Struggling with Delayed Salary Payments: How Can I Legally Address This Issue?

My name is Suresh Kumar. I work in an IT company in Bangalore. I was recruited by the company XXX in Chennai and I am deputed to an MNC company in Bangalore. The company, i.e., XXX, is not paying my salary on time. I have not received my July 2014 salary to date. I have written close to 100 emails, and I am not getting any proper replies. I am unable to reach my HR person or my manager by phone; all my calls go unanswered. Occasionally, I receive an email stating that the salary will be credited today or tomorrow, but I still have not received my salary.

Legal Options for Salary Disputes

Is there any way I can legally address this issue with the company? Due to this situation, I feel very stressed and emotionally low. Friends, please assist.

You mentioned that you are deputed to an MNC company in Bangalore. Does your reporting manager/person there know about your plight? If not, I suggest keeping him/her informed informally, meaning verbally. Don't send any mail or written info, not at this time at least. Usually, the client-end reporting managers are cooperative about such matters—they could take up the issue with the payroll company, as it's their work which would get affected. Also, have you checked with other employees? Are you the only one with this problem, or are there others too? If others are facing the same problem, what are the reasons given by them?

Regards,
TS

Thank you for your reply. The managers at my client's location are aware of this issue. They have mentioned that they cannot intervene as this matter needs to be addressed by Helios and Matheson Company. I have a colleague from the same consultancy who is also facing the same problem.

I received an email stating that I would receive my salary on or before August 22nd, but I have not yet received it. Please advise me on how to proceed further.

Regards,
Suresh Kumar

In your case, more than the manpower contractor, i.e., Matheson Helios, it is the MNC that is at fault. The provisions of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, and the Payment of Wages Karnataka Rules, 1963, are mutatis mutandis applicable primarily to the contractor and, in case of his/her default, to the principal employer.

It is the joint responsibility of the Contractor and the Principal Employer to disburse wages in time and record the same in the ‘Register of Wages-cum-Muster Roll’, wherein either the principal employer or his authorized representative is required to certify as follows:

“Certified that the amount shown in column No ______ has been paid to the workmen concerned in my presence on date _______ at ________ am/pm.”

For non-payment of salaries and wages in time, you may approach the labor officer of your area. In case he refuses to intervene, try obtaining a certificate to this effect and then send the lawyer's notice.

While recommending a course of litigation, I warn you to be careful of your career also. As such, you are on the contractor's role, and in no time, the principal employer can fire you. Nevertheless, legally, your case is strong, and the law is on your side. In case you file a suit, then as a punitive measure, tell the lawyer to recommend the termination of the contractor's license of Helios and Matheson. Let the court give its verdict on that count too.

By the way, why are you hiding the name of that MNC? If that MNC does not have scruples to follow the laws of the land, then should you not bring it to notice in the public domain? Let that MNC get the taste of social media. You could have raised this post anonymously and disclosed which is that MNC.

All the best!

Dinesh V Divekar

As written in my earlier message, first, please approach the labor officer of your area. Send a lawyer's notice only if the labor officer does not intervene.

Secondly, please be cautious. You need to take care of your future employment. Generally, HR professionals are conservative in India. They expect the job candidate to be docile. They frown upon job candidates who stand for their rights and go to court.

A classic example is the staff of Kingfisher Airlines (KFA). The staff has not been paid their salaries since October 2012, yet its owner continues with swashbuckling. None of the HR organizations has come forward to rescue the staff of KFA. None deemed it fit to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to give the rightful dues of the staff. This is a glaring example of HR psychology in India.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar