Am I Still Employed If My Company Stopped Paying Me After My Contract Ended? Seeking Advice!

Dear all, The present company employed me on 01/05/18 as per their “Appointment Letter” and also got a Service Agreement signed. The agreement stated that I would be required to serve for a minimum period of two years with the company in consideration of the training done abroad at the company’s cost.

Also, with the clause that a minimum one-month notice period or equivalent pay in lieu of will be required from either party to break away from the employment.

I have completed the bond period of two years, but no notice or termination letter has been issued by them. Am I still an employee of the company? The company, however, has stopped paying me the salary. Is this act by the company legal? Can I claim emoluments for the period beyond two years as I still remain a permanent employee of the company as per the employment letter?

Please advise action on my part. Thanks

Dear Piyush, please recheck your appointment letter as well as the service agreement again. If it is a Fixed Term Contract Employment for a period of two years only, at the end of the two-year period, either you would have been relieved or the term would have been extended further. If your appointment is a regular one and the execution of the bond is only for the purpose of mandatorily securing your service for the minimum period mentioned therein because of the training abroad imparted to you at the expense of the company/employer, there is no necessity for the company to issue notice afterward if they do not intend to terminate your services. If the duration of the FTE contract and the bond period are co-terminous, then also there is no necessity for the employer to issue notice. Generally, such a notice clause would be applicable only in the unilateral termination of the contract of employment by either the employer or the employee if it is resorted to any time before the expiry of the fixed term.

In this backdrop, your statement that after two years, you have been allowed to work for two months but no salary has been paid is a bit confusing to me. In any case, non-payment of salary for the period worked is certainly a breach of the contract of employment as well as an offense under the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, if applicable. It is also possible that owing to a paucity of funds during lockdown, the employer might not be in a position to pay your salary on time. It would be better to submit a request to disburse the salary early.