Can absconded employee be eligible for gratuity or leave encashment?
From India, Mumbai
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33From India, Mumbai
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If Continuous service criteria is met, gratuity will have to be paid. IN my opinion,LE also will have to be paid if due after adjustment in F& F
From India, Pune
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From India, Pune
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Hi, if you go through the Payment of Gratuity Act, it is clearly mentioned that as a rule, gratuity has to be paid if the employee has completed 5 years of continuous service. As most rules do have exceptions, so also here. You may go through Section 4 and subsection 6 to know the exception and when it is applicable. The burden is on the employer to show that the employee's act/omission falls under this exception, so the payment has been withheld. You may have to be prepared to wash the dirty linen in public, as it has to be proved with the Labor Department and the employee too will be given a chance to disprove you.
From India, Hyderabad
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From India, Hyderabad
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Dear Dipti, Yes, the employee is eligible for both gratuity and leave encashment provided complying with the norms.
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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Yes, he is eligible for both the gratuity and leave encashment, if continued to be in employment without any break in service. However, he is also liable for recovery of notice pay. Suresh
From India, Thane
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From India, Thane
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Thank you all for the kind response.
Yes, we are running a private institute. We cannot put students' futures at stake by disrupting the classes. All employees are under a service agreement from:
- 01.08.2008 to 31.07.2009
- 01.08.2009 to 31.07.2010
- 01.08.2011 to 31.07.2012
- 01.08.2012 to 31.07.2013
- 13.03.2014 to 13.08.2014
- 15.11.2014 to 15.08.2015
- 01.11.2015 to 31.10.2016
- 01.12.2016 to 30.11.2017
We cannot disrupt the students' classes, so we were providing salary during the gap period without a bond. However, the employee has left the job without any notification or resignation. They have been absconding since then.
Kindly guide.
From India, Mumbai
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Yes, we are running a private institute. We cannot put students' futures at stake by disrupting the classes. All employees are under a service agreement from:
- 01.08.2008 to 31.07.2009
- 01.08.2009 to 31.07.2010
- 01.08.2011 to 31.07.2012
- 01.08.2012 to 31.07.2013
- 13.03.2014 to 13.08.2014
- 15.11.2014 to 15.08.2015
- 01.11.2015 to 31.10.2016
- 01.12.2016 to 30.11.2017
We cannot disrupt the students' classes, so we were providing salary during the gap period without a bond. However, the employee has left the job without any notification or resignation. They have been absconding since then.
Kindly guide.
From India, Mumbai
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Hi Dipti,
You have mentioned that you were giving salary during the gap period. What exactly were you doing? From your post, it seems that the Trainer was in your services from 1st August 2008 till 30th November 2017 but not in continued services.
01.08.2008 to 31.07.2009
01.08.2009 to 31.07.2010 (He was not there for 1 year. Had he resigned and gone? Was he offered final settlement?)
01.08.2011 to 31.07.2012
01.08.2012 to 31.07.2013 (Again there was a gap for almost 7.5 months)
13.03.2014 to 13.08.2014 (Gap of 3 months)
15.11.2014 to 15.08.2015 (Gap of 2.5 months)
01.11.2015 to 31.10.2016
01.12.2016 to 30.11.2017
If he has not been paid any salary for the gap periods, then he is not eligible for any gratuity. He may claim continuity in services only from 13th March 2014, and thus he has not completed 5 years of continuous service.
The above statement is made based on the information submitted by you, which seems to be incomplete regarding the appointment letter, settlement of accounts, resignation, etc.
Regards,
Suresh
From India, Thane
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You have mentioned that you were giving salary during the gap period. What exactly were you doing? From your post, it seems that the Trainer was in your services from 1st August 2008 till 30th November 2017 but not in continued services.
01.08.2008 to 31.07.2009
01.08.2009 to 31.07.2010 (He was not there for 1 year. Had he resigned and gone? Was he offered final settlement?)
01.08.2011 to 31.07.2012
01.08.2012 to 31.07.2013 (Again there was a gap for almost 7.5 months)
13.03.2014 to 13.08.2014 (Gap of 3 months)
15.11.2014 to 15.08.2015 (Gap of 2.5 months)
01.11.2015 to 31.10.2016
01.12.2016 to 30.11.2017
If he has not been paid any salary for the gap periods, then he is not eligible for any gratuity. He may claim continuity in services only from 13th March 2014, and thus he has not completed 5 years of continuous service.
The above statement is made based on the information submitted by you, which seems to be incomplete regarding the appointment letter, settlement of accounts, resignation, etc.
Regards,
Suresh
From India, Thane
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My question is: was he paid a salary from 8/2008 to 11/2017 without a break? If so, he can be treated as having completed 5 years of continuous service. Eligibility for Gratuity and Leave Encashment arises if the employee was paid a salary even during gap periods. However, if he is absconding, how will you get in touch with him? Probably write to his recorded permanent address and ask him to get in touch. What is the exit policy as per the appointment letter? How much notice was he supposed to give the organization? Any salary due can be adjusted against the notice period pay.
From India, Pune
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From India, Pune
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That's a private institute. The employee is absconding from 01 Dec. Since we cannot hamper the classes of students, we paid the old salary without the bond period as it was a mutual decision. The institute hired him as a fixed-term employee. He has not provided his resignation yet, I mean till date.
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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Send a letter to his registered address asking him to get in touch. The letter should be sent by registered post for proof. The institute pays salary even when classes are not in session, if I understand correctly. Ask him to report by a particular date, and if he does not report back, then steps to terminate his employment can be taken.
From India, Pune
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From India, Pune
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