Employee Left Without Notice After 10 Years: Am I Legally Required to Pay Gratuity?

One of my employees worked for me for 10 years and then left my organization without informing me. He came back after 6 months to claim gratuity. We have a total staff strength of 4.

Legally, am I bound to pay him?

One of my employees worked for me for 10 years and then left my organization without informing me. He came back after 6 months to claim gratuity. We have a total staff strength of 4.

Legally, am I bound to pay him?

Since you have only 4 staff, the POG Act is not applicable. However, if you had 10 employees at any time, the Act would be applicable.

Can anybody update me on whether there has been any change in the time frame for eligibility for gratuity? Somebody told me that a new notification was issued stating that the time frame for gratuity eligibility has been reduced to 2.5 years from 5 years. Is this information correct? Additionally, has the calculation method changed from 15 days' salary per year to 30 days' salary per year? Can someone confirm these updates?

No such law has come into effect. There are proposals to reduce the qualifying period and increase the rate.