The Payment of Gratuity must be from the Last Drawn Salary even in Cases of Deputation 

An employee was paid deficit gratuity by his employer, as the employer did not receive a proportionate sum of gratuity from the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (“KTDC”) and Kerala State Beverage Corporation where the employee worked on deputation. It was argued by KTDC that the gratuity was calculated on the basis of last drawn salary of the employee while on deputation with KTDC. Hence the last drawn salary of employee from the employer is irrelevant for calculation of gratuity payable by KTDC. The High Court of Kerala in W.P.(C) 35362/2019 opined that once total gratuity payable to the employee is calculated by the parent employer based on the monthly salary last drawn by the employee immediately preceding his termination, the parent employer has every right to seek contributions from the employers with whom the employee had worked on deputation, for the period of deputation. The employer which employed an employee on deputation cannot contend that the gratuity for the period of deputation is to be calculated based on the salary last drawn by the employee from him during the deputation period.