240 days' continuous service satisfies retrenchment protection, but back wages remain discretionary and fact-sensitive.

A workman who has actually worked for 240 days in the preceding twelve months satisfies the continuous service requirement under Section 25-B for protection under Section 25-F, and termination without notice, wages in lieu of notice, and retrenchment compensation is illegal retrenchment; the finding of invalid termination was therefore upheld. Back wages are not automatic on a finding of illegal termination and depend on factors such as the nature and length of employment, interruptions in service, and delay in raising the dispute. On the facts, the award of 50% back wages was unsustainable and was set aside, while reinstatement with continuity of service remained undisturbed.

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Issues: (i) whether the termination of the workman was invalid for non-compliance with Section 25-F of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 on the basis that he had completed the requisite continuous service; and (ii) whether the workman was entitled to back wages.

Issue (i): whether the termination of the workman was invalid for non-compliance with Section 25-F of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 on the basis that he had completed the requisite continuous service.

Analysis: The statutory scheme of Section 25-B, as amended, treats a workman as being in continuous service for one year if he has actually worked for not less than 240 days in the preceding twelve calendar months. The record showed that the workman had worked for 264 days, and the plea that the engagement was a fixed-term appointment attracting Section 2(oo)(bb) was neither pressed effectively before the Labour Court nor established by evidence. In the absence of notice, wages in lieu of notice, and retrenchment compensation, the termination amounted to illegal retrenchment.

Conclusion: The termination was invalid for non-compliance with Section 25-F, and the finding of illegality was upheld.

Issue (ii): whether the workman was entitled to back wages.

Analysis: Back wages are not to be granted mechanically upon a finding of illegal termination. Relevant considerations include the nature of appointment, the length of service, interruptions in service, the short and daily-wage character of employment, and the passage of time before the dispute was raised and referred. The workman had served for a short period with breaks, was engaged on short-term daily-wage appointments, and the award of 50% back wages had been made without adequate reasoning.

Conclusion: The award of back wages was unsustainable and was set aside.

Final Conclusion: The reinstatement with continuity of service remained undisturbed, but the award of back wages was removed, leaving the workman without monetary relief for the period of unemployment.

Ratio Decidendi: A workman who has actually worked for 240 days in the preceding twelve months satisfies the continuous service requirement for Section 25-F, but back wages are discretionary and must be granted only after considering the nature and length of employment and other relevant circumstances.

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