What to do if your salary is not paid

Gather your appointment letter or offer letter, the salary structure, every payslip you have, and bank statements showing the pattern of past credits and the missing ones. These four things establish both the amount owed and the fact that it was previously paid.

Where there is no written contract — which is the position for a very large share of Indian workers — bank credits, WhatsApp messages, emails, attendance records, ID cards and any written communication about work assignments all serve as evidence of employment. Absence of a contract does not defeat a wage claim.

Send a written demand by email and, if the amount is significant, by registered post to the registered office. State the period, the amount, the due date, and a deadline of fifteen days. Keep it factual — no threats, no accusations, just the amount and the date.

Keep the postal receipt and the delivery confirmation. The proof that a demand was received on a specific date is what every subsequent forum will ask for.

Do not resign in anger before establishing this record if you can avoid it. Resignation does not extinguish a wage claim, but it changes the leverage and it complicates a full-and-final settlement negotiation.

If you are still employed and the delay is systemic, check whether provident fund contributions have also stopped by looking at your EPF passbook — that is a separate and more serious violation, and it is common for both to fail together.

For unpaid wages, the primary forum is the authority appointed under the Payment of Wages Act — in practice the Labour Commissioner's office in your state, often through a designated Labour Officer. It is free, adjudicative, and does not require a lawyer. The application is a simple form stating the employer, the period and the amount.

The Act sets the deadlines: wages must be paid before the expiry of the 7th day after the wage period in establishments below a size threshold, and the 10th day in larger ones. Unauthorised deductions are separately actionable, and the authority can award compensation in addition to the wages.

Many states have consolidated this through the Shops and Establishments Act and their own labour department portals, and several accept complaints online. Check your state labour department's site first.

A conciliation route also exists: the Labour Commissioner can conciliate an industrial dispute, and where conciliation fails the matter can be referred to a Labour Court or Industrial Tribunal.

For workers covered by the Industrial Disputes Act, disputes about termination and dues have their own path through conciliation and adjudication, with reinstatement and back wages available as remedies.

Employees not covered by these Acts — typically those in managerial or supervisory roles above a salary threshold — may need to pursue a civil claim or a summary suit, which is slower. Even so, the written demand and the labour department complaint are worth making first, because they cost nothing and frequently resolve it.

The limitation period for a wage claim is generally twelve months from the date the wages became due, with delay condonable for sufficient cause. Do not spend a year negotiating.

Full and final settlement is the reconciliation on exit: unpaid salary, leave encashment, reimbursements and any bonus, less notice-period recovery and any advances. The timeline is set by your state's Shops and Establishments Act or by contract — commonly 30 to 45 days from the last working day.

Employers frequently withhold F&F pending 'clearance'. Return company property promptly and get an acknowledgement, because that removes the most common stated reason for delay.

The relieving letter and experience certificate are separate from F&F and are frequently used as leverage. Where a state's Shops and Establishments Act requires a service certificate, it is an entitlement rather than a favour.

Gratuity is payable under the Payment of Gratuity Act after five years of continuous service, calculated on last drawn salary and years of service, and is payable within 30 days of becoming due, with interest thereafter. If it is not paid, apply to the Controlling Authority under the Act — the designated labour officer — which is a separate free remedy from a wage claim.

Provident fund is EPFO's domain, not the labour commissioner's. If contributions were deducted from your salary but not deposited, that is a serious offence, and the route is EPFO's EPFiGMS grievance system followed by the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner. Check your passbook for the missing months and keep the payslips showing the deduction — that pairing is what establishes it.

Notice pay recovery is frequently disputed. Where the employer terminated, they generally owe notice or pay in lieu; where you resigned, the contract governs, and an unreasonably long notice period is arguable but not automatically void.

Send the written demand with a fifteen-day deadline. A large share of cases end here.

File with the state Labour Commissioner or labour department portal. Free, no lawyer, and the summons itself resolves many disputes.

In parallel where relevant: EPFiGMS for provident fund, the Controlling Authority for gratuity, and the state's Shops and Establishments authority for service certificates.

A legal notice through an advocate is inexpensive and effective as a middle step, particularly where the employer is a company that will not want a labour department file opened.

For companies, a claim above a threshold that is admitted and unpaid can in some circumstances found insolvency proceedings — a serious step, worth advice, and one that concentrates minds when the amount is large.

What not to do: do not withhold work product or company property as leverage, which converts your claim into their counterclaim. Do not post publicly about the employer in terms that could be defamatory. Do not accept a partial payment described as 'full and final' without confirming in writing that you accept it only towards the outstanding amount, because signing an unqualified full-and-final receipt can extinguish the balance.

Free legal aid through the District Legal Services Authority is available to those who qualify, and industrial workmen are one of the categories entitled to it regardless of income.