In yet another big win for HCL employees, the company has stopped recovering all types of advance bonuses paid to the employees.
This means that the resigned employees won’t be forced to return the bonuses already paid, and there will be no arm-twisting.
What is the role of Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) in this whole incident? And how does this happen?
Keep reading to find out more.
HCL Stops Recovering All Types Of Bonuses
We have received confirmed evidence that HCL has now stopped recovering all types of advanced bonuses paid to the employees.
HCL was still recovering advance monthly performance bonus (AMPB) from their resigned employees, and stopping their relieving letters/certificates if any employee failed to return this bonus.
This has now stopped, and this is indeed a big win for the HCL employees.
Reacting to this news, Harpreet Saluja, President, Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate NITES said, “It gives us immense pleasure to share with you the success story of Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate NITES against unethical bonus recovery policy of HCL Technologies.
HCL Technologies had unethically introduced policies to recover bonus already paid to its employees by inserting bonus recovery clauses in Policy documents and Employment Letters. The company has already recovered crores of rupees from employees.
As per law payment of bonus is the statutory liability on the employer and receipt of bonus amount is the legal right of the employee and the amount to be paid, to whom to be paid and by when to be paid has been well framed in the Payment of Bonus Act 1965. The employer cannot unethically amend the bonus scheme depriving bonus to its employees. The employees resigned from the service also are entitled to bonus for their tenure.The said policy implemented by the company to recover bonus already paid to its employees forcefully is iniquitous, arbitrary and harsh. It is also to be noted that such a recovery policy without any statutory approval is resulting in a hardship and it far outweighs the equitable balance of the employer’s right to recover. It is almost impossible for an employee to bear the financial burden of a refund of payment of bonus received over a period of time under the current pandemic conditions. Hence the said recovery policy was in violation of article 14 of the Constitution of India.”
HCL’s Recovery Process Stopped
We had reported how HCL suddenly changed their rules for new employees, and included a clause to recover the advance bonus paid to the employees.
We found that, as per the new policies, which were clearly anti-employees, HCL was arm-twisting their resigned employees to return the bonus, which was already paid to them.
Now, there were two types of such advance bonuses: EPB (Engagement Performance Bonus) and AMPB (Advance Monthly Performance Bonus)
After due pressure from the employees, and NITES, HCL had stopped recovering the EPB bonus, but they were still recovering the AMPB bonus from the resigned employees.
Now, they have stopped recovering the AMPB bonus as well, thereby ending this saga of arm-twisting their resigned employees.
Role Of NITES In This Fight
Right from day 1, NITES or Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate had been fighting tooth and nail to stop this recovery process by HCL.
After hundreds of employees complained to NITES, their President, Harpreet Singh Saluja, shot a letter to the Labor Ministry, and asked for intervention.
Harpreet said, “We welcome this decision of HCL Technologies. We also congratulate all the employees of HCL Technologies for this big win as their hard earned money will be saved now. We are now working towards refund of bonus amount that was deducted from the employees full and final settlement who have already left the organization.”
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.
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