On employer fault, full back wages can be granted to terminated employee: Gujarat High Court
The Gujarat High Court observed that the employer or organization that wronged the employee should not benefit from its own wrongdoing
On employer fault, full back wages can be granted to terminated staff rules by Gujarat High Court divisional bench.
The Gujarat High Court has held that when an employee is fired, back-wages are not automatically granted when the individual is rehired. However, the High Court reaffirmed that if the employer is at fault in the termination case, the Labour Court can award full back wages.
According to Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice NV Anjaria, the argument is that “no one can benefit from its own wrong.”
“It is settled law that in a case of termination of employment, though award of back-wages is not automatic with the award of reinstatement, but in case the fault is found on the part of the employer, 100% wages can be provided,” the division bench observed. The key premise is that no one may profit from its own mistake.”
It was determined that the departmental investigation into the employee’s complaints amounted to victimization. Furthermore, the inquiry was not fair because the employee, a worker, was not given the opportunity to cross-examine the employer’s evidence or present his own witness.
Furthermore, the Court considered the significant delays that occurred in the case; that 17 important years had passed before a ruling could be issued. The worker was finally reinstated in 2019, with no explanation given for the unjustified and excessive wait.
Clearly, the worker was wrongly sacked from his position, and it is only reasonable that the employer/organization not benefited from the fault made by the establishment itself. Also, when an employee is unlawfully and illegally terminated, the typical course of action is to reinstate the employee and offer back wages, as well as service continuation.
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