A WhatsApp group comprising at least 800 former and current employees of Byju’s has reportedly been created for a unified battle against their employer. These employees have decided to take the legal route to recover their dues and unpaid salaries.
The members of this WhatsApp group are seeking legal aid to recover pecuniary payment from the company. The employees, most of whom are teachers, have reportedly sought help from Canvas Legal, Bengaluru and SSA Lawgistics, Delhi.
In early July, Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad has called on Byju’s to promptly address outstanding dues owed to former employees. According to media reports, about 160 to 200 ex-employees had approached the Labour Department with unpaid dues totaling around Rs 4.5 crore.
In a meeting held at Vikasa Soudha in Bengaluru, Lad had instructed the company to pay at least 50 per cent of the outstanding dues immediately, with the remaining amount to be settled subsequently. This directive was aimed at providing immediate relief to the affected employees. The company was admitted to insolvency in July.
Over the years the company has managed to incur heavy losses. In 2021-22, Byju’s losses stood at a massive Rs 17,678 crore.
Byju’s has been battling a financial crisis for some time now. In March 2024, Raveendran, founder and CEO, Byju’s, had written to his over 20,000 employees expressing regret and citing challenges in processing salaries for February due to capital shortages and the delay despite available funds. At the time, a small group of investors, comprising four individuals out of the 150+ investors, had prevented the utilisation of the raised funds for employee salaries. The funds were locked in a separate account at the time, as directed by the investors.
