Court Orders TCS To Reinstate Fired Employee After 7 Years With Payment Of Pending Salary

A city labor court has ruled in favor of a TCS employee, Thirumalai Selvan, who was fired by Tata Consultancy Services. 

After serving the company for more than eight years, he was fired by Tata Consultancy Services in 2015 as part of a rumored mass downsizing.

TCS Techie Wins Case Against TCS After Seven Years

The court has ruled in his favor after seven years and multiple court appearances. The TCS counsel had argued that he was working in a managerial Position and did not classify under the category of workman. 

As per C Kumarappan, presiding officer, Principal Labour Court, “The reason for not mentioning the petitioner’s other duties is nothing but a subterfuge, to camouflage his principal nature of duty.”

He is a mechanical engineer by education and worked in the mechanical engineering sector for four years after which he switched to the software industry in 2001. He or she completed a course that was worth Rs.1,00,00 and joined TCS as an assistant systems engineer in 2006. 

He struggled with the job loss but managed his living through odd jobs like real estate brokerage and as a freelance consultant on software projects. As per reports, his monthly savings were reduced to Rs. 10,000 and he had to manage his expenses through his savings and his wife’s salary, who works as a teacher. 

He said that he has had to travel to the court more than 150 times in the last seven years. 

TCS Claims Unsatisfactory Performance

TCS claimed that he did not perform to the expectations of the role requirements and repeated that he was a manager, not a worker, in answer to the municipal labour court’s appeal of the termination order.

After reviewing both sides’ submissions, the court concluded that Thirumalai Selvan was one of the team’s members, perhaps first among equals and that the main nature of Thirumalai Selvan’s labor is merely skilled technical work.

With the help of a labor union for techies, he was able to manage the legal battle.

TCS claimed that he did not perform to the expectations of the role requirements and repeated that he was a manager, not a worker, in answer to the municipal labour court’s appeal of the termination order.

TCS was ordered by the court to restore the petitioner with full pay and benefits from the date of his termination to the date of his reinstatement.