How Can I Legally Claim My Unpaid Salary and Experience Letter After Company Shutdown?

I was working as an operations executive for a company that ran an e-commerce website. It was a really small company, and I was reporting directly to the CEO. There was no HR department or anything. He never issued me an appointment letter; every time I asked for it, he made a lame excuse. I worked from November 23, 2015, to July 22, 2016. On July 8th, he gave me a call saying that we had to shut down the operations because we were not getting any investment. July 22nd was decided as the last day. So my salary for the entire months of June and July is pending, which is around 17K.

After the shutdown, I asked for my salary for several weeks, and he kept saying that he would pay as soon as the remaining stocks on hand were sold. For the experience letter as well, he kept saying that he would issue it soon. But now he has stopped replying to me. Can you please advise on what legal action we can take against him? My first-month salary was paid by cheque, and then it was paid by NEFT.

P.S. Some of the stock was sold, but he kept the money with himself.

Legal Recourse for Unpaid Wages and Termination Benefits

There is very little you can do in this case other than learn not to work for a start-up. Technically, you can file a case against him for your back wages and termination benefits. In reality, the cost of filing a case, lawyer fees, and the time it would take to even get a hearing is far too long to make any sense.

You can go to the labor officer (government labor commissioner, authority under the Payment of Wages Act), but in the end, even that will not give much result, especially if he (or the company) is broke. In these cases, if the person is dishonest or has bad intent, there is nothing you can actually do. It's better you move on and look for a better job.

The fact that you are not given an appointment letter does not affect your employment status. The fact you were paid by bank transfer is a good thing; it will form records you can give to your future employer to show that you were working at the specified salary.