Kerala govt to probe alleged forced resignations at Byju’s in the state

Byju's seems to have landed itself in a soup in Kerala. V Sivankutty, General Education and Labour Minister of Kerala, has said that Kerala government will conduct a serious investigation into the allegations raised by employees of edtech giant Byju’s in the state.

“The employees of Byju’s App from Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram along with executives of Technopark’s IT employees’ welfare organization Prathidhwani met me. The employees have many grievances including job loss. The Labour Department will conduct a serious investigation in this regard,” Minister wrote on Facebook.

Also read: Techies’ welfare association meet Kerala minister after Byju’s asks 140 employees to resign
According to a LinkedIn post shared by Technopark Today, a community portal for IT professionals, the company has decided to shut down operations of its office at the Carnival building of Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram without prior notice to employees. More than 170 employees are working at Think & Learn Private Limited, the parent company of Byju’s, at the facility. The post alleged that the management is enforcing forceful resignations at the location.

The group of affected employees along with officials of Prathidhwani sought government’s intervention in the issue of forceful resignation and sought assistance to ensure that the situation reaches an “amicable and dignified” conclusion.

Responding to a query from Business Today, a spokesperson from Byju's denied any forceful resignations and said the employees are given a month’s time to relocate to its Bangalore centres. 

He has confirmed that the Technopark location is being closed down. Byju’s and its group companies together employ over 1500 people in the state, including over 1000 by Byju’s alone. The spokesperson said all other locations in the state continue to operate.

Also read: After announcing mass lay-offs, Byju’s raises $250 million

As the news broke on Wednesday, a company spokesperson had told Business Today that the number of affected employees is 140 and not 170. The spokesperson said the entire staff of Thiruvananthapuram facility has been given the option to relocate to the Bangalore office. If they are unable to do so, they will be compensated with health insurance benefits, outplacement services and garden leave.

“This package even includes an assured opportunity to be rehired by Byju’s within the next 12 months at any operational center across India,” the spokesperson said.

The meeting, which was held on October 25, saw Prathidhwani also requesting the minister to urge the company to not force resignation on the employees and revise the exit terms of the employees. 

The association demanded the exit terms be revised to ensure employees get their October salary on November 1, 2022, one-time settlement salary for three months (November 2022-January 2023), encashment of all earned leaves, and full-settlement of the variable pay.

“Honorable minister Sri V Sivankutty assured that Labour Dept. will intervene into the same. Byju's App employees and Prathidhwani representatives were present during the discussion with the minister,” the post read.

On October 12, Byju’s announced that it is laying off 2,500 employees from its total workforce. The spokesperson of the company had told Business Today then that the layoffs “will not happen immediately”, but will take over “the period of next six months.”