A company abruptly blocking an employee’s smart card access to terminate him from work violates the basic dignity of labour as observed by the Madras High Court which has recently become a trend in several companies.
How Did This Happen?
The companies merely having a Smart Card Access System for entry into office doesn’t mean that the security system can be used as a means of terminating services, according to the Madras High Court.
Moving ahead, Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy noted that people in managerial positions should take a more empathetic approach and think from the employee’s point of view.
The observation came when Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy recently refused to reverse the order of a labour court which ruled against terminating an employee of Cognizant Technology Solutions India Private Limited without following due procedures.
It appears that the petition was moved by the firm’s vice-president, human resources in a matter which pertains to the dismissal of an employee, KN Naresh, in 2018 “without following due procedure” and providing “an opportunity to be heard” on the charges levelled against him over alleged poor performance and indiscipline.
The employee went on leave on April 19, 2018, and returned to work in the last week of May as advised by the authorities.
But later on he found that his access card was blocked, making him unable to enter the office.
Moreover, the company informed him that he was dismissed from service and a compensation of Rs 3.42 lakh was credited into his bank account.
Violating Dignity of Labour
In response, Naresh preferred a petition before the joint labour commissioner of the labour department – the appellate authority – which held that the dismissal was illegal due to lack of any enquiry and proper service of the dismissal order.
This order was challenged by the company and it moved the petition.
In his order, Justice Chakravarthy remarked that the least expected of the management was to at least summon the employee, who had put in 18 years of service, before a responsible superior officer, serve the termination order and send him away.
Besides this, the judge held that such abrupt turning away of an employee at the gate directly violates the dignity of labour, and breaches the right to fair working conditions and guaranteed protections.
