Am I Eligible for Gratuity After 4 Years and 11 Months? Seeking Advice on Next Steps

I have resigned from my company. I have worked for the company for 4 years and 11 months (including the notice period). I am concerned about my Gratuity Payment. My employer says Gratuity is paid to someone on completion of 5 years of service. Am I eligible for Gratuity payment? If yes, then what documents can I show to my HR to support the eligibility and what are the other legal options available to claim my support.

Eagerly waiting for a reply. Thanks

Hey, you need to go through the company policy to see if they have written anything specific about gratuity. Seek legal advice from someone working in the labor court. Ideally, it is 4 years and 240 days as per the laws, but companies often find ways to circumvent the law. As suggested by a friend of mine who is a lawyer, it is better to get your full and final settlement (FNF) and then pursue legal action for non-payment of gratuity. However, before taking any steps, seek advice from a lawyer.

All the best.

Judgments on Gratuity Eligibility

Please go through the judgment of the Madras High Court in the case of Mettur Beardsell Ltd., Madras vs. Regional Labour Commissioner, Madras 1998 LLR 1072. It has been held that an employee rendering continuous service for a period of 240 days in a year, i.e., the fifth year, will be deemed to have continued in service for one year as stipulated by Section 2A of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.

Please also review the judgment of the Kerala High Court in Sreeja vs. Regional Joint Labour Commissioner 2015 LLR 826. It has been held that by a deeming provision, the Act provides for the services in any 12 months of a five-year period to be treated as continuous service if the employee has more than 240 days of service.

You can send an application asking for payment of gratuity by attaching these judgments.

Thus, as per the law, you are entitled to gratuity.

Regards, S. Sensharma

Industrial Law Consultant, Meerut

There is no Supreme Court (SC) order on this issue. Only some High Courts (HCs) have made decisions. If you are working in a state where the HC has ruled that four years and 240 days constitute five years for eligibility for gratuity, then you can claim it. In a company where the workweek is five days instead of 240, 190 days are sufficient for one year of continuous service.

Hi,

The above comments given by Mr. Varghese Mathew are true. Until the Supreme Court doesn't give any judgment, then it is 5 years only.

Regards,
Harpreet Walia

I agree that there is no Supreme Court judgment, and the High Court can take a different view than that taken by the Madras/Kerala High Court. However, you can definitely apply the analogy of these judgments in arguing your matter or submitting a claim. In any case, the judgments from other High Courts are relied upon while arguing matters.

S. Sensharma
Industrial Law Consultant, Meerut