Long-time Employee Fired Without Notice: Can He Seek Retrenchment Benefits in Court?

Dear seniors,

One person was terminated from a company without any notice after a long service of 35 years. He was not paid any gratuity or other benefits, so he approached the labor officer for reinstatement. It was informed by the company that he will not be reinstated, and the labor officer further directed him to approach the Gratuity authority for gratuity and the labor court for retrenchment benefits.

So he approached the Gratuity authority, and the same was ordered. Now, can he approach the labor court via 33 C 2 for retrenchment benefits?

Was he a workman under the ID Act? Then he is eligible for filing a 33(C) 2 application. Otherwise, he can approach the Civil Court.

The incomplete factual position in your post gives rise to questions of law, as raised by Mr. Babu Alexander, as well as some more questions of fact. In a dispute raised under Section 2-A(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Conciliation Officer cannot adjudicate when the employer maintains the stance that the employee was not a workman under Section 2(s) of the Act to seek remedy. At most, the Conciliation Officer can only record the failure of conciliation under Section 12(4) of the Act. The Labor Court is the competent authority to decide the issue and grant appropriate relief, such as reinstatement with back wages, continuity of service, or a certain amount of compensation in lieu thereof, including retrenchment compensation and wages for the period of non-employment in its award, to be issued on the dispute filed by the employee under Section 2-A(2).

Therefore, if the employee was not a workman, their right to employment and the employer's right to terminate their services stem solely from the terms of the employment contract. If the employer fails to adhere to the terms of unilateral termination, it becomes a case of breach of the contract of employment, against which the employee can only claim damages in a Civil Court, as suggested by the learned friend above.