Illegal termination is one of the most commonly occurring employment disputes in India. Each year, many employees face wrongful termination and are left stranded with no financial support. If you are an employee who has been wrongfully terminated, you have the legal remedy to send a legal notice to your employer.
The legal recourse starts by sending a legal notice to the company for the illegal termination and to recover any dues as per the terms of your employment with the company. In case of no reply to the legal notice, one may choose to file a suit for recovery of legitimate dues like unpaid salary, salary in lieu of notice period not allowed to serve, PF, gratuity and so on.
There are legal remedies that an employee can take recourse to, in case he/she has been illegally/unlawfully terminated. It is important to choose the correct legal remedy against your company/employer in order to get justice (and your salary). Given below are simple yet crucial steps that will help you if you have been terminated illegally.
The first step should be to send a legal notice since most cases get resolved in this step itself and you do not need to proceed to Court. One must send a well-drafted and legally sound notice to ensure that you get a prompt response on your notice and you have maximum opportunity to redress your claim.
Legal notice is the first step of the legal recourse/court case. A legal notice must consist of the entire story in descriptive terms, signed by a lawyer. Through a legal notice, you must seek end to end damages including back pay, lost benefits, injunctive relief, punitive damages, health insurance provident fund and loss of salary. A specific time period for reply and for the company/employer to compensate you for your loss of job and your salary (including payment of interest for the delay) should be mentioned. It should also be stated that you would file a case in a Court if your legal notice is not complied with within the specified time period.
To, Date:
XYZ. Company Private Limited
Through its Managing Director
Mr. ABC
Sir,
Under instruction and on behalf of my client Ms. A, Resident House No. 3/96, Gomti Nagar, I do hereby serve you with the following notice:-
That my client was appointed by your offer letter dated 20th November 2014 and the salary of my client was fixed at Rs. 25000 /- per month with respect to your offer letter dated 20th November 2014. But my client joined her duty on 20th December 2014 with you.
That my client did her duty diligently, regularly and with utmost punctuality and sincerity, and with full devotion by doing manual job with her own hands in accordance with the well-settled provisions of the law. You issued the offer letter in the name of my client and got printed the visiting cards also in the name of my client along with the Identity Card.
That on 4th October, 2015 when my client went to attend her duty then your office abruptly refused to allow to my client to attend her duty and told that services of my client are no more required by your office and thus the services of my client have been terminated by you in a most illegal and unlawful manner without any reasonable rhyme and cause. At the time of termination of the services of my client, you did not pay the salary for the month of August and 15 days salary for the month of September which comes to Rs. 37,500/- to my said client.
That my client visited your office from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from time to time and spent a huge amount of Rs. 4500/- on the charges of traveling but you refused to pay and also the amount of Rs. 10,000- my client spend while doing field work for your company. Lastly on 7th December, 2015 you clearly refused to pay the salary amount of Rs. 37500/- to my client along with traveling charges and amount spend on field work.
That you did not provide me statutory benefits i.e. Providential Fund. etc. You also did not pay amount of bonus and other service benefits which totally comes to Rs. 28000/-
I, therefore, call upon you through this Notice, to make the payment of the Rs. 80,000/- to my client along with interest up to date, under intimation to me, within the period of 15 days, failing which my client has given clear instructions to me to file criminal as well as civil suit and Suit for Recovery in the competent court of law and in that event you will be fully responsible for all costs, risks, responsibilities, expenses and consequences thereof. Please note well.
A copy of this Notice is kept in my office for record and further necessary action and you are also advised to keep the copy safe as you would be asked to produce in the court.
Advocate
Documents required for sending a legal notice to the employer for wrongful termination are as follows-
Copy of Employment Contract/Agreement
Bank Statement/ Proof of unpaid salary and past salary received
Appointment Letter/ Email Conversation
Other benefits and allowances allowed or entitled for
The following procedure can be followed while send a legal notice for wrongful termination:
Find and hire a well approved legal attorney/lawyer having experience in dealing with employment issues and matters relating to labor laws.
Get a legal notice prepared through him specifying details of employment terms and duration for which salary was not paid.
Give a second look to the legal notice prepared, to assure accuracy and affirmation of all facts and figures stated.
After all legal attestations and approvals, send the notice to the employer through registered post.
Alternatives available with the Employee to recover the due Salary-
Go for Arbitration and Mediation
Approach the District Labor Commissioner and seek his assistance
File a Civil Law suit for recovery of the Salary
File a Complaint before the District Labor Court under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
Follow the procedure envisaged under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 ( in cases of a company employer)
By initiating the correct and appropriate legal proceedings, an employee who has been wronged can secure his/her job term and can also recover his/her due salary. The main relief an employee can get from the legal remedies is monetary compensation or damages. The purpose of monetary damages is to compensate you for what you lost because of the employer's actions. You will have to prove not only that you suffered losses because of the employer's wrongful actions, but also the amount of those losses.
It is imperative that you hire a labour and service lawyer as he/she is aware of the laws and the procedures involved in case of wrongful or illegal termination. Only a lawyer will be able to guide you on the correct path as he/she has the requisite experience and expertise in dealing with such matters. A lawyer will be able to draft your legal notice and your suit and even file it in the correct court. A labour lawyer, being an expert in the service and labour laws can help you understand the options available to you in situations like these and can also assist you with the necessary procedures in order to resolve your issue regarding illegal termination and recovery of due salary.
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