Cognizant fired 15+ year experienced employee but court orders to give employee 50% extra salary and job back

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Cognizant is firing employees left and right in recession and the situation is very bad. Recently :- 

 

The Additional Labour Court, Chennai, has set aside the termination order passed by Cognizant Technology Solutions against an employee as illegal and unjustifiable. It ruled the employee is entitled for reinstatement at any place in India or abroad.

In his petition, R. Senthilkumar, a member of the Union NDLF IT Employees Wing, alleged that the termination order was issued on February 25, 2019 on the ground of unsatisfactory performance and for his refusal to pick up the project, which is baseless. Mr. Senthilkumar said he was ready to accept the project at Coimbatore and due to his ill-health was not ready to accept the projects allotted to him in Kolkata and Pune. He claimed the termination of his service even without conducting domestic enquiry is not sustainable.

 

In its response, the company said the petitioner did not choose to accept the project in Kolkata and Pune, and thus, declined the opportunities offered to him even after placing him in the Corporate Deployable Pool.

If an employee does not get allocated to a project, he will be moved to Corporate Deployable Pool/Associate Deployable Pool (commonly referred as Bench) temporarily till the time he gets allocated to another project, it noted.

 

The company said his request for a move to Coimbatore could not be engaged as the said project at Coimbatore never came into action. Cognizant said refusal to do the project offered to him is certainly an act of misconduct and it was left with no other alternative than terminating the employee.

The Labour Court noted that the Union has raised the dispute on behalf of petitioner before the Labour Officer and the company ought to have sought approval from the Labour Officer, before dismissing the employee. Even if it is assumed that the petitioner has been retrenched, the company has not complied with the conditions, as per the laws, it noted. It directed the company to reinstate the employee at any suitable place matching his skills and ability.

The company is at liberty to consider the requisition of the employee to offer the projects either in Coimbatore or in Chennai, on consideration of his medical illness, the Court said.

It noted that the petitioner comes under the purview of ‘workman’ as per 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act. The employee is also entitled for 50% of back wages from the date of termination till this date of award, it ruled.