Dear Sakshi,
"240 days service" by an employee in an industrial establishment is one of the parameters to conclude whether he has rendered "continuous service" under the same employer in a given period of one year as per section 25B of the Industrial Disputes Act,1947.. It is counted backwards from the date of termination of the services of the employee for a period of consecutive 12 months. Completion of this continuous service is one of the preconditions for retrenchment.That is as per section 25F of the ID Act,1947 no employee who has completed one year of continuous service in the same establishment should be retrenched without giving one month's prior notice containing the reasons reasons for retrenchment or wages in lieu thereof and retrenchment compensation @ 15 days average wages for every year of continuous service rendered by him. That's why the Management upholds its unilateral action by disowning its statutory obligation to comply with the provisions of sec.25F.
Coming to the merits of the case, under the given circumstances, the claim would not be for retrenchment compensation but for reinstatement only. That apart, such an argument advanced by the Management seems to me fallacious for it confirms the fact that the termination of employment is certainly a unilateral action of foreclosing the implied contract of employment at the behest of the employer without any valid reason. Gone are the days of the Victorian Era of hire and fire at the whims and fancies of the employer. However, no employment law has simply taken away the right of the employer to fire his employee but put some reasonable restrictions only. For instance and to be more specific with reference to the argument of the Management, retrenchment, if fully complied with the precedent conditions, is a legal mode of termination of employment beyond any questions. In other words, employee's continuous service of not less than one year in the establishment mentioned in sec.25F as well as 240 days during the preceding 12 months mentioned in sec 25(2)(a) for calculation purpose under the ID Act,1947 respectively would only indicate the statutory concession granted to an employer for retrenching his employee due to some reason to be mentioned coupled with the payment of retrenchment compensation thus provided for u/s 25F. If the employer takes refuge under the non-completion of the minimum qualifying service by the employee and thus skips retrenchment but still terminates the employee, he automatically falls into the trap of dismissal. In case of dismissal, the employer has the onus to prove that it is based on proven misconduct established by means of a formal disciplinary proceeding in tune with the Principles of Natural Justice.
Therefore, I would also recommend raising a dispute u/s 2A(1) of the ID Act,1947 before the ALC for the area.