Missing Shift Allowance: Can I Recover Lost Pay Due to Manager's Mistake?

Hi, I work in the IT department for a US-based MNC in India. I joined in August 2014. It was only until a few days ago, while discussing something else, that the term "Shift Allowance" came up. We usually keep and are supposed to be quiet about salary. I had never heard of this term here, but then I discovered that everyone in my team receives it in their monthly salary, everyone but me.

Upon further investigation, it turned out to be a significant error by my team manager who approved my timesheets. It happened because my manager was supposed to instruct me to change the Charge Code in the timesheet from the 2nd month onwards. The first month was training in the general shift, and then from the 2nd month, it was actual work in the odd-hours shift eligible for the allowance. He had been approving my timesheets with the incorrect charge code (for General Shift) for the last year, so I never even saw the header of "Shift Allowance" in my salary slip.

Shift Allowance Not Discussed

Shift Allowance was never discussed in the HR orientation or listed in the Offer letter. All the individuals who joined after me were informed to change the Charge Code from the 2nd month onwards by him. It was only missed in my case.

I raised the concern, and he acknowledged the mistake and forwarded it to senior management. The senior manager called me today and informed me that the payroll head "says" they will only be able to pay me the accrued amount for this financial year - April 15 to August 15.

He mentioned that the previous year's (September 14 - March 15) cannot be processed as the company has filed last year's ITR, and they cannot make any changes at all.

This was really unexpected and sounded incorrect to me. I am going to lose 6 months of Shift Allowance for a mistake that I did not even make. So, is it genuinely true that it cannot be done? Can it not be processed as "Arrears" or something? Have you ever encountered an issue like this?

Please advise. This would mean a lot to me.

Thank you.

The company is making excuses. The matter is a clerical error and can be rectified. People get payment of last financial year in the next financial year due to various reasons. The company has to apply its mind to it and show the minor will to clear such errors, unless they are avoiding to make payment and reduce their expenses.

1. Your manager has made a mistake, and he should rectify the problem and find a solution for you. Talk to him.

2. If the company really wants to repay you, they could do so by providing back pay or making a short payment, which is unrelated to tax submissions.

3. Always communicate with your HR department to obtain details about your entitlements and stay informed about any changes within your organization, especially those related to income and deductions.

Like other members pointed out, it surely is possible to pay what's due to you. However, adopt an approach that doesn't involve pointing fingers at your bosses; don't let it escalate into any ego issues. Given that they are okay to correct the mistake from April 2015, it seems there is no intent to skip the past payments. However, the reason they gave, regarding IT filings being done, doesn't seem logical. It's quite possible they didn't fully consider the issue; from their point of view, it could be a minor matter. Meet with the senior manager or the finance team; one way is to make the payment as a one-time payment this year or as arrears for the past year. Where there's a will, there's a way. By the way, what's the amount involved? All the best.

Regards,
TS