Lanka Multi Moulds Pvt Ltd. v. Commissioner of Labour – sllr 2001 volume 3 page 301

In the case between Lanka Multi Moulds Pvt Ltd (the petitioner company) and the Commissioner of Labour (the first respondent), the court addressed the lawfulness of terminating a workman’s employment under the Termination of Employment of Workmen (Special Provisions) Act, 1971. It was determined that the Commissioner’s order reinstating the workman with back wages amounted to an unlawful extension of employment beyond the fixed contractual term, as the statutory requirement for “prior consent in writing” had not been satisfied. The principle reaffirmed is that the cessation of employment under a fixed-term contract requires strict statutory compliance, and mutual agreement alone does not suffice in the absence of written consent. Reliance was placed upon the relevant provisions of the 1971