Stuck Without My Gratuity: How Can I Claim It After Leaving My Job Years Ago?

I have worked for more than 9 years in a civil construction company and left the company in October 2014. However, to this day, I have not received my gratuity amount from that company. Can you please suggest how I can claim my pending gratuity amount from the company?

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to bring to your attention the concerning delay in response to my previous communications. Despite my repeated attempts to reach out, I have not received any acknowledgment or resolution from your end.

I kindly request that you prioritize addressing this matter promptly as it has been pending for an extended period of time. Should I not receive a response within a reasonable timeframe, I will have no choice but to escalate this issue further.

If necessary, I am prepared to submit a formal written complaint to the Labour Commissioner of the relevant jurisdiction. This complaint will include comprehensive details and supporting evidence regarding my employment history with your company, including the duration of my continuous service.

I trust that we can resolve this issue amicably and promptly to avoid any further escalation.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yours sincerely

You have mentioned that you worked for 9 years in a construction company. Generally, construction companies recruit workmen on a contractual or project basis. You haven't mentioned whether you were a workman or regular staff, or whether you have received any final settlement project-wise. If yes, you cannot claim continuity in employment.

Please elaborate on your post properly, including your designation, date of joining (DOJ), date of leaving (DOL), whether you have any appointment letter with you, and if there was any long gap in your services due to project completion.

Regards, Suresh

Gratuity Entitlement and Employer Practices

1. The Gratuity Act does not address the status of an employee; the focus is on continuity of service. Therefore, regardless of whether FnF (Full and Final settlement) is completed or not, if the company remains the same and the service was uninterrupted, the employee is entitled to gratuity.

2. If the employer has been changing the name/s of the employee/s, this practice can be contested. By applying the principle of lifting the veil, any hidden intentions of the employer will be revealed.

3. Kindly get in touch with the Labour Commissioner's office to file your complaint.

Warm Regards,
Bharat Gera
HR Consultant
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy-Reasons]

You are advised to lodge your complaint with the Labour Department to claim gratuity.

You are also entitled to interest at 10% for the belated payment applicable after 1 month from the date of relieving from service.

Thank you.

Employment Details and Gratuity Eligibility

Friends, Satheeshkorada has not mentioned whether he was working on a contractual basis or a project basis. He has only mentioned that he worked for nine years. We do not know if there was any break in the continuity of service. Please note that if he was employed on a purely contractual basis for a certain period and was given a full and final settlement after the completion of that project, he cannot claim continuity in service. Also, note that he was working in a civil construction company where projects last for a maximum of 2 to 3 years.

I am well aware that gratuity is not payable based on designations. I just wanted to confirm whether he was working in the office or at the project site. Generally, in the office, they appoint staff on a regular basis, whereas at project sites, it is purely on a contractual basis until the completion of that project. Satheeshkorada has not provided full details of his employment; therefore, it is not appropriate to advise him to approach the Labour department or inform him that he is eligible for gratuity without knowing if he was continuously employed.

Regards, Suresh

Dear Suresh, sorry, I am unable to accept your presumption that project-based service, if any, rendered by the questioner on FTC would extinguish his claim for gratuity in view of the F&F done at the close of each project. I don't think that actuarial basis gratuity would be added to the cost of the project if its gestation period is certainly less than 5 years so as to get reflected in the F&F amounts. In fact, here, the employer remains the same construction company throughout the continuous tenure of 9 years despite the different projects, if any, to which the employee could have been deputed on their successive completion during the course of 9 years. In other words, he was in the service of the same employer continuously at different projects or locations. Your viewpoint may be based on the actual practice being generally adopted in the construction industry in respect of lower-level jobs like site watchman. The veracity of such a practice remains unquestioned as long as there are no complaints. But, on the face of a claim for gratuity, what is important is whether the contract of service between the employer/the construction company and the employee/claimant remained intact amidst the consecutive changes in the projects after their successive completion.

Claiming Gratuity

Coming to the claim for gratuity, first, the questioner has to send his claim for gratuity in the prescribed form to the construction company. If there is no reply or rejection of the claim, he has to file a claim petition with the Controlling Authority under the P.G Act, 1972, for the area where he worked last together with a delay condonation application. The C.A would conduct an inquiry and award gratuity with interest if the claim is maintainable. Better, he should engage the services of an advocate right from the beginning.

"Satheeshkorada has not provided his full details of employment; therefore, it is not proper to advise him to approach the Labor Department or inform him that he is eligible for gratuity without knowing whether he was continuously employed without any breaks in service.

If you had read my reply and suggestions, this sentence would have been written differently. I specifically advised, 'If they do not reply, give your written complaint to the Labor Commissioner of the area where you worked, providing full details and supporting evidence of your employment and period of continuous work.' The emphasis is on the 'period of continuous work' since he is in the construction industry with project work. However, not everyone in the industry may be on a project-to-project basis of work."