Termination of service of a trainee/probationer does not fall within scope of Retrenchment– Delhi High Court
Delhi High Court (“Court”) in the case of M/s. Deccan Charters Private Limited v. Sarita Tiwari held that termination of a trainee/probationer from service does not amount to retrenchment under Section 2(oo) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (“ID Act”)
M/s. Deccan Charters Private Limited (“Petitioners”) terminated the service of the respondent during the period of her probation. The Petitioners stated that they had warned the respondent against her weak performance and misbehaviour with her superior, before terminating her service.
The respondent claimed that she was a “workman” as per the definition provided in Section 2(s) of the ID Act and therefore termination of her service amounts to retrenchment. In case of retrenchment, the employers need to follow certain guidelines provided in Section 25F of the ID Act. However, the Petitioners argued that the respondent was not a “workman” as she was on probation and her appointment as a workman was never confirmed.
The Court relied on earlier judgments and noted that the present case falls within the ambit of exception to retrenchment provided in Section 2(oo)(bb) of the ID Act. Section 2(oo)(bb) of the ID Act provides for exception of retrenchment in two cases: (i) when there is non-renewal of the contract of employment between the employer and the workman, and (ii) termination of contract under a stipulation in that behalf contained therein. In the present case, the Petitioners claim that the contract was terminated in probation stage which is provided in the second case of the exception under Section 2(oo)(bb).
Agreeing with the petitioners, the Court held that the case falls within the ambit of Section 2(oo)(bb) of the ID Act, and there is no retrenchment. The Court further held that the respondent is only a trainee and not a workman, therefore, the Petitioners were not required to follow the guidelines mentioned in Section 25F of the ID Act.
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The Court re-affirms the judicial position on removal of trainee/probationers from service. The position, as reiterated, by the Court is that termination of the services of a probationer in terms of a stipulation contained in the contract of employment does not tantamount to retrenchment, as it is covered within the exception provided in Section 2(oo)(bb) of the ID Act under the ID Act.
Disclaimer: This post has been prepared for informational purposes only. The information/or observations contained in this post does not constitute legal advice and should not be acted upon in any specific situation without seeking proper legal advice from a practicing attorney.