Salary payment withheld during IE - Is this legal or am I in contravention of any law?

Hi, As mentioned in my earlier post I am in the process of verifying the credentials of an employee.
However, I have withheld his salary now for close to 1.5 months. Is this legal or am I in contravention of any law.
Further, if I find his credentials to have been incorrect then if I terminate him will I have to pay him this salary that I have not paid for the last 1.5 months.
Does the employee have any recourse under any labour law for such action.
Please educate.

Dear Anuradha Grewal,

Since the credentials of the employee are under verification, you have withheld the salary of the employee. However, may I know under the provision of which labour law or act have you done that? No labour law permits withholding the salary of the employee. Nevertheless, you can very well insert a clause in the appointment letter stating that the appointment in your company is subject to a background check and if the falsification of the information is established, the employee's services could be discontinued.

Even if the background check fails, you must pay salary to the employee till his last working day.

General comments: - These comments are not specific to this post but the posts on this forum of a similar kind. Posts of this kind show that after 70 years of independence, how rampant is the unawareness of the laws in general and labour laws in particular. An employee has to toil, and sweat to earn the money but those who are sitting in the authoritative position, behave as if the colonial era is continued and hold their legitimate dues. If even in a formal organisation if the disbursement of the salary is put on hold at one's will then how are these different from the crime syndicate?

Posts of this kind also bring out why the other functionaries hate the HR professionals or why HR professionals are not placed on par with other functionaries.

A few months ago there was a question on this forum about why HR professionals do not become CEO. The posts of this kind provide ample evidence of ignorance and half-baked knowledge of the HR professionals and provide reasons how HRs allow themselves to be sidelined!

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

What Mr. Dinesh Divekar has been mentioned is absolutely right. I would recommend to complete the background check process before joining of the employee. Usually there is at least 1 month time between offer/appointment letter and date of joining. It is possible to complete the background check within this one month to avoid any hassles.

S K Bandyopadhyay ( WB, Howrah)

As recruitment & selection procedure is a big job, which involves so many tasks, I suggest that you may prepare a check list of such tasks, with the time frame so that no task can be omitted.
What our senior member Mr Dinesh is quoting is actually happening, in many companies.

Some employees who have the initiative and drive to fight against such practice shall go for such recourse, in the event of which, your company shall be answerable.

Yes, salary cannot be withheld for the work already performed.

Moreover, even if the verification of credentials turn out be less than satisfactory, due process need to be followed for the services of the employee to be terminated unless, of course, the employee 'prevailed over' to submit his/her resignation.