In recent judgment by The CAT underscored the importance of the government ensuring that its employees have the opportunity to gain necessary field experience and the principle that the lack of such experience, due to circumstances beyond the employees' control, cannot be used as a valid reason for denying benefits.
Brief Facts:
The case involves government employees, Rishi Srivastava and Anil Jain, seeking Non-Functional Upgrade (NFU) based on their length of service in the Central Water Commission. The core issue was whether the lack of requisite field experience, which was beyond the employees' control, could be a valid reason for the denial of NFU. The Tribunal referred to a previous case and established the legal principle that employers must ensure employees have the opportunity to gain necessary experience for career advancement. The respondents were directed to grant NFU and consider notional promotion within two months. No legal costs were awarded.
Observation of the Court:
The court affirmed that it is the employer's responsibility to ensure that employees are provided with opportunities to gain the necessary field experience for their career advancement. In this case, the court recognized that the employees had repeatedly requested rotational transfers and postings to acquire field experience, but these requests were not acted upon by the government, making it clear that the employees were not at fault for their lack of field experience.
Estoppel Principle: The court applied the principle of estoppel, meaning that once the employer (the government) had failed to provide the employees with the opportunity to gain field experience, they could not subsequently use this as a valid reason to deny benefits like NFU.
Recognition of Contribution: The court also acknowledged that the employees' contribution to work had been recognized at different levels, and the government's faulty implementation of the transfer policy had led to their deprivation of the opportunity to gain field experience. Notional Promotion and Benefits: In light of these observations, the court directed the respondents (the government authorities) to grant NFU to the applicants and to consider notional promotion and other benefits for the employees, recognizing that they should have received these benefits had they been given the opportunity for field postings. Compliance Timeline: The court set a specific timeline of two months for the respondents to comply with the directives regarding the grant of NFU and notional promotion.
The decision of the court:
The court's decision was in favor of the applicants, ordering the government authorities to grant NFU, notional promotion, and consequential benefits, while waiving the requirement of two years of field experience. The decision was based on the principle that the lack of field experience, which was beyond the applicants' control, should not be used as a valid reason to deny them these benefits.
Case Title: Rishi Srivastava and Anil Jain vs. Union of India and Central Water Commission
Case No.: "OA No. 3794/2017" and "OA No. 769/2021
Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Manish Garg, Member (J), Hon'ble Mr. Anand Mathur, Member (A)
Advocates for the Applicants: Mr. T.N. Saxena
Advocates for the Respondents: Mr. A.K. Shrivastava
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