Rights of Employees and Law on Back Wages On Reinstatement

Rights of Employees and Law on Back Wages On Reinstatement

S.17B of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 says that "where in any case, a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal by its award directs reinstatement of any workman and the employer prefers any proceedings against such award in a High Court or the Supreme Court, the employer shall be liable to pay such workman, during the period of pendency of such proceedings in the High Court or the Supreme Court, full wages last drawn by him, inclusive of any maintenance allowance admissible to him under any rule if the workman had not been employed in any establishment during such period and an affidavit by such workman had been filed to that effect in such Court".

The Supreme Court in D.N. Krishnappa v. Deputy General Manager [2022] GCtR 2022 (SC) has held that a workman shall be entitled to the full wages from the date of order of reinstatement after deducting the amount already paid under Section 17B of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. 

The discussion made was that "it emerges that the order of reinstatement vide award dated 18.07.2007 has been confirmed up to the Division Bench of the High Court and even by this Court. What was modified by the High Court was the back wages from the date of termination till the date of award passed by the CGIT. It was the bank – employer who obtained the stay order against the order of reinstatement which ultimately came to be terminated on 12.07.2013 when the Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the writ appeals. As observed hereinabove, it was the employer – bank who obtained the stay against reinstatement and ultimately order of reinstatement attained the finality. Why should the employee be made suffer, when the bank obtained the stay of reinstatement and when the order of reinstatement subsequently came to be confirmed and attained the finality?

It was held that "merely because there was an interim order/stay of the order of reinstatement during the pendency of the proceedings, the employee – appellant cannot be denied the back wages/wages when ultimately the order of reinstatement came be confirmed by the Court."