Employer has not paid your salary or full and final settlement: a demand letter and a labour claim checklist

Banthry Prep. General information, not legal advice. Fill the blanks, remove what does not apply, and have a lawyer check the final text where you can. This is for employees of private employers. Government employees usually have their own service rules.

The law. The Code on Wages, 2019 (the Code) took effect on 21 November 2025, according to the Government's press release of that date. It takes in four older laws, including the Payment of Wages Act, 1936. During the transition, the Government says the existing Acts' rules continue to apply, and the authority that hears wage claims is notified by each State. So the office name and the forms can differ by State.

Key points from the Code.

• When wages are due (section 17). Monthly wages: before the end of the 7th day of the next month. On resignation, removal, dismissal or retrenchment (or closure of the establishment): wages payable must be paid within two working days.
• Who is covered. "Employee" in section 2(k) includes supervisory, managerial and administrative work. The Government says the timely payment rules, which earlier applied only up to ₹24,000 a month, now apply to all employees whatever their wage. Apprentices and the Armed Forces are excluded.
• The claim (section 45). A claim goes to an authority appointed by the State, not below the rank of a Gazetted Officer. You, a registered trade union of which you are a member, or the Inspector-cum-Facilitator can file it. The authority can order compensation of up to ten times the claim, on top of the claim. If the employer does not pay, the Collector or District Magistrate recovers it as arrears of land revenue.
• Time limit (section 45(6)). Three years from the date the claim arises. A later application can be heard if you show sufficient cause.

Separate routes. Provident fund and gratuity come under the Code on Social Security, 2020, not this wage claim.

• PF complaints: EPFO's grievance portal, EPFiGMS, at epfigms.gov.in.
• Gratuity: generally after five years of continuous service; for fixed-term employees, after one year (Government press release, 21 November 2025). Ask the employer in writing and, if refused, approach the authority your State names for gratuity.
• Civil suit: you can also sue in a civil court. The Limitation Act, 1963 (Article 7, as quoted by the Supreme Court) gives three years from when the wages fall due. Take a lawyer's help for this route.

Before you start, keep: offer or appointment letter, salary slips, bank statements showing what was and was not paid, your resignation and its acceptance (or the termination letter), your last working day in writing, the full and final settlement statement if any, and every email or chat with HR. Keep copies of everything you send.

Draft 1: Written demand to the employer

Send by email to HR and your manager and, if you can, by Registered Post or Speed Post. Keep the receipt and tracking printout. The Code does not require this letter before a claim, but it is your evidence.

To, The HR Manager / Authorised Signatory, [Employer name], [Registered address]

Subject: Demand for unpaid salary and full and final settlement, [Your name], Employee ID [ ]

1. I worked with you as [designation] from [joining date] to [last working day]. [I resigned on [date] and my resignation was accepted on [date]. / My employment was ended on [date].]
2. The following amounts are unpaid: salary for [month(s)]: ₹[amount]; [leave encashment / bonus / reimbursements as per my appointment letter or policy]: ₹[amount]. Total: ₹[amount].
3. Under section 17 of the Code on Wages, 2019, wages payable on resignation or removal must be paid within two working days. That period ended on [date].
4. Please pay ₹[amount] to my account [bank, last four digits] by [date, e.g. 7 days from today] and send me the full and final settlement statement and my relieving and experience letters.
5. If the amount is not paid by that date, I will file a claim under section 45 of the Code on Wages, 2019 without further notice.

[Name], [Address], [Phone], [Email], [Date]

Checklist: filing the labour claim (section 45)

1. Find your State's wage claim authority. Search your State Labour Department's website, or ask at the nearest Labour Commissioner or Assistant Labour Commissioner office. Ask which form they accept during the transition to the Code.
2. Write the claim with: your name and address; the employer's name and address of the establishment where you worked; designation and dates of employment; the wage period; each unpaid amount and how you worked it out; the dates it fell due; what you did to ask for it.
3. Ask for compensation under section 45(2), in addition to the claim.
4. Attach copies (not originals): appointment letter, salary slips, bank statements, resignation and acceptance or termination letter, your demand letter and its postal receipt, and the HR emails.
5. File within three years from the date the claim arose. If you are later, explain the reason for the delay.
6. Keep the acknowledgement or diary number. Attend each hearing date with the originals.
7. If many colleagues are unpaid, one application can cover several employees of the same establishment (section 45(5)), subject to the State's rules. A registered trade union you belong to can also file.
8. PF: file separately on epfigms.gov.in. Gratuity: claim separately from the employer and the authority your State names.

Sources: Code on Wages, 2019, sections 2(k), 17, 45; Press Information Bureau releases of 21 November 2025 (Labour Codes effective) and 23 November 2025 (Code on Wages backgrounder); EPFiGMS portal. Checked on 28 October 2026.