Salary not paid, or job lost
Unpaid salary, your dues, being let go.
Your salary is being held back, you were removed without notice or dues, or the company is not giving your relieving letter. This happens more often than it should. The law gives an ordinary employee clear ways to push back, and most of them are free. Here is what to do.
What the law says
- Your wages are protected by law. A month's salary must reach you by the 7th of the following month. When you leave, whether you resign or are removed, everything you are owed must be paid within two working days. If it is held back, you can complain to the Labour Commissioner or the Labour Inspector, free of cost.
- If you count as a "workman", the law protects you against unfair dismissal. You do not count if your work is mainly managerial or administrative, or if you supervise staff and earn above the limit the law sets. That limit is low enough that most supervisors fall outside it, so check your own job before you rely on this. After one year in the job, the employer must give you one month's notice, or pay you for that month instead. They must also pay you 15 days' average pay for every full year you worked there. That second payment is a legal right that many people never claim. You can raise a dispute with the Labour Commissioner.
- For unpaid salary you claim through the Labour Commissioner. It is free, and they can order compensation on top of what you are owed. There is a separate route for money that has already been awarded to you, including retrenchment compensation. Both have deadlines of about a year, though a good reason for being late can be accepted.
- Your unpaid salary must be paid by the second working day after you leave. That is the law, not a favour. Gratuity and leave encashment have their own timelines. Relieving and experience letters are usually covered by your state's rules rather than a central law, and holding them back to put pressure on you can be challenged.
What to do
- 1
Ask in writing, and keep copies
Email HR or your manager. Say clearly what you are owed: salary for which months, notice pay, full and final settlement, the relieving letter, and by when. Keep your appointment letter, payslips, emails and resignation acceptance. These prove your case.
- 2
Send a formal legal notice
If they delay, send a formal legal notice asking for your dues within a clear deadline, say 15 days. This is often what finally moves a company. It shows you are ready to go to the labour authority or the court.
- 3
Complain to the Labour Commissioner
If you are still unpaid, file with the Labour Commissioner or the Labour Office for your area. Conciliation is free. If they cannot settle it, a Labour Court decides the amount. That is faster than an ordinary civil suit, but it is still a court. This is the main route for an ordinary employee.
- 4
Take a wrongful dismissal further
If you were dismissed unfairly and you are a "workman", the labour authority can send the dispute to the Labour Court. That court can order your job back, or compensation.
Your rights
Be paid your salary on time
- How long it takes
- By the 7th of the following month
- Where to go
- Employer, then the Labour Commissioner
- Cost
- Free
Send a legal notice for your dues
- How long it takes
- Give a 15-day deadline
- Where to go
- Yourself, a lawyer, or Miss Lucy Lite to write it
- Cost
- Free if you write it yourself
Recover unpaid dues
- How long it takes
- Claim within about a year. Then weeks to a few months.
- Where to go
- Labour Commissioner / Labour Court
- Cost
- Low or free
Get your relieving and experience letters
- How long it takes
- Salary by the 2nd working day. Letters vary by state.
- Where to go
- Employer. Escalate if they hold them back.
- Cost
- Free
Common questions
When you need a lawyer
For unpaid salary and a withheld relieving letter you can usually manage it yourself through the Labour Commissioner, which is free, using a legal notice as pressure. Miss Lucy Lite can write that notice for you. Get a lawyer if you were a senior or managerial employee, because the labour route may not cover you and it becomes a contract case in the civil court. Also get one if the amount is large, or if the dismissal involves a serious allegation against you.
Miss Lucy Lite can write the legal notice for youThis is guidance, not a lawyer. Miss Lucy Lite helps you understand your rights and what to do next. She is not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. If you need a document written, such as a notice, a complaint or an application, she can write it for you as a finished document. For a court case, see a lawyer.