Sacked TCS employee wins long court battle to get his job back
Thirumalai Selvan, 48, had worked for Tata Consultancy Services for over 8 years before being let go in mass layoffs in 2015.
June 18, 2022 / 12:13 PM IST
TCS has been ordered to reinstate Thirumalai Selvan and pay him full salary from the day he was terminated to when he will be reinstated. (Image credit: Facebook)
A court in Chennai has ordered Tata Consultancy Services to reinstate an employee it sacked in 2015 and pay him his salary and benefits of seven years in full, DT Next newspaper reported.
Thirumalai Selvan, 48, had worked for the information technology company for over 8 years before being let go in mass layoffs. TCS said his performance was not up to its expectations.
Selvan, who had a managerial position in TCS, was forced to look for freelance opportunities after being sacked. He earned less than Rs 10,000 per month working as a freelance software consultant and a real estate broker. His family depended on savings and his wife’s salary.
Adding to Selvan’s financial troubles were legal hassles. “I would have travelled to the court more than 150 times in the last seven years,” he told DT Next.
After a tedious seven years, the city labour court ruled in his favour. It refuted TCS’ argument that Selvan belonged to the managerial cadre and was not a workman -- someone with a specified skill.
“The reason for not mentioning the petitioner’s other duties is nothing but a subterfuge, to camouflage his principal nature of duty,” C Kumarappan, Principal Labour Court’s presiding officer said, according to DT Next.
The court observed that Selvan’s primary role was that of a skilled worker.
The Forum for IT Employees (FITE), that helped Selvan in his court case, celebrated the judgement.
“Justice anywhere is hope everywhere and a reminder to all who are forcing employees to resign,” the group was quoted as saying by the Federal website. “Great work done by Team FITE Chennai and salute to the TCS employee who fought for justice.”
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