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What to do in case of wrongful termination of employment
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Synopsis
As the pandemic worsened and the economy slowed, a large number of employees were dismissed in various sectors. Such termination entails a risk for the employer in the market, in terms of reputation.
By Saransh Chaturvedi, ET CONTRIBUTORS
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Last Updated: Oct 14, 2021, 10:04:00 AM IST10
Unfair dismissal, or a wrongful termination of an employee, is an act where an employer terminates/dismisses/removes an employee without providing any valid grounds of removal. It is imperative that the employer furnish strong and valid reasons for termination, and in case it is not provided, it’s a wrongful termination. Wrongful, also because the employee is not provided an opportunity to be heard. With this, even the fundamental legal principle which says, “Listen to the other side,” stands violated.
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As the pandemic worsened and the economy slowed, a large number of employees were dismissed in various sectors. Such termination entails a risk for the employer in the market, in terms of reputation. These matters are generally dealt under labour and industrial laws, which were enacted to deal with various labour issues, ranging from protection of rights of workmen to regulating instances such as closure, retrenchment, lay off, etc. in the establishment. Before getting into that, let us briefly touch upon the relevant regulation under the labour laws.
Labour Laws
Labour Law is a concurrent subject, which implies that both Central and State governments can regulate it. Undoubtedly, this has worked preferably in granting protection to employees, but it has made compliance difficult for businesses. Subsuming 29 central laws and state laws, the Indian government came up with four major Labour Codes. This was indeed a welcome move to simplify the complex procedures associated with labour issues.
Code of Wages, 2019 covers aspects relating to the payment of wages, bonuses, remuneration to employees. It subsumes four labour laws. Industrial Relations Code, 2020 subsumes three labour laws namely, The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, The Trade Unions Act, 1926, The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946. It deals with employment conditions, industrial disputes, working conditions of employees, making it one of the most hotly debated codes. The Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020 subsumes 13 central labour laws dealing with contract labor, factories, establishments, etc. The Code on Social Security, 2020 subsumes nine laws meant for social security for workmen pertaining to various retirement, maternity, and other health and social benefits. With the incoming of the above-mentioned codes, it is preferably assumed that labor issues will be streamlined in a much more convenient manner. Nevertheless, there are no such ‘substantial’ changes in the law itself, making more of a unification of existing laws. The government has not notified the dates from which the codes will be effective.
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