Pension Eligibility Confusion: Does Resignation Date or Relieving Date Matter More?

Sir, Recently, a pension option was announced for bank employees. One of the eligibility criteria is resignation before 26th April 2010. An employee resigned on March 9, 2009, and was relieved on June 3, 2010. The notice period was one month, and despite continuous follow-up, he was not relieved. Now, the bank claims he is not eligible for the pension as he was in the bank's service even after 26th April 2010.

The employee argues that he meets the eligibility criteria. However, the bank's argument is that the date of resignation is June 3, 2010.

I request expert opinions on whether the date of resignation and the date of relieving are two different dates.

Regards, Sunil Sathe

Hi,

Obviously, the date of resignation and the date of relieving are different.

Understanding Resignation and Relieving Dates

The resignation date is the date on which the employee submitted their resignation. The relieving date will be after the resignation date, following the completion of the notice period. Sometimes, if the employee is relieved on the resignation date itself, then the resignation and relieving dates will be the same. However, the resignation date cannot be later than the relieving date.

Case Study: Bank Guidelines on Pension Eligibility

In the case study you referred to, what guidelines were issued by the bank?

If it is "resignation before 26th April 2010," then the particular employee is eligible for a pension as they submitted their resignation on March 9, 2009, well before April 26, 2010. However, as per the guidelines, if "the relieving date is before 26th April 2010," then the employee will not be eligible for a pension. Even in this case, if there is a delay in relieving from the bank's side, the bank's decision can be challenged.

It is a good case.

As a matter of fact, the employee had resigned before 26th April 2010, and the bank accepted it after April 2010 (June 2010). It is not the problem of the employee; it is the bank that decided to accept his resignation after the due date, i.e., 26th April 2010, knowing the due date well.

The bank has not communicated with the employee regarding the reasons for not relieving him before the due date. It can be safely challenged before the court of law.