What the law says
For servants of the State and of the Union, the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 sets up Tribunals to decide service disputes, and the relevant service rules and the conditions in Articles 309 to 311 of the Constitution govern the substance. Article 311 protects a civil servant against dismissal, removal or reduction in rank without an inquiry in which the charges are made known and a reasonable opportunity of being heard is given.
In the private sector the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 remains the principal statute. Section 2A allows an individual workman to raise a dispute about discharge or dismissal without needing the backing of a union. Section 25F prescribes what must be done before retrenchment, namely notice, compensation and intimation to the appropriate government, and non compliance ordinarily renders the retrenchment bad. Section 11A gives the Labour Court power to interfere with the punishment imposed, and Section 33C(2) provides a route to recover money already due.
Specific entitlements come from specific statutes. Gratuity is governed by the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, wages by the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 and the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, and conditions of service in shops and commercial establishments in this State by the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1960. Complaints of sexual harassment at the workplace go to the Internal Committee under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
Parliament has consolidated much of this into four labour codes, on wages, industrial relations, social security, and occupational safety. VERIFY WITH ADVOCATE — the commencement status of the four labour codes as at the date this page is published, and which of the older statutes above they have replaced in Kerala.
How these matters run
A government servant ordinarily has to exhaust the departmental remedy, meaning the appeal or revision the service rules provide, before approaching the Tribunal. An application is then filed before the Administrative Tribunal, and the order of the Tribunal can be challenged before a Division Bench of the High Court under Article 226, following L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997).
A private sector dispute about dismissal is raised as an industrial dispute, goes through conciliation before the Labour Officer, and on failure of conciliation is referred for adjudication to the Labour Court or the Industrial Tribunal. Where the claim is only for money already due, such as unpaid wages, Section 33C(2) is the shorter route.
Timing matters throughout. Departmental appeals carry short periods fixed by the service rules, and delay in raising an industrial dispute, while not subject to a fixed limitation in the same way, is a factor the court weighs in deciding relief.
What to bring to the first meeting
Tick these off as you gather them. The list stays ticked on this device, and the page prints cleanly if you would rather carry it on paper.
Where these matters are heard
Service disputes of State government servants go before the Kerala Administrative Tribunal, which sits at Vanchiyoor, Thiruvananthapuram. Central government servants go before the Central Administrative Tribunal. Private sector disputes go through the Labour Officer to the Labour Court or the Industrial Tribunal, and claims under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 to the Controlling Authority. Orders of these forums are challenged before the High Court of Kerala under Article 226.
VERIFY WITH ADVOCATE — the Labour Court and Industrial Tribunal exercising jurisdiction over Thiruvananthapuram, and the Controlling Authority under the Payment of Gratuity Act for this district.
Common questions
I was dismissed without any inquiry. Does that matter?+
It usually does. For a government servant Article 311(2) of the Constitution requires an inquiry in which the charges are made known and a reasonable opportunity of being heard is given, subject to the exceptions in the proviso. In the private sector, a dismissal without a fair domestic inquiry can be interfered with, and Section 11A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 allows the Labour Court to set aside or modify the punishment.
My employer has not paid gratuity. What is the remedy?+
The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 applies where the employee has rendered continuous service of five years, subject to the exceptions for death and disablement. A claim is made to the Controlling Authority appointed under the Act, and the Act provides for interest where payment is delayed beyond the prescribed period.
Can I go straight to the High Court?+
For a service matter within the jurisdiction of an Administrative Tribunal, the ordinary course is to approach the Tribunal first. In L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997) the Supreme Court held that the High Court's power of judicial review under Article 226 survives, but that it is to be exercised after the Tribunal has decided, so the Tribunal is not bypassed except in exceptional cases.
Is there a time limit for challenging a transfer or a suspension?+
The service rules prescribe periods for departmental appeals and representations, and these are short. Beyond that, delay itself weighs against relief, because courts are reluctant to unsettle arrangements that have since been acted on. Both kinds of order are best taken advice on immediately rather than after the departmental remedy has lapsed.