One of the employees took leave on medical grounds by submitting medical documents for almost a month, and his salary was also paid. However, he is still not showing any signs of resuming duties. Can we take any action in such cases, or can we recover the money paid to him? Please suggest any possible legal actions that can be taken.
Thanks & Regards,
Nisha Singh
From India, Gurgaon
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1Thanks & Regards,
Nisha Singh
From India, Gurgaon
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Medical Leave Policy and Obligations
There are a few cases associated with it. Granting medical leave and payment of salary and/or reimbursement of medical bills are based on the medical leave policy of the company. Since you have already approved the leave and paid the salary, I do not doubt that you have such a policy. However, my concern is about the number of days an employee can avail of such leave. The amount of medical bills that can be reimbursed during a year and the number of days of medical leave that can be permitted should be proportionate to the months the employee has worked in the current year.
However, this will not be applicable if the employee has been bedridden after having an accident while on duty. In such a case, the employer is under a legal obligation to meet the expenses and pay the salary until the employee is fit to resume work. For an employee who is covered by ESI, naturally, the ESI Corporation will bear the responsibility.
If the employee has already exceeded the medical leave limit and medical reimbursement limit, then you can stop granting further leave and reimbursements and ask him to resume duty forthwith. If you remain silent, it will be taken for granted, and the employee may not return even after becoming fit. Therefore, before initiating any action for termination and recovering the amount paid, please ascertain the real situation and then make a decision. Without giving him an opportunity to be heard, you should not take any action. Therefore, you may send a letter to him and ask him to report his present status to begin with. If he does not reply or report to duty, then you can initiate action against him.
Regards,
Madhu.T.K
From India, Kannur
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There are a few cases associated with it. Granting medical leave and payment of salary and/or reimbursement of medical bills are based on the medical leave policy of the company. Since you have already approved the leave and paid the salary, I do not doubt that you have such a policy. However, my concern is about the number of days an employee can avail of such leave. The amount of medical bills that can be reimbursed during a year and the number of days of medical leave that can be permitted should be proportionate to the months the employee has worked in the current year.
However, this will not be applicable if the employee has been bedridden after having an accident while on duty. In such a case, the employer is under a legal obligation to meet the expenses and pay the salary until the employee is fit to resume work. For an employee who is covered by ESI, naturally, the ESI Corporation will bear the responsibility.
If the employee has already exceeded the medical leave limit and medical reimbursement limit, then you can stop granting further leave and reimbursements and ask him to resume duty forthwith. If you remain silent, it will be taken for granted, and the employee may not return even after becoming fit. Therefore, before initiating any action for termination and recovering the amount paid, please ascertain the real situation and then make a decision. Without giving him an opportunity to be heard, you should not take any action. Therefore, you may send a letter to him and ask him to report his present status to begin with. If he does not reply or report to duty, then you can initiate action against him.
Regards,
Madhu.T.K
From India, Kannur
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Employee reference policy.doc