Chennai Court Stops TCS From Firing Employee; Orders 50% Back Wages, Reinstatement In 90 Days

In a landmark decision, a Chennai labor court has ordered TCS to reinstate a fired employee, and also provide 50% of the back wages, within 3 months.

This is what happened here..

The Case: TCS Employee Was Unfairly Fired In 2017

A TCS employee from Velacheri in Chennai was employed with the company since 1995, when she joined as an associate consultant.

In May, 2017, she fell ill, and was unable to resume duty.

In response, TCS management fired her in June 2017, without even listening to health reasons, or without asking what happened to her. The employee had submitted all medical evdences and proofs, but the HR Dept. refused to listen.

The employee had served TCS for more than 20 years, and she felt cheated and humiliated.

She filed a case against TCS at the Chennai Labor Court, and demanded justice.

Justice Delivered by Chennai Labor Court

The case filed by the employee argued that TCS has fired her without following the protocols as mentioned under Industrial Disputes Act.

While fighting the case, TCS argued that the employee didn’t have the technical expertise to do the job, and that she was on bench for more than 700 days. TCS said that the employee received salary for 2 years, without doing any work.

The Labor Court dismissed this argument, and has ordered TCS to reinstate the employee, and pay her 50% back wages, starting from June, 2017.

N Venkatavaradhan, Presiding officer, I Additional Labour court in Chennai observed that this argument by TCS is a tactic to fire her, and an excuse for her termination.

Reacting to this development, Harpreet Saluja, President, Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) said, “We are highly thankful to the Hon’ble Labour Court Chennai for the justice provided to the IT employee of Tata Consultancy Services. For years there was a myth prevailing among IT, ITES, BPO and KPO employees that they are not covered under Labour Laws. This judgment will act as a myth buster and a catalyst to boost the confidence of the IT sector employees to raise their voices against injustice. Thousands of employees are laid off illegally every year by IT companies violating Labour Law but very few employees report it to the Labour departments. There is a fear among employees of getting blacklisted or negative remarks in background verification by the previous employer. Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate NITES is empowering IT Employees by making them aware of their legal rights & we urge employees to come forward in large numbers and submit complaint regarding illegal termination, forceful resignation, denial of severance pay, denial of Maternity Benefits and various other issues.”

TCS now has an option to fight this judgement in a higher court.

There has been no response from TCS yet.

We will keep you updated, as more details come in.