Hi,
A very unique problem has come up in our company. One employee joined the Product team, completed the joining formalities, and resigned with immediate effect before receiving the appointment letter, within 5 days of joining.
We have internally accepted his resignation and forwarded it to the F&F settlement department. Although the resignation acceptance copy has not been sent to him, we aim to resolve this amicably. To complete his full and final settlement, we require a clearance certificate from all departments. Despite our continuous attempts to contact him via emails and phone calls to provide the necessary documents, he is unresponsive. We have calculated that we owe him 5 days' salary, and since the Appointment letter was not signed, we cannot request notice pay in lieu of it. However, he is not willing to accept even his 5 days' salary for reasons unknown to us.
We must close his file to comply with our internal audit requirements, but he is not cooperating by providing the department clearance certificate for us to settle his dues. Without this certificate, we cannot finalize the F&F process.
What should we do next? Should we consider sending him a legal notice? What should the content be given that he does not owe us anything? Would this behavior be considered gross misconduct? If so, can we conclude this matter by not paying him the 5 days' salary and terminating him summarily, even though under normal circumstances, we would be obligated to pay him?
I seek your advice on how to proceed. This is a unique case that I have not encountered in my career, and even after consulting with some of my HR contacts, we are unsure about the best course of action.
From India, Kolkata
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A very unique problem has come up in our company. One employee joined the Product team, completed the joining formalities, and resigned with immediate effect before receiving the appointment letter, within 5 days of joining.
We have internally accepted his resignation and forwarded it to the F&F settlement department. Although the resignation acceptance copy has not been sent to him, we aim to resolve this amicably. To complete his full and final settlement, we require a clearance certificate from all departments. Despite our continuous attempts to contact him via emails and phone calls to provide the necessary documents, he is unresponsive. We have calculated that we owe him 5 days' salary, and since the Appointment letter was not signed, we cannot request notice pay in lieu of it. However, he is not willing to accept even his 5 days' salary for reasons unknown to us.
We must close his file to comply with our internal audit requirements, but he is not cooperating by providing the department clearance certificate for us to settle his dues. Without this certificate, we cannot finalize the F&F process.
What should we do next? Should we consider sending him a legal notice? What should the content be given that he does not owe us anything? Would this behavior be considered gross misconduct? If so, can we conclude this matter by not paying him the 5 days' salary and terminating him summarily, even though under normal circumstances, we would be obligated to pay him?
I seek your advice on how to proceed. This is a unique case that I have not encountered in my career, and even after consulting with some of my HR contacts, we are unsure about the best course of action.
From India, Kolkata
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Dear Ashutosh,
You have magnified the problem disproportionately. Abandonment of employment immediately after joining is common across industries and companies. You have sent him notices to report for duty or even collect his wages for the period he worked. If he refuses to take his wages, then so be it. You may close his file; however, before the closure of his file, assign a task to someone from HR/Admin to obtain clearance from all departments on his behalf. This will generate evidence that he owes no dues to the company.
If you wish to complete the procedure legally, you may order an inquiry to investigate the abandonment of his employment. As a punitive measure for abandonment, you may forfeit the wages for which he worked. This legal process will assist you during inspections by the labor officer.
Those who abandon employment within a few days of joining fear that reporting to the company could land them in trouble. Out of this fear, they forgo their wages, even if legally they were due to receive them.
I have seen cases where companies retain 15 or even 30 days' salary of the employee for up to two years. Those who abandon employment within this period obviously have to forgo this salary. Despite the clause in the appointment letter, enticed by better opportunities, workers forego their legitimate dues and abandon employment. Your problem, in comparison, is far simpler!
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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8227You have magnified the problem disproportionately. Abandonment of employment immediately after joining is common across industries and companies. You have sent him notices to report for duty or even collect his wages for the period he worked. If he refuses to take his wages, then so be it. You may close his file; however, before the closure of his file, assign a task to someone from HR/Admin to obtain clearance from all departments on his behalf. This will generate evidence that he owes no dues to the company.
If you wish to complete the procedure legally, you may order an inquiry to investigate the abandonment of his employment. As a punitive measure for abandonment, you may forfeit the wages for which he worked. This legal process will assist you during inspections by the labor officer.
Those who abandon employment within a few days of joining fear that reporting to the company could land them in trouble. Out of this fear, they forgo their wages, even if legally they were due to receive them.
I have seen cases where companies retain 15 or even 30 days' salary of the employee for up to two years. Those who abandon employment within this period obviously have to forgo this salary. Despite the clause in the appointment letter, enticed by better opportunities, workers forego their legitimate dues and abandon employment. Your problem, in comparison, is far simpler!
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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Dear Sir,
It was not an abandonment. He called up one of the HR Managers and then resigned properly, and internally we have accepted his resignation. So now we cannot show it as a case of job abandonment. There is no question of an internal inquiry and all that stuff.
We are ready for F&F, and we owe him salary. But in order to do that, we need a clearance certificate. I had talked to our Country HR Head, and he suggested that I take the clearance from all departments internally when that gentleman is not ready to cooperate. But the question is: what's next? After deducting PF, should we credit the rest of the amount to his salary account? Should we send him a cheque?
I was told that "We have to pay him, have to give him 5 days' salary in order to close this chapter." But I fail to understand; when he himself is not interested in getting the money, why should we pay him?
Is there any other way out? How to close this file?
From India, Kolkata
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It was not an abandonment. He called up one of the HR Managers and then resigned properly, and internally we have accepted his resignation. So now we cannot show it as a case of job abandonment. There is no question of an internal inquiry and all that stuff.
We are ready for F&F, and we owe him salary. But in order to do that, we need a clearance certificate. I had talked to our Country HR Head, and he suggested that I take the clearance from all departments internally when that gentleman is not ready to cooperate. But the question is: what's next? After deducting PF, should we credit the rest of the amount to his salary account? Should we send him a cheque?
I was told that "We have to pay him, have to give him 5 days' salary in order to close this chapter." But I fail to understand; when he himself is not interested in getting the money, why should we pay him?
Is there any other way out? How to close this file?
From India, Kolkata
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If you wish to complete the procedure legally, you may order an enquiry to investigate the abandonment of his employment. As a punitive measure for abandonment, you may forfeit the wages for which he worked. This legal process will help you during the inspection by the labor officer.
Those who abandon employment within a few days of joining often fear that reporting to the company could land them in trouble. Out of this fear, they forego their wages, even if they were legally due to receive them.
He submitted his resignation on the evening of the 5th day, citing the reason for leaving as, "He thinks he will not be of any use in this product line, he doesn't feel confident." Given that we have accepted his reasons and his resignation, what investigation are you referring to? Under these circumstances, can we forfeit his wages, and on what grounds? Internally, we have discussed that we are not even requiring him to report to the office. We are simply asking him to courier the 2 pages of the clearance letter duly signed, after which the remaining procedures will be handled internally, and his dues will be cleared. However, he has not sent those two papers that we have mailed. Therefore, there is no possibility of him landing in trouble if he reports to the office, as we are not even asking him to do so.
Now, for internal and external audit purposes, I have been informed that we have to pay him to close his file. This does not make sense to me when he himself is not interested in cooperating to receive his dues.
Isn't this situation complex?
From India, Kolkata
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Those who abandon employment within a few days of joining often fear that reporting to the company could land them in trouble. Out of this fear, they forego their wages, even if they were legally due to receive them.
He submitted his resignation on the evening of the 5th day, citing the reason for leaving as, "He thinks he will not be of any use in this product line, he doesn't feel confident." Given that we have accepted his reasons and his resignation, what investigation are you referring to? Under these circumstances, can we forfeit his wages, and on what grounds? Internally, we have discussed that we are not even requiring him to report to the office. We are simply asking him to courier the 2 pages of the clearance letter duly signed, after which the remaining procedures will be handled internally, and his dues will be cleared. However, he has not sent those two papers that we have mailed. Therefore, there is no possibility of him landing in trouble if he reports to the office, as we are not even asking him to do so.
Now, for internal and external audit purposes, I have been informed that we have to pay him to close his file. This does not make sense to me when he himself is not interested in cooperating to receive his dues.
Isn't this situation complex?
From India, Kolkata
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make appropriation of "salary payable" account, and leave it, this will get allowed expenditure under income tax also,
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It will have to be treated as unpaid salary for 5 days. You have already communicated to him about the salary. Keep it with you for 3 months, and if the state Welfare Fund Act is applicable to your organization, remit the said amount to the Welfare Commissioner thereafter.
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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Come out if your internal procedures as the fact is he had worked for 5 days.
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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Dear Seniors,
Thank you very much for your invaluable suggestions. However, I believe things are getting murkier day by day.
Recently, we have obtained substantial evidence that the person in question concealed his last employment (which lasted only a month). He then resigned from there immediately, joined our organization, resigned here promptly, and returned to the same previous organization where he had been working for a month just before joining us.
Neither we nor his current employer were aware of this sequence of events.
We are contemplating legal action, but I do not think it would fall under Dual Employment since he did not work for two companies simultaneously at any point. Nevertheless, his current company did not accept his resignation and kept him on their payroll.
This seems to be their error rather than the employee's, as he could argue that he resigned with immediate effect before joining us. Therefore, the relationship was officially presumed to be terminated.
The situation is becoming increasingly complex. While we are fully prepared to proceed with strict legal action against the individual in question, I am uncertain about the specific legal measures we can take. I am scheduled to meet with our legal team next Tuesday. Before that meeting, I would like to understand the gravity of the situation and, if possible, explore potential HR and Legal solutions. Can we pursue legal action under the Indian Penal Code (IPC)? This was a suggestion put forward by my line manager. Both he and the management are eager to send a strong message in every direction. I eagerly await your advice.
Your responses are greatly appreciated.
P.S. The individual did not sign an appointment letter with us but completed the joining formalities and submitted attendance for those 5 days.
From India, Kolkata
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Thank you very much for your invaluable suggestions. However, I believe things are getting murkier day by day.
Recently, we have obtained substantial evidence that the person in question concealed his last employment (which lasted only a month). He then resigned from there immediately, joined our organization, resigned here promptly, and returned to the same previous organization where he had been working for a month just before joining us.
Neither we nor his current employer were aware of this sequence of events.
We are contemplating legal action, but I do not think it would fall under Dual Employment since he did not work for two companies simultaneously at any point. Nevertheless, his current company did not accept his resignation and kept him on their payroll.
This seems to be their error rather than the employee's, as he could argue that he resigned with immediate effect before joining us. Therefore, the relationship was officially presumed to be terminated.
The situation is becoming increasingly complex. While we are fully prepared to proceed with strict legal action against the individual in question, I am uncertain about the specific legal measures we can take. I am scheduled to meet with our legal team next Tuesday. Before that meeting, I would like to understand the gravity of the situation and, if possible, explore potential HR and Legal solutions. Can we pursue legal action under the Indian Penal Code (IPC)? This was a suggestion put forward by my line manager. Both he and the management are eager to send a strong message in every direction. I eagerly await your advice.
Your responses are greatly appreciated.
P.S. The individual did not sign an appointment letter with us but completed the joining formalities and submitted attendance for those 5 days.
From India, Kolkata
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