Managers are not workmen, says high court

In a significant verdict that throws light on the issue of who can be considered a workman in the post-liberalization era, Bombay High Court has held in Standard Chartered Bank v Vandana Joshi that the work being rendered by Joshi in her employment as a personal financial consultant cannot be regarded as work of a clerical nature.

Standard Chartered appointed Joshi to its management group in May 2006, and dismissed her the following month for “deficiency in performance of duties”. Joshi challenged the dismissal before the Industrial Tribunal, which in 2009 directed the bank to reinstate her and pay her the salary she would have earned had she remained employed in the position in the interim period.

The tribunal found that in the terms of section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, Joshi should be considered a workman who performed work of a clerical nature, rather than an employee operating at a managerial level. The tribunal reached this finding on the basis that Joshi’s duties did not include supervisory functions (such as recommending leave or initiating disciplinary action in relation to subordinate employees), and because her work was subject to supervision and approval by senior managers.

The update of court judgments is compiled by Bhasin & Co, Advocates, a corporate law firm based in New Delhi. The authors can be contacted at lbhasin@bhasinco.in or lbhasin@gmail.com. Readers should not act on the basis of this information without seeking professional legal advice.