A workman/driver, while driving a tractor, damaged the company's property. The cost of the damage is Rs. 2500. The cost of the damage is to be recovered from the workman. How to deduct it from his salary/wages? What is the process to deduct the fine or any formalities to be followed?
From India, Bijapur
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5From India, Bijapur
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Dear Ramesh,
Conduct the inquiry and assess the cost of damage (which you say is Rs 2,500/-). You can impose a fine on the employee, but you cannot recover the entire cost of damage from the employee. The amount recovered from the employee has to be deposited into the Karnataka State Labour Welfare Fund (KSLWF). You cannot keep the amount for yourself.
It may be noted that the Supreme Court and various high courts have given rulings on recovering the entire amount from the employee. In the recent past, the famous news channel "Times Now" had to pay Rs 100 crore as the cost of defamation. This was due to a small mistake of their news team. It was not possible to recover even 1% of the amount from the employees. Obviously, they had to forgo these charges.
Thanks,
Dinesh V Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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Conduct the inquiry and assess the cost of damage (which you say is Rs 2,500/-). You can impose a fine on the employee, but you cannot recover the entire cost of damage from the employee. The amount recovered from the employee has to be deposited into the Karnataka State Labour Welfare Fund (KSLWF). You cannot keep the amount for yourself.
It may be noted that the Supreme Court and various high courts have given rulings on recovering the entire amount from the employee. In the recent past, the famous news channel "Times Now" had to pay Rs 100 crore as the cost of defamation. This was due to a small mistake of their news team. It was not possible to recover even 1% of the amount from the employees. Obviously, they had to forgo these charges.
Thanks,
Dinesh V Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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In my view, the best thing is to conduct the domestic inquiry and conclude by saying, "taking a lenient view that this driver caused this for the first time and hence he shall be left with a strong warning not to repeat this, on the condition he shall repair the damage at his own cost."
Kumar.S.
From India, Bangalore
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Kumar.S.
From India, Bangalore
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Dear Ramesh,
During the course of work, some damage is inevitable in any business, industry, or manufacturing activity. What is important is the record of that person to ascertain whether it was done intentionally or during the course of work.
A damage of about Rs. 2500 is negligible for a company, and such damages are always taken into consideration.
However, it would be a sizable portion of the workman's salary. Good companies do not recover such INCIDENTAL DAMAGES from the employees.
I shudder to think if management behaves in such Shylockian ways to recover it from the employees. I have worked in industries where the cost of equipment and even some losses run into several lakhs of rupees.
A workman would have to pawn all his coming generations as SLAVES to the management should it think of recovering such damages from workmen.
As an easy example, think of a driver driving a Rolls Royce which meets with an accident and is damaged, or a pilot flying a Boeing 787 and by mistake overshoots the runway and gets damaged. In both these examples, the employees will take several generations to repay the damages!
Warm regards.
From India, Delhi
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During the course of work, some damage is inevitable in any business, industry, or manufacturing activity. What is important is the record of that person to ascertain whether it was done intentionally or during the course of work.
A damage of about Rs. 2500 is negligible for a company, and such damages are always taken into consideration.
However, it would be a sizable portion of the workman's salary. Good companies do not recover such INCIDENTAL DAMAGES from the employees.
I shudder to think if management behaves in such Shylockian ways to recover it from the employees. I have worked in industries where the cost of equipment and even some losses run into several lakhs of rupees.
A workman would have to pawn all his coming generations as SLAVES to the management should it think of recovering such damages from workmen.
As an easy example, think of a driver driving a Rolls Royce which meets with an accident and is damaged, or a pilot flying a Boeing 787 and by mistake overshoots the runway and gets damaged. In both these examples, the employees will take several generations to repay the damages!
Warm regards.
From India, Delhi
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Punishment will not correct a man. If he is exceptional in his profession, the issue may be considered leniently. A nominal amount and descent on promotion panel are reasonable. Make sure it does not lead to psychological horror.
From India, Bangalore
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From India, Bangalore
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Dear Ramesh,
I appreciate the comments of some seniors where they are suggesting not to recover. Being an industry, some damage, accidents, or mishaps are bound to happen. The decision-making of the company's management seemed to have gone biased and trying to teach the worker some lesson through this recovery. But all that does not work in the real world.
In place of this, you can give Japanese-style punishments - say not allowed to drive for 6 months or a 3-month ban on regular activity and doing some non-routine work at the place where the damage happened. This way, Japanese teach the culprit to respect the existence of the surrounding at others' places and instill a sense of responsibility for all his on-duty actions. Training and learning are other ways you can keep on doing to improve the responsibility showcase of the employees - not a single one.
Empathy while taking disciplinary actions is a good idea - as sometimes these are required but.
From India, Mumbai
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I appreciate the comments of some seniors where they are suggesting not to recover. Being an industry, some damage, accidents, or mishaps are bound to happen. The decision-making of the company's management seemed to have gone biased and trying to teach the worker some lesson through this recovery. But all that does not work in the real world.
In place of this, you can give Japanese-style punishments - say not allowed to drive for 6 months or a 3-month ban on regular activity and doing some non-routine work at the place where the damage happened. This way, Japanese teach the culprit to respect the existence of the surrounding at others' places and instill a sense of responsibility for all his on-duty actions. Training and learning are other ways you can keep on doing to improve the responsibility showcase of the employees - not a single one.
Empathy while taking disciplinary actions is a good idea - as sometimes these are required but.
From India, Mumbai
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Dear Ramesh,
First of all, we should understand the motto of a penalty, whether it is for recovery or for teaching a lesson to avoid recurrence. It is commonly understood that Rs 2,500/- is not a huge amount that an employer cannot bear. Therefore, the aspect that remains is 'lesson teaching for avoiding recurrence,' which can be conveyed through a confession in a common meeting, an Advisory Note, a Charge Sheet, etc.
Please refer to any source mentioned in the Disciplinary Actions for Misconduct under Model Standing Orders.
-Suraj
From India, Mumbai
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First of all, we should understand the motto of a penalty, whether it is for recovery or for teaching a lesson to avoid recurrence. It is commonly understood that Rs 2,500/- is not a huge amount that an employer cannot bear. Therefore, the aspect that remains is 'lesson teaching for avoiding recurrence,' which can be conveyed through a confession in a common meeting, an Advisory Note, a Charge Sheet, etc.
Please refer to any source mentioned in the Disciplinary Actions for Misconduct under Model Standing Orders.
-Suraj
From India, Mumbai
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As our members commented, review the situation to determine whether the driver acted in a negligent manner or not. If the accident or damage occurred beyond the driver's control, then a lenient view should be taken.
If the accident or damage occurred due to a violation of rules or negligent driving, recovery to a certain extent is appropriate as this should serve as a message for other violators.
From India, Tiruchchirappalli
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If the accident or damage occurred due to a violation of rules or negligent driving, recovery to a certain extent is appropriate as this should serve as a message for other violators.
From India, Tiruchchirappalli
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You can levy a penalty for damage caused by 'intent,' but it is very difficult to prove the same. A written warning seems enough in such cases. Why waste time and effort in meaningless investigations? I am sure there are some important business issues in your company which deserve an investment in time.
From India, Delhi
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From India, Delhi
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