Issuing Authority, on the basis of which he suspended the employee, is not supplied to him till date.
• FIR lodged for the alleged matter does not show any evidence against him.
• A letter submitted in respect of the said matter does not show any evidence against him.
• No letter for explanation is issued to him before issuing the Order of Suspension.
• No evidence is produced against him for issuing the Order of Suspension.
• No witness is produced against him for issuing the Order of Suspension.
• No reply is given to his 9 (nine) grievance letters till date.
• Charge sheet is issued to him after 312 days of suspension.
• Departmental inquiry is conducted in a hurry after 639 days of suspension.
• Departmental inquiry is conducted under the influence of mala fide intention of management and higher authorities.
• Show cause notice is issued to him after 754 days of suspension.
• Punishment order is issued to him after 816 days of suspension.
• Another employee has been entirely exonerated in the same matter and similar action.
• Alleged matter is NOT proved in the Honorable Court of Law.
• No proper documents are supplied against his RTI application by management.

So kindly advise—can the employee make a fraud case against the authority or not to get justice on the ground of all the above evidence and the long suspension period that was due to the mala fide intention of management? And there is no time limit for filing the fraud case.

Your valuable guidance in the matter would be highly appreciated and helpful to him for taking further action in the matter. Is it possible for him to make a fraud case against the authority?

Regards,
Ashok Gupta

[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

I am indeed grateful for the brainstorming session.

Query on Suspension and Salary Payment

A small favor to ask—in the case of a suspension beyond 180 days, is it mandatory for the company under the Delhi Shop & Establishment Act to pay the full salary, or can the company continue to pay 75% of the salary allowance to a suspended manager?

Kindly guide.

Regards

It is interesting that the high court did not give relief in a case where there is apparent injustice. You have said it was disposed of in another manner, meaning there might have been a technical error in your filing, or there are other matters and details that have not been disclosed in the forum.

A high court judge will not refuse relief to an employee being harassed unless there are circumstances in favor of the employer. Whether any relief is possible can only be decided by a lawyer.

Based on the details you have provided above, I do not see any fraud taking place. You can always complain. How will we on the forum be able to tell whether it will work? That depends on what evidence you have (not shared), what circumstances and other mitigating factors were there (not shared), and in fact, what was the actual reason for suspension.

The only people who can help are lawyers who know the matter in detail.

I too agree with Mr. Gupta's reply. Management has the prerogative rights to place a person under suspension for loss of confidence, behavior detrimental to the company image, misappropriation, etc. The act of inflicting suspension is not considered a punishment. You still have a chance to express your views and present your side of the facts to them. You can approach management by:

1. Asking them to provide a detailed charge memo for the reason of suspension, or
2. They will send you an inquiry notice to appear before the inquiry and present the detailed facts to the inquiry officer to be documented on your side.
3. The inquiry officer will allow you to cross-examine the management representative or witnesses. You have an opportunity to cross-examine them and register your side of the facts.

Considering the above, the suspension is not punitive.

Regards,
T. Muralidaran
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

I am not very clear about your point, but earlier in this topic, Shri V K Gupta mentioned that "If authority fails in their exercise, then they have to pay full salary and all consequential benefits. Otherwise, during suspension, half (for a specific period) and thereafter 75% salary will be paid."

Thanks Shri Banarjeeji, In fact, the Honorable High Court did not decide the matter on merits but disposed of the matter on a parity basis, aligning it with another employee's punishment order in the same case. This was done with oral consent in the Court. However, while dictating the order, the wording of the Honorable High Court differed, resulting in only minor benefits for the employee. Despite repeated protests by the employee in the Court and further appeal, this could not be corrected. The employee's lawyer also did not take it seriously, but the employee has suffered significantly. It is possible that there was some technical error in filing, and more details might have been disclosed in the Court.

As you correctly mentioned, the employee can always complain, but where should he complain? You do not see any fraud in this matter, but there should be some way to obtain justice after the employee has already gone through the High Court and further appeal in vain.

As regards the evidence, the list of evidence has already been provided earlier. The most important evidence is that the Suspension Order Issuing Authority has not supplied the copy of the Alleged Report received by the Issuing Authority, which was the basis for suspending the employee.

Following is the true copy of the Suspension Order already given, which states that:

“It has been reported that while working as xxx under xxx, you have committed serious irregularities in the matter of xxx. As the acts of misconduct committed by you are of grave nature, your continuance in the post held by you or the office in which you are working is likely to vitiate the enquiry or to become detrimental to the proceedings or to the interest of the organization.”

The copy of the Report received by the Issuing Authority has not been supplied to the employee to date. The name of the person who reported is also known.

Inquiry Procedure and Powers of Authorities

When a matter is ongoing, I would like to explain the inquiry procedure and powers of the authorities in a simple way.

If there is any report or observation of misconduct/misbehavior against an employee, the authority tries to find out the real truth or correctness of the circumstances/incident. If circumstances warrant the suspension of the employee, the authority can order suspension pending inquiry. The competent authority issues a charge sheet along with a statement of allegations and a list of witnesses to the delinquent employee and asks for his reply within a specified period. If the authority is satisfied with the reply, he can exonerate the delinquent employee from the charges and revoke any suspension, if applicable. If the authority finds the reply unsatisfactory, he can order the conduction of a domestic inquiry and appoint an Enquiry Officer (EO can be from the company or from outside) and refer the case to the EO for further investigation into the charges. The EO acts as a quasi-judicial authority and conducts the inquiry following the principles of natural justice. Here, both the management and the delinquent employee can represent their cases themselves or through an authorized person. Both have the full right to plead their case to the fullest. After the completion of the inquiry, the EO submits his report to the authority. It is within the power of the management to disagree with the report and reject it.

If the report of the EO is accepted, then the management decides on the punishment while considering the gravity of the misconduct and issues a Show Cause Notice (this notice is called the 2nd Show Cause Notice) asking for a reply stating that the employee has been found guilty and the management has decided to inflict punishment upon him. After this reply, the management issues a final notice of punishment.

It should also be noted that before the court, if the order is challenged, the management through the EO has to prove that the inquiry was fair and proper and conducted according to the principles of natural justice. If the management succeeds in this, then normally courts do not interfere with the punishment or modify the order of punishment in terms of the gravity of the misconduct.

Awaiting views of the worthy members...

Thanks

Regards,
V K Gupta

Subject - Re: Suspension Without Any Written Complaint

Shri V. K. Guptaji has mentioned, “If there is any report or observation of misconduct/misbehavior against an employee, the authority tries to find out the real truth or correctness of the circumstances/incidence. If circumstances warrant suspension of the employee, the authority can order suspension pending enquiry.”

However, in this case, the authority has not supplied the copy of the report or observations of misconduct/misbehavior against the employee to the employee to date.

Here, the Competent Authority issued a charge sheet after 312 days of suspension along with a statement of allegations without any list of witnesses and proper evidence.

The authority conducted the departmental enquiry in a hurry after 639 days of suspension under the influence of mala fide intention of management and higher authorities, against the principle of natural justice, after appointing a Departmental Enquiry Officer.

Here, the show cause notice was issued after 754 days of suspension.

The authority issued a punishment order after 816 days of suspension.

The matter in which the employee is suspended and punished is not proved in the court of law.

The authority has entirely exonerated the other employee in a similar action in the same matter.

The authority has not supplied the required report sought through an RTI application.

I did not say that fraud did not happen. What I said is that from what you have put in your post, I do not see any fraud.

There may be injustice, malafide intention, or refusal to pay the subsistence allowance, but this is not fraud. If the documents have been falsified, that would be fraud. However, we do not know what has happened. Your posting of the notice is also with certain xxx. I appreciate that you do not wish to give details on the open forum, but then, the information is not enough to give an informed answer. That is my point.

From my point of view, if the high court refused relief, then with the information on hand, I would conclude that the employee was at fault. I am surprised that the judge has not recommended any action for such a long delay. But if the court refuses to act, then there is no other way out for you.

Your initial post says that RTI shows that there was fraud. Your current post says they have not given information in RTI. It shows there are underlying facts and circumstances that can't be discussed or understood in an online forum.