Non renewal of Contract after Continuous Service - Can we terminate the service?

Saurav Pandey
Can we terminate the service of a worker i.e. workman category employee working in fixed term contract for more than 1 year in regular vacant post by non renewal of contract? Please suggest as it is urgent.
Dinesh Divekar
Dear friend,
What are the terms and conditions of the contract? If it is fixed term and if you do not wish to continue the contract then you may confirm him about cessation of the contract. Write a letter to him about discontinuation of the contract and what will be his last working day.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
Saurav Pandey
Actually we already terminated the contract through non renewal. The problem is the employee was appointed for 1 year or until regular appointment, whichever earlier in regular vacant post and for work of regular nature. Now the employee is raising an industrial dispute and claiming regularization.
nathrao
The company has made the mistake of entering into a contract which says 1 year or until regular appointment of the vacant post,
The employee prima facie is right in his stance as regular vacancy has not been filled.(presumably)
Provisions of IDAct applies to the workman-whether regular or contractual.
umakanthan53
Dear anonymous friend,
As I understand from your two posts,
1) the FTC of the then vacant regular post was meant to be for just a year or till the post happened to be filled up by a regular candidate WHICH EVER WAS -EARLIER - am I right?
2) The FTC lapsed automatically with the lapse of the one year period while the post was not filled up with a regular candidate. Therefore the FTC employee was sent out on a/c of the non-renewal of the contract. In the case of the post being not filled up by a regular candidate within the said one year, the subsisting contract comes to an automatic cessation. Hence I am quite unable to find any illegality in this.
3) Unfortunately, there is no mention in the two successive posts whether the vacancy was subsequently filled up - by any regular candidate or by another FTC employee or still kept vacant?
4) About the individual dispute raised by the erstwhile FTC employee under the IDAct,1947, whether he ultimately succeeds or not, it is his statutory right if he was a "workman"under the Act. It is for the management to resist the claim appropriately by citing the conditional termination of the FTC with any one of the earlier happening viz lapse of one year or filling up of the vacancy with a regular candidate.
bijay_majumdar
"It is for the management to resist the claim appropriately by citing the conditional termination of the FTC with any one of the earlier happening viz lapse of one year or filling up of the vacancy with a regular candidate."
The above suggestion by Umakantahn sir is appropriate. As the contract agreement says so.
However it is contract and since the year is over and the conditions not fulfilled except for the period, Looking at the positive side what if the contract extended for next six months with clear terms of contract with the condition of FTC.
Just a suggestion.
PRABHAT RANJAN MOHANTY
Dear Friend,
The employee on contract term can be terminated as per the terms of contract or the service comes to an end on cessation of contract period or non-renewal of contract.
Now to discuss in line of Industrial Dispute:
A1: Why did the company not fill-up the vacancy of a continuous nature over a period of one year?
A2: It is to be understood that the person discharged his service satisfactorily till cessation of contact put on against vacancy of permanent nature.
A3: It is to be understood that the vacancy is still existing but not yet filled-up.
Under the above circumstances the case becomes fit for raising an industrial dispute to claim regularization on said post.
There is only option before the management to filled-up the vacancy or to declare the position does not exist (but should have a logic) or call the person on interview along with others(but other should have better competency & experience on job) .
Nagarkar Vinayak L
Dear colleague,
When the contract period under the FTC comes to an end, there is no need to terminate it by any employer action . Termination of the contract is automatic with the efflux of time. At the most a letter intimating the employee of its coming to an end is sufficient.
Regarding his raising dispute, it is his right and you will have to counter it with proper Legal action.
Regards,
Vinayak Nagarkar
HR-Consultant.
Saurav Pandey
Dear Friends,
Thank You for all your valuable comments.
Unfortunately, the vacant post is not yet filled up. And the reason for non renewal was that the employee did not get along well with his immediate boss (who is not his employer) due to some reason and misbehaved with him some time ago. Now his immediate boss ruined his CR leading to the non renewal. As he was on contractual basis, management did not conduct enquiry of the issue nor issued any notice.
It is also true that the employee was a workman and had completed more than 240 days of work in that year. His work was no doubt of regular nature.
But the question is how can he raise an individual industrial dispute for regularisation when he is not sponsored by any union? Individual absorption cannot exist. Also can he raise individual industrial dispute for unfair labour practice? If so is he entitled for regularisation?
umakanthan53
Dear anonymous friend,
Regarding the episode of the stand-off between the FTC employee and his immediate boss cryptically mentioned in your post, I would like to remind you the proverb " If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed will go to the mountain " which means that if things are not going your way, you will have to adjust the way they are. Knowing well that it was the immediate boss who can either make your friend's career regular or mar his FTC employment, he/she ought to have the patience and the suaveness to the required extent.
Whether it is an individual dispute u/s 2-A(1) against illegal termination or a complaint u/s 25-T against unfair labor practice under the Industrial Disputes Act,1947 respectively chosen by the affected FTC employee friend of yours, the success seems very remote to me because of the terms of the FTC mentioned in your first two successive posts. Better advise your friend to move on with the green pastures waiting before him in stead of wasting his time,energy and money in unnecessary litigation.
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