I Have Certain Doubts About Gratuity Act, Kindly Clarify.

I have certain doubts about gratuity act, kindly clarify.
As per Gratuity Act an employee to be eligible for gratuity has to work for a minimum of 240 days / year.
1. Kindly let me know from which date 240 days would be reckoned (starting from the date of joining or from calender month in which the employee has joined).
2. If an employee has worked for 7 years, out of which in 3 years he has worked for less than 240 days (calculated as per the Act), would he be paid gratuity for 4 year only.
3. For calculating no. of working days as above whether leave days without wages would be considered.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Best Regards
Raghavendra Rashinkar

1 From date of joining
2.If worked for less than 240 days, no gratuity is payable for those years
3. Lwp to be treated as days not worked.
Regards
Vinayak Nagarkar
HR Consulting

Please have your answers to the query as under:-
1. Yes, qualifying for gratuity, minimum 240 working days in a year are required.
2. Calculations are made from the date of joining to date of leaving.
3. Number of years in which working days are less than 240 is reduced from total period i.e. total no. of years.
4. No, leave without pay is not considered.
P K Sharma

No gratuity if the residual period ,after the 3 years --where he has not worked for 240 days, is 4 years

Section 2A(1) says that an employee shall be said to be in continuous service for a period if he has, for that period, been in uninterrupted service, including service which may be interrupted on account of sickness, accident, leave, absence from duty without leave (not being absence in respect of which an order treating the absence as break in service has been passed in accordance with
the standing order, rules or regulations governing the employees of the establishment). Thus if an order has not been passed treating his absence as break in service, he is eligible for gratuity for the years having less than 240 days attendance also.