Labour Officer v. Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka – sllr 2000 volume 2 page 380

Brief
In the case between the Labour Officer (Plaintiff) and the Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka (Defendant), the court addressed the issue of whether a public company, created from the conversion of a public corporation, is required to pay gratuity for the entire period of an employee’s service, including the period prior to conversion. It was held that the period served with the original public corporation must be aggregated with the period served under the successor company for the purpose of gratuity calculation, thereby affirming the principle that statutory continuity of employment is not interrupted by such conversion. This decision was grounded in the interpretation of the Conversion of Public Corporations into Public Companies Act No. 23 of 1987 and the Payment of Gratuity Act N