Indian Techie Says He Was Sacked 4 Days Into PIP To Deny Gratuity: 'Planned And Unethical

(MENAFN- Live Mint) An Indian tech worker has alleged that his company terminated him just days before he became eligible for gratuity, sparking outrage online. In a viral Reddit post titled“Refused to Resign, So They Terminated Me After 4.7 Years. Legal Advice Needed”, the employee shared his ordeal. He claimed that after completing 4 years and 7 months with the company, he was suddenly accused of poor performance and asked to resign in June.

When he refused to quit without a valid reason, the company allegedly placed him on a 10-day PIP (Performance Improvement Plan). He says he had already completed 80% of his sprint tasks and was ahead of schedule, yet the company terminated him on the fourth day of the PIP - before the review period ended.

The employee believes this was a "completely unethical and planned" move to avoid paying gratuity. According to the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, gratuity cannot be denied for poor performance and can only be withheld for serious misconduct like theft or violence.

Screengrab from the viral post.

He says he was given only one month's severance pay, which he feels is unfair.

Several Redditors supported him, calling this an“abuse” of employee rights. One commenter advised him to“complain to the local labour officer”, while others pointed out that Indian courts“scrutinise terminations timed just before gratuity eligibility” and might see this as a“mala fide” act.

Another user questioned the company's actions, writing,“What company tries to save five months' gratuity by risking its reputation?”

A third user said:“Which retarded company is this? I've never heard this happen. Most companies create a provision for gratuity in this books, this gets audited as well. Also 5 year gratuity is what 5 months of pay. What company tries to save on that?”

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