Sir i am working for a NGO for over 12 yrs. it has well defined staff rules and policies and is registered under society registration act 1860.. in the month of July 2012 most of the staff were asked to resign as their contract came to an end, A fresh interview were conducted some staff were retained from October 2012. Those retained were given a simple letter saying to join office and a formal appointment letter will be given when funds are available. Till date no appointment letters are given staff is given some money as advances. till date our PF and gratuity are not settles we are also informed in writing no benefits compensation will be given. Are the staff entitled for retrenchment benefits,what is the timeline for settling out standing accounts of retrenched staff. What are the remedies available for the staff, which is the competent court to approach to. kindly guide
From India, Pune
From India, Pune
Dear Friend,
There is no exemption from EPF/ESI etc. for NGOs regd. under the Societies Act if you are coverable otherwise. Retrenchment compensation would arise only when you are retrenched on record, whereas you people will be treated as Resigned. I'm not sure what is your labour strength on roll and what type of operations this NGO do and how their funds are received & managed. Registrar of Societies (in the office of the Sub-Registrar in your region) is the Authorised officer to enquire into the activities of a Regd. Society. Your NGO are adopting a clandestine route to evade PF/ESI/Bonus etc by relieving some employees and reengaging a few as freshers so that continuity is broken. Do you have a union or affiliated to any other unions ? You can also lodge complaints with the Labour Officer of your state govt., RPFC/ESI in your area to claim these benefits. I would suggest that you must consult an advocate well versed in such matters with all your available documents and he will guide you what you can and cannot.
All the best.
kumar.s.
From India, Bangalore
362There is no exemption from EPF/ESI etc. for NGOs regd. under the Societies Act if you are coverable otherwise. Retrenchment compensation would arise only when you are retrenched on record, whereas you people will be treated as Resigned. I'm not sure what is your labour strength on roll and what type of operations this NGO do and how their funds are received & managed. Registrar of Societies (in the office of the Sub-Registrar in your region) is the Authorised officer to enquire into the activities of a Regd. Society. Your NGO are adopting a clandestine route to evade PF/ESI/Bonus etc by relieving some employees and reengaging a few as freshers so that continuity is broken. Do you have a union or affiliated to any other unions ? You can also lodge complaints with the Labour Officer of your state govt., RPFC/ESI in your area to claim these benefits. I would suggest that you must consult an advocate well versed in such matters with all your available documents and he will guide you what you can and cannot.
All the best.
kumar.s.
From India, Bangalore
From your mail, it seems they have run out of money
They have handled things smartly, but are mainly banking on :
- You still want a job and will not rock the boat
- you won't bother with courts
- soon money will be available and some will be rehired with minimum liabilities
I do not know if you have waited 6 months or joined elsewhere.
It you have not already done so, look for a different organisation to work with
You need to approach your local labour office
Terminating / reappointing on a mass scale is going to be considered as retrenchment. No court will believe (specially when workers are filing a case) that everyone suddenly decided to resign or abscond at the same time. So they have to pay retrenchment compensation (industrial dispute act covers activities where no profits the motive)
Also they have to pay gratuity
Again, pf is not up to them, just get the forms filled and submit to pf office.
There is enough written on this site on how to get pf from non cooperative employers
From India, Mumbai
They have handled things smartly, but are mainly banking on :
- You still want a job and will not rock the boat
- you won't bother with courts
- soon money will be available and some will be rehired with minimum liabilities
I do not know if you have waited 6 months or joined elsewhere.
It you have not already done so, look for a different organisation to work with
You need to approach your local labour office
Terminating / reappointing on a mass scale is going to be considered as retrenchment. No court will believe (specially when workers are filing a case) that everyone suddenly decided to resign or abscond at the same time. So they have to pay retrenchment compensation (industrial dispute act covers activities where no profits the motive)
Also they have to pay gratuity
Again, pf is not up to them, just get the forms filled and submit to pf office.
There is enough written on this site on how to get pf from non cooperative employers
From India, Mumbai
thank you very much will be grateful if we have a clear direction on the competent courts to approach as some of us have filed cases in civil courts which some of us feel will take to long to get a verdict.
From India, Pune
From India, Pune
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