Facing Unjust Termination and Unpaid Dues: Should I Take Legal Action?

Seeking Advice on Legal Action Against Unjust Termination

Hello, everyone. I hereby share my experience of harassment and trauma and seek your advice, please. I was working for an IT company as a Business Analyst (Permanent Employee) in Bangalore for the past three years until I was terminated a couple of months ago without any prior information and for no fault of mine.

In brief:
- I was hired as a Business Analyst with XX amount as fixed pay and X amount as variable pay.
- I was compelled to work in Sales and procure business for the company (actual Sales, not Sales Support), which I successfully accomplished (procured business worth 3 million INR).
- The variable pay is a completely agreed-upon amount (No clause of Employee and Employer Performance is mentioned in the offer letter).
- No salary increment was provided in the first year, and only 1/3rd of the promised variable pay was given for the first year (2013-14), and that too in August 2015 (even though the appointment letter states full annual payment).
- I was transferred to different verticals in those three years.
- In the second year, I received my first increment, and the increment letter states (Your Monthly Gross salary has been revised to XX amount, All Other Terms and Conditions remain the same).
- Upon inquiring about my variable pay for 2014-15, management informed me it was discontinued in my last increment, though this was not communicated verbally, in any official email, or in the appraisal letter.
- When I confronted my reporting manager about the variable pay, I was informed that my services were no longer needed, and I was asked to resign. After resigning, the company did not allow me to serve my notice period of two months, nor did they pay me for those two months; they claim my Full and Final settlement is 0 INR.
- When I questioned them about my variable pay for 2014-15, they mentioned only 1/5th of the amount would be included in my Full and Final settlement, which is due 45 days from my last working day.
- It has been 60 days, and they have not yet paid my Full and Final settlement, leaving me in a difficult situation.
- My losses: Full variable pay not received, not allowed to serve notice period, no compensation for immediate release, and delayed Full and Final settlement.

I feel I have been taken advantage of and faced this trauma through no fault of my own. Can anyone suggest if I should take legal action against the company? If so, what steps should I take? Your advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks and Regards,
Mahesh

What has happened to you is unfortunate. Nevertheless, to address your grievance, you may approach the Labour Officer (LO) of your area (where your company is located). Go there with your appointment letter and all the correspondence with you. Speak in the local language with the LO.

Hopefully, your case will be solved. In case it is not resolved, we will consider further steps.

Apart from the non-payment of your dues, regarding your termination: In IT companies, finding suitably skilled individuals is very challenging. It is unclear why your company chose to handle your situation in this manner. Have you provided complete information about your exit? You mentioned, "I confronted about my variable pay being done with, with my reporting." Did this confrontation involve friction with your reporting manager or any other authority? Why didn't you escalate the matter?

A person joins as a Business Analyst but is given a sales job. Despite performing well in that role, the company fails to pay the variable pay. There may be more to this situation than meets the eye.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Thank you for your response; I appreciate it. I understand that my experience, which I have shared, seems to be much in favor of me, as if I am trying to hide a few shortcomings of mine that led me to where I am today. Trust me, that is not the case. I took up any task given to me as a challenge to prove myself and to be there for my company when they needed me.

Challenges in the Organization

The organization I worked for unfortunately does not have any processes in place, and the management hierarchy is very limited. There is a CEO and CTO at the top, followed by a Practice Head and a PMO person. I reported directly under the Practice Head. The CEO would only listen to the Practice Head. HR in the organization is just in name only.

Issues with Variable Pay

When I say I confronted, let me be honest; there was friction.

- Firstly, I was told that my variable pay was done away with and was no longer in effect after my appraisal, without any information (verbal or written).
- Secondly, my appraisal happened in August 2015, and I asked for my variable pay in April 2016, so for almost 8 months, there was no information that the company had done away with my variable pay. It was shocking.
- Even though the appraisal letter contained no information about getting rid of my variable pay, I was finally demanding my variable pay for the period June 2014-15, and my appraisal came into effect in August 2015. So, I was asking for my variable pay for the time when the actual offer letter was valid and not for the period after my appraisal.

Attempts to Resolve the Issue

As the kind of professional I am, I took up the matter with HR, who could not help. I took it up with the CTO; he brushed it away. Finally, with the CEO, even he deliberately overlooked it. Even after running from pillar to post, I could not find a helping hand. Because of this, friction occurred with my reporting manager (Practice Head). Although the friction was well within the limits of professional communication/language, tempers were flaring.

Now, where does one go without a listening ear?

Can you please suggest a future course of action available to me?

Best Regards, Mahesh