Notice Period Waiver - Best Options To Negotiate With My Company?

I have resigned from the company, and as per the agreed terms, I will have to serve a 90-day notice. For the last 3 months before resigning, I was on Leave of Absence and was not assigned to any project. I did not have any responsibilities, transition, or knowledge transfer to provide during my notice period. I do not have any company assets to submit. In short, I was on the bench.

Due to personal reasons, I have requested my company to waive the notice period. I am also ready to buy out the notice period of 90 days. However, the company is adamant that I serve the full 90-day notice period. I do not understand what benefit the company will gain from me serving the full notice period. I will simply be swiping in and out of my office daily without providing any productive output to the organization. Why is the company willing to pay me for 90 days but not grant me an early release in exchange for a payout?

According to the exit request guidelines in the company policy, either party must provide a 90-day notice or opt for a payout in lieu of the notice period waiver requested by the employee. The final decision rests with the company, and for any exceptions, higher management approval is required.

Due to personal reasons, I am unable to serve the notice period. What are my best options for negotiating with my company? If the company remains firm in its decision, what are my legal options? Is it advisable to pursue legal action? What actions can the company take if I do not fulfill the notice period?

P.S. - I have been with this company since 2005.

Thank you.

Abhi

Dear Abhi,

If a common person reads between the lines of your post, that person will be able to read something different.

You were on the bench; therefore, the company was not able to bill your salary to the client. In other words, in terms of human accounting, you were a liability and not an asset to the company. Against this backdrop, some employees submit resignations. The company should have been more than happy. Instead, the company is forcing you to complete the notice period even at the cost of payment of salary to you. Why is the loss of revenue acceptable to the company? This is where the catch lies. Somebody was nursing a grudge against you and trying to spike your gun.

It appears that you had strained relations with some senior or top management professional in your company. He/she wants to teach you a lesson. Therefore, at this stage, you need to make sure that your exit is amicable, honorable, and without losing the opportunity at hand. To do this, you may ask some senior person or the MD himself for a personal interview. Explain to him how beneficial your exit would be for them. This is going to be a test of your negotiation skills.

The Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) would be to have an exit exactly before the joining date and that too without payment of any kind to your employers.

The Worst Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (WATNA) would be to have an exit by making a payment in lieu of the notice period.

The middle approach would be to make a partial payment.

To achieve BATNA, you may go through books on negotiation skills and prepare a narrative. This narrative will have the sequence of the points of negotiation, the choice of words, the phrases that you will use, mental preparedness for the concessions that you will give, etc., which is also important.

All the best!

Dinesh Divekar

Dear Abhi,

I agree with Mr. Dinesh Divekar's point. I don't really understand why the company wants you to serve a 90-day notice period. You should find out the answer for the same. Then it will be easier for you to negotiate with the company.

Regards,
Sonia Thomas