Do I still qualify for end of service gratuity having worked for only a single "academic" year?
I am about to complete my first and last teaching year at a private British School in Qatar. My employer is now telling me that I do not qualify for end of service gratuity because I have only worked for one "adademic" year, which in not the same as a calender year. Is this legal?
Let me also add that the school refused to give us contracts for the first 5 months after arrival, and then one day out of the blue they cornered us individually in a room and forced us to sign contracts. They offered us no explaination of the terms and conditions and also refused to give us copies. Only now, after months of complaining, did I get a copy. They have also outright lied about other financial offers that they have made to us, which I have proof of via email correspondance.
Please help me out.
One year is a full calendar year, not September to June.
End-of-service benefits, the law says, will be payable in cases where the employee has worked for a period of one year or more. Such end-of-service benefits have to be agreed upon by the two parties and should not be lower than three weeks salary for every year of service and shall be paid according to the period of work. The last basic salary drawn will be taken as the yardstick for calculating the end-of-service benefits.
If you think you have been cheated and if you have proof to prove your point, then you have full rights to file a case againse the school administration. As far as End of Service benift is concerned, check your contract what it says. As per my knowledge, you should be eligible only after 3 years of service.