Questions & Answers
Falsely accusing employees of theft after filing labor cases against him
Good day, I was hoping to get legal advice regarding my situation.
Three of us in the company filed a labor complaint against the employer due to delayed and incomplete salary since May of 2020. The labor called our employer and agrees to settle our due within 10 days, however after that conversation, our boss sent us messages falsely accusing us of theft.
He said that he has evidence but we are sure that this is just a threat as we didn't do anything wrong. On the day of settlement, as he promised, he never gave us anything, instead, he harassed us to sign the cancellation without getting our balance and threatened us that we will go to jail if we refuse.
We know that this is what will happen because he did the same thing to other ex-employees who complained and those who ended contracts with him not getting anything because of that wrongful accusation.
What should we do next? Shall we inform the labor regarding this or just file a case for defamation regarding his false allegation?
Dear questioner,
- Non-payment of a salary is a breach of contract and a violation of the company's obligation to process salary payments through the WPS system, and according to the Ministerial decree 739:
b. An employer shall be deemed as refusing to pay wages if the wage is not paid to the employee within one month of the due date (unless a shorter term is provided for in the contract) (‘Payment Refusal’).
Pursuant to your query, you may file a complaint to MOHRE for the non-payment of salary and request the immediate termination of your employment contract.
Remain sponsored by your company until they pay your dues and request a NOC/work permit from the Labour Court to work in case you found a new one. It is advisable not to resign because you may lose all your benefits.
If the company is not ready to settle the benefits at the time of leaving, everything will be decided by the labour court.
As per the accusations, multiple scenarios can occur. One of them is that your employer might file a criminal case against you, so he can justify your termination.
You remain innocent until proven guilty. If you are sure that you did nothing wrong, you don't have to worry about it. but still, we cannot assure what will be the decision of your case and if you are going to win or not since we have no documents to review.
Moreover, you still have the legal right to file a labour complaint against your employer to claim your labour benefits, you shouldn't wait for the final verdict of the criminal case and it is still going on. If you win the criminal case, you'll have legal rights to claim reasonable compensation from your employer.
As per the second scenario, it is that your employer doesn't file a criminal case, you can file your case in front of the labour court.
Shall you need to approach our legal services for any further assistance or explanation, please contact us via email, phone, or contact our office.
Hope this answer will suffice your queries.
