Illegal termination of employment

Dear Client,
A termination may be considered illegal and unjustified if it breaches the terms of the contract or appointment letter by either party to the said contract. Termination or dismissal other than a disciplinary action for proven misconduct amounts to illegal termination/ retrenchment and is defined as an industrial dispute under Section 2A of the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 which also violated the mandatory provision of Sec.25F and 25N of the I D Act that prescribed certain conditions to comply with by the employer before termination/retrenchment of a workman/employee from the employment and in that scenario, the terminated employee/workman serving a legal notice to the employer can raise an industrial dispute directly before the Industrial Tribunal/Labor Court concerned for adjudication under Section 2A of the I D Act seeking reinstatement with backwages, provided he is not holding the position of Manager/Supervisor but a workman as defined u/s.2(s) of the Industrial Dispute Act. Otherwise, in case he is holding the position of Manager/Administrative Officer in the Company, he has to file a civil suit before the Civil Court seeking appropriate relief in the matter.. Any Termination of a workman is covered under the Industrial Disputes Act, and it falls under ‘Retrenchment’. Even as per Clause 13(1) of the model Standing Order under Industrial Employment(Standing Orders) Act, 1946, for terminating the employment of a permanent workman, notice in writing shall be given either by the employer or the workman one month's notice in the case of monthly rated workmen and two weeks' notice in the case of other workmen; one month's or two week's pay, as the case may be, may be paid in lieu of notice. In the case of Punjab Land Development Corporation Vs Labour Court, 1990 (II) LLJ, 70 SC, the Supreme Court held that The expression ‘retrenchment’ is not to be understood in its narrow, natural and contextual meaning, but is to be understood in its wider, literal meaning to mean termination of service of a workman for any reason whatsoever. Further, in the case of Santosh Gupta Vs State Bank of Patiala AIR 1980 SC 1219, the Supreme Court ruled that the expression retrenchment must include every termination of the services of a workman by an act of the employer.. Since you were terminated from your job without holding a domestic inquiry into the allegation of unauthorised absence from work and without allowing you to defend the allegation, following the principle of natural justice, the action of the management may be held illegal and unfair labour practice, once you challenge the termination order by filing an application under Section 2A of the Industrial Dispute Act directly before the Industrial Tribunal or Labour Court concerned. Hence, it is suggested to consult or hire an Advocate experienced in service matters for tailored advice to meet the end of justice.