The district consumer disputes redressal commission directed Indus Public School, Kharar, to pay ₹ 76K in gratuity to a former teacher, along with 6% annual interest from September 27, 2017, until payment.
The commission also directed the school to pay ₹ 15,000 as compensation for physical and mental harassment, including litigation expenses. The complaint was filed by Kiran Gupta, a resident of Kharar, who claimed that she had worked at the school from April 2002 and was denied gratuity after her services ended in September 2017. She claimed that she had worked for 16 years and was drawing ₹ 15,000 a month. The school disputed her claim and told the commission that Gupta had voluntarily left her job in March 2012, after which her account was settled. It said she returned to the school after about two years and was appointed afresh as a teacher from April 1, 2014. Gupta worked until September 27, 2017, when her services were terminated according to the rules after three months’ salary was paid in lieu of notice, according to the school. During the proceedings, Gupta produced a salary certificate dated April 17, 2014, showing her salary as ₹ 15,000 a month. The school relied on records showing her salary in September 2017 as ₹ 10,537, including perks. The commission also examined the school’s reply to Gupta’s legal notice, in which it had calculated ₹ 76,431 as gratuity for 16 years of service, from April 4, 2002, to September 30, 2017, using a basic pay of ₹ 8,280. The commission partly allowed the complaint and ordered the school to pay the gratuity with 6% annual interest from September 27, 2017, until actual payment. It also awarded ₹ 15,000 as composite compensation for physical and mental harassment and litigation expenses.
The school argued that she had worked for less than five years in her second stint and therefore did not qualify for gratuity.
