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?
Furthermore, 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 labor law for such action?
Please educate.
From India, Mumbai
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16As 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?
Furthermore, 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 labor law for such action?
Please educate.
From India, Mumbai
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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 labor law or act have you done that? No labor 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 labor 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 organization, 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 CEOs. 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
From India, Bangalore
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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 labor law or act have you done that? No labor 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 labor 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 organization, 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 CEOs. 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
From India, Bangalore
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What Mr. Dinesh Divekar has mentioned is absolutely correct. I would recommend completing the background check process before the employee's joining. Typically, there is at least a one-month gap between the offer/appointment letter and the joining date. It is feasible to conduct the background check within this period to prevent any issues.
S K Bandyopadhyay (WB, Howrah)
From India, New Delhi
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S K Bandyopadhyay (WB, Howrah)
From India, New Delhi
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As the recruitment and selection procedure is a significant task involving many responsibilities, I recommend preparing a checklist of these tasks with specific timeframes to prevent any omissions.
What our senior member, Mr. Dinesh, is referring to is a common occurrence in many companies.
Some employees who possess the initiative and determination to combat such practices may choose to pursue appropriate action. In such instances, your company will be held accountable.
From India, Aizawl
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What our senior member, Mr. Dinesh, is referring to is a common occurrence in many companies.
Some employees who possess the initiative and determination to combat such practices may choose to pursue appropriate action. In such instances, your company will be held accountable.
From India, Aizawl
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Yes, salary cannot be withheld for the work already performed.
Moreover, even if the verification of credentials turns out to be less than satisfactory, due process needs to be followed for the services of the employee to be terminated unless, of course, the employee 'prevailed over' to submit his/her resignation.
From India, Kochi
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Moreover, even if the verification of credentials turns out to be less than satisfactory, due process needs to be followed for the services of the employee to be terminated unless, of course, the employee 'prevailed over' to submit his/her resignation.
From India, Kochi
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