Can Company Hold Salary Of A Terminated Employee - negative background verification?

SUSRI SANGITA PARIJA
One of the employees has been terminated due to negative feedback from background verification, which was done after 75 days of joining. The employee's 45 days' salary has been kept on hold. The company is not ready to pay the salary and terminated the employee without any notice. Can we take any legal action against the company?
HR Mohankumar
No, this clearly shows that the documents submitted during joining are fake. The termination is justified. The employer has as long as 6 months to verify any joining documents. You cannot take any legal proceedings. You may request for full salary or part thereof.
umakanthan53
Dear friend,

There is no mention in the post of what the duration of the probation period was and whether the employee was officially confirmed in the post for which he was selected or was undergoing probation before the termination based on background verification. If he was only a probationer, the action of the management in terminating his services based on any negative feedback in the background verification report without assigning any reason or notice as per the terms of the contract of employment might be correct. If not, the management ought to have at least mentioned the reason for the termination in the orders, as it can be construed as a declaration to the effect that the individual was never appointed since he has procured the appointment by means of submission of fake documents or suppression of certain vital facts, as the case may be, and not an order of termination in the normal sense.

Coming to the issue of withholding 45 days' salary out of a total of 75 days of service, it is certainly illegal. Salary is the compensation payable for the services rendered. Hence, it is the automatic right acquired by the employee for remaining under the services of the employer subject to his directions and disposal. Thus, salary is first earned by the employee and only then becomes payable, resulting in the fulfillment of the mutual consideration of the contract of employment. Therefore, the employer has no right to withhold the salary for the duty period.
SUSRI SANGITA PARIJA
What action can be taken towards the employer? The salary that they have withheld will be around 70k.
Krushna
The negative background verification obtained should have been shared with the employee (both regular and probationer) and served with a show cause notice from the employee first. Relying on the recent SC's judgment, no employer can terminate an employee abruptly. A negative background verification can be intentional and motivated. Termination of the services of an employee may be a small thing for the company, but it's a significant matter for an employee. So, it's very important to follow a proper and fair process before effecting a termination.

Regards,
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