Discharge of employees

(1) No employee in a shop or an establishment, who has been in continuous service for not less than six months in that shop or establishment, shall be discharged from his service except for a reasonable cause and unless— (a) he has been given one months' notice in writing indicating the reasons for discharge and the period of notice has expired, or he has been paid in lieu of notice, one month's wages in advance; and (b) he has been paid, at the time of discharge, compensation which shall be equivalent to fifteen days' wages : Provided that no notice under clause (a) shall be necessary if the discharge is under an agreement which specified a date for the termination of service; and Provided further that such notice shall not be necessary if the discharge is on a charge of such misconduct as may be prescribed or on his conviction on a criminal charge involving moral turpitude. (2) A discharge done against the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be an offence under this Act, and the Court shall, without prejudice to any other provisions of this Act, have power to give relief to the aggrieved person by way of reinstatement or money compensation or both. Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, an employee shall be deemed to be in continuous service in a shop or an establishment notwithstanding any interruption in the service caused by sickness, accident, authorised leave or lock-out, or by intermittent periods of involuntary unemployment, and authorised leave shall be deemed not to include any weekly holiday allowed under this Act which occurs at the beginning or end of an interruption caused by such leave.