Pay our ₹2.3cr dues or shut shop: Ex-staff to BYJU'S
Over 60 former employees of edtech firm BYJU'S, have threatened to initiate insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings against the company, over unpaid salaries. Bengaluru-based law firm Canvas Legal has issued a demand notice of over ₹2.3 crore to BYJU'S on behalf of the employees. This situation adds to the growing list of issues faced by the troubled start-up, including legal action from investors to halt BYJU'S rights issue, insolvency pleas, mounting losses, and delays in filing financial statements.
Insolvency notice demands full repayment within 10 days
The notice, sent on July 4, demands BYJU'S to "unconditionally repay the unpaid operational debt (in default) in full within 10 days from the receipt of this letter." Non-compliance would lead to a corporate insolvency resolution process against M/s Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, BYJU'S parent company. Around 1,500 former employees have joined forces against the firm demanding their dues. However, not everyone could participate in sending the legal notice to the company due to financial constraints, as per Inc42.
Karnataka Labour Department receives complaints against BYJU'S
The Karnataka government's labor department has received numerous complaints from 160-200 former BYJU'S employees, alleging that the company has not settled nearly ₹4.5 crore in dues owed to them, even months after their termination. This information comes just days after Karnataka's Labour Minister Santosh Lad urged BYJU'S to settle overdue salaries for at least half of its former employees "at the earliest." The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has also directed the edtech start-up to pay salaries to its employees.
BYJU'S continues to struggle financially amid legal challenges
Despite facing numerous challenges, the Karnataka High Court has lifted NCLT's restriction on BYJU'S from undertaking a second rights issue, providing some relief to the financially struggling start-up. However, BYJU'S is yet to pay the complete salaries of its employees for February and March.
