Company Promised Salary But Didn't Pay: How Can I Claim My Due Payment?

Hi, I got selected by a company, and they promised to pay me $17,000 per month. I received the offer letter and started going to the office. It was then that I discovered they did not have any projects to work on. When I inquired about the project timeline, they mentioned it would be within a week and requested me to train new hires for the job. I spent a month teaching the new employees. One day, the company's Managing Director informed me that they had not secured the project and suggested that I work in a BPO job during night shifts. I declined the offer, so they allowed me to go home with the assurance that they would notify me once they had a project. They also assured me they would pay my one-month salary as per the offer letter. However, after leaving the company, three months have passed, and they have not paid my salary. Can you please advise me on whether there is a chance for me to receive my salary? If there is a possibility, kindly guide me on how to proceed to claim my due payment. Thank you.

You can issue them a letter threatening legal action if you are not paid salary within a week thereof. Mark a copy thereof to the local office of the Labour Department.

If they still don't pay you, submit your representation and take up the matter formally with the Labour Officer.

Demanding Justice for Unpaid Salary

In your case, the employer has denied your salary and delayed payment. Firstly, you should raise a Demand of Justice, claiming the salary for the period you have worked. Additionally, claim ten times the salary as compensation from the employer, providing them with a reasonable time frame (one month is reasonable). Mention that if they do not pay, you will be compelled to approach the legal forum at their risk and consequences.

If they do not respond, you may then approach the Labour Commissioner and claim your salary plus ten times the salary due as compensation.

Regards,
P.S. Lakshmanan
S. G. Management Services
(PAN INDIA Consultant – Labour Law Compliance, PF, ESI, P Tax, Benefit Management & POSH Compliance)
Kolkata

Cheating by Employers in Campus Selections

Yes, it is another example of cheating by employers of fake companies issuing appointment orders in campus selections. When the employee goes there, there is no job as promised. All IT companies, one fine day, got exemptions from all labor acts in a soft corner mood of the government to encourage the IT sector establishment. Some people misuse this privilege.

You have done nothing on your part of job duties as there is no legal bind over the IT sector except for some minor exemptions. Therefore, you could not take any action via labor acts. The only course of action is to proceed with a cheating case in the public court. You have not lost anything except time and hope for the future. Consider issuing a lawyer's notice based on the above grounds. If there is no response, let it go as we do not want to lose your precious time further, even though it is a clear case of non-payment of salaries and cheating. Choose wisely to pursue a new job in a reputable company.

Dear P.S. Lakshmanan ji,

You have advised the queriest to approach the Labour Commissioner if his company does not respond to him and claim the salary plus ten times the salary due as compensation.

Sir, may I request you to kindly provide the relevant provisions under the law verbatim?

The case for delayed or non-payment of wages, claimant can approach the inspector declared by the appropriate Government. The court may direct for a penalty or multiple of the claim or interest on delayed payment to settle the claim. Till date, the court (HC & SC) has awarded orders to pay the claim with interest.

Please let me know if you need any further assistance.

Beware of Fly-by-Night Operators

Such fly-by-night operators vanish overnight. They set up a rented office for a project. Everything is rented, including PCs. Once they know that the project is not coming, they will abandon everything, including not paying the rent, and vanish. Whatever case you want to file, the notice may not get served at all! One has to be careful about joining such companies. In our desperation to get a job, we are ready to compromise without even checking the background and antecedents of the company. Trust and honesty are two words you may not find even in the English dictionary these days!

Best wishes

Discussion on Salary Claims and Compensation

Dear ANONYMOUS Friend, you asked for help. Our learned member and Super Moderator KK!HR responded to you spontaneously and correctly. You are advised to proceed as per their guidance.

Now, I want to discuss something we can call academic. I want to discuss the salary claim with ten times the salary due as compensation, as envisaged by one of the learned members of the forum, Shri. P.S. Lakshmanan. Section 15 of the Payment of Wages Act deals with claims arising out of deductions from wages or delay in payment of wages and penalty for malicious or vexatious claims.

Subsection 3 of this section says that when any application for a refund deduction or delayed payment is entertained by the authority, the authority shall hear the applicant and the employer or give them an opportunity of being heard. After such further inquiry (if any) as may be necessary, the authority may, without prejudice to any other penalty to which such employer is subject, direct the refund to the employed person of the amount deducted or the payment of the delayed wages, together with the payment of such compensation as the authority may think fit. This compensation should not exceed ten times the amount deducted in the former case and not exceed twenty-five rupees in the latter. Even if the amount deducted or the delayed wages are paid before the disposal of the application, the authority may direct the payment of such compensation as it deems fit, not exceeding twenty-five rupees.

This maximum ten times compensation is applicable in refund of deduction cases and not in delay payment. Furthermore, the claim for compensation at a maximum of 10 times is totally misconceived, as such compensation is not mandatory to be granted by the authority. It is discretionary and subject to the facts and circumstances of each case. It is in the form of a penalty.

I hope my point of view is well taken by the learned members.

Dear Keshavji, I have advised the querist based on my memory and past experience. Two decades ago, I handled a case where a few workmen were denied their wages and initiated proceedings under The West Bengal Shops and Establishment Act and The Payment of Wages Act. The dispute raised was about denied wages, not delayed wages.

In this case, at the time of reconciliation, the management agreed to pay the wages, interest, and also three months' wages as compensation, and the matter was settled. You will agree with me that in the instant case of the querist, the issue is not delayed payment of wages but the denied payment of wages.

There exists a difference between "DENIED WAGES" & "DELAYED WAGES". I may be corrected by senior members if I am wrong.

Regards, P.S. Lakshmanan S. G. Management Services (PAN INDIA Consultant – Labour Law Compliance, PF, ESI, P Tax, Benefit Management & POSH COMPLIANCE Kolkata)