Ed-tech platform Byju’s has been urged by Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad to settle the dues of its former employees. This is as per a report by Moneycontrol.
After months of termination, many employees of the edtech firm reportedly complained about not receiving a proper settlement of their dues.
Ed-tech platform Byju’s has been urged by Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad to settle the dues of its former employees. This is as per a report by Moneycontrol.
Speaking to Moneycontrol, Lad said, “I have instructed them to settle at least 50% of the dues owed to former employees at the earliest, with the remaining 50% to be paid in due course.”
Lad reportedly added, “They have informed us that their funds are in an escrow account with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), and a hearing of the case is scheduled for July 4. Following this, they will provide us with an update on the action taken to clear the dues."
According to Lad, between 160 and 200 workers had contacted the labor department, owing a combined total of about Rs 4.5 crore, adds the report.
While most sent emails to the department, Lad reportedly said that some employees approached the labor department in person. After months of termination, many employees of the edtech firm reportedly complained about not receiving a proper settlement of their dues.
The principal secretary of the labor department, Mohammad Mohsin, told Moneycontrol that the edtech firm has assured the labor department that they would settle the dues within a month of receiving a relief order from the NCLT.
Engulfed with financial trouble, the edtech firm laid off over 500 employees in April. There were reports that the firm laid off employees without any proper notice period. A company spokesperson, as per Moneycontrol, said, “We are going through an extraordinary situation in the company because of the ongoing litigation, where every employee and the ecosystem itself are going through tremendous stress given the present circumstances.”
In the last two years, more than 10,000 employees have been laid off by the company. The ed-tech firm also reduced the fixed pay for its new sales hire by 90 percent, as per Inc. 42.