Hi,
I was working in a software firm for the last 4 years and 9 months. The company terminated me without giving any proper reason in writing. In fact, my manager thought he could replace my position with less experienced and less costly staff. So, he played a game with me by giving a low rating in my annual appraisal, although the remarks given against each KPI were very good, but a low rating was given to prove that I am a low performer. I did not accept that rating and brought this issue to HR, but HR is not ready to listen.
After that, he put me under a Performance Improvement Program (PIP) for 2 months and terminated me without any notice or feedback from the PIP.
I did not receive any amount for the notice period. As per the appointment letter, the minimum notice period of 2 months has to be served from both sides.
When I spoke to HR, they mentioned that as per policy, the Performance Improvement Program should be treated as the notice period, and no payment will be made if terminated after the PIP, which I was not aware of and was not mentioned in the document I received from my manager for the Performance Improvement Program. HR also sent me a policy document where it's mentioned that the final performance-related discussion will happen on the date given on the Performance Improvement document. If the feedback is up to the mark, the employee will continue their job; otherwise, the date given on the performance document will be treated as the last working day, and no compensation will be paid for the notice period. In my case, the performance-related discussion did not happen, and the date on the relieving letter is 20 days later than the date given in the performance-related document. So, as per the policy document, if the employee continues their job from the date given on the performance-related document, it should be treated as regular, and their performance program successfully completed.
I received a letter of acceptance from HR stating that I had resigned, which was accepted by the HR manager, but I did not offer such resignation. Interestingly, the date given on the letter is a Sunday, which is not possible as no company works on Sunday. Another interesting aspect is that the relieving letter issued by HR is dated 2 days before the resignation acceptance letter issued by HR. For example, the resignation acceptance letter was issued on the 7th of July, and the relieving letter was issued on the 5th of July.
Here I have a few questions:
1. The relieving letter issued by the company is 2 weeks before my last working day. For instance, I worked until the 21st of July, but the letter was issued on the 5th of July, and the company only paid me until the 5th of July without payment until the 21st of July. I have all the required proof that I worked until the 21st of July in the form of various emails, including the last day email I sent to the company. Another interesting point is that I was on leave on the date given on my relieving letter, and I have an email as proof that I sent to my manager.
2. The company did not pay my gratuity amount, stating that the minimum 5-year term was not completed.
3. Superannuation was part of my CTC in the first year and mentioned in my appointment letter, but later, this component was removed from the 2nd year onwards and was not mentioned in the annual compensation revision letter.
4. I was working in a Delhi-based office and moved to Bangalore from Delhi, where the company has another office. Is it possible to sue the company in the Bangalore Labour Court, or could you suggest any other suitable competent authority?
Taking into account the above-mentioned details, please provide answers to my four questions.
Thank you,
Anu
From India, New Delhi
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I was working in a software firm for the last 4 years and 9 months. The company terminated me without giving any proper reason in writing. In fact, my manager thought he could replace my position with less experienced and less costly staff. So, he played a game with me by giving a low rating in my annual appraisal, although the remarks given against each KPI were very good, but a low rating was given to prove that I am a low performer. I did not accept that rating and brought this issue to HR, but HR is not ready to listen.
After that, he put me under a Performance Improvement Program (PIP) for 2 months and terminated me without any notice or feedback from the PIP.
I did not receive any amount for the notice period. As per the appointment letter, the minimum notice period of 2 months has to be served from both sides.
When I spoke to HR, they mentioned that as per policy, the Performance Improvement Program should be treated as the notice period, and no payment will be made if terminated after the PIP, which I was not aware of and was not mentioned in the document I received from my manager for the Performance Improvement Program. HR also sent me a policy document where it's mentioned that the final performance-related discussion will happen on the date given on the Performance Improvement document. If the feedback is up to the mark, the employee will continue their job; otherwise, the date given on the performance document will be treated as the last working day, and no compensation will be paid for the notice period. In my case, the performance-related discussion did not happen, and the date on the relieving letter is 20 days later than the date given in the performance-related document. So, as per the policy document, if the employee continues their job from the date given on the performance-related document, it should be treated as regular, and their performance program successfully completed.
I received a letter of acceptance from HR stating that I had resigned, which was accepted by the HR manager, but I did not offer such resignation. Interestingly, the date given on the letter is a Sunday, which is not possible as no company works on Sunday. Another interesting aspect is that the relieving letter issued by HR is dated 2 days before the resignation acceptance letter issued by HR. For example, the resignation acceptance letter was issued on the 7th of July, and the relieving letter was issued on the 5th of July.
Here I have a few questions:
1. The relieving letter issued by the company is 2 weeks before my last working day. For instance, I worked until the 21st of July, but the letter was issued on the 5th of July, and the company only paid me until the 5th of July without payment until the 21st of July. I have all the required proof that I worked until the 21st of July in the form of various emails, including the last day email I sent to the company. Another interesting point is that I was on leave on the date given on my relieving letter, and I have an email as proof that I sent to my manager.
2. The company did not pay my gratuity amount, stating that the minimum 5-year term was not completed.
3. Superannuation was part of my CTC in the first year and mentioned in my appointment letter, but later, this component was removed from the 2nd year onwards and was not mentioned in the annual compensation revision letter.
4. I was working in a Delhi-based office and moved to Bangalore from Delhi, where the company has another office. Is it possible to sue the company in the Bangalore Labour Court, or could you suggest any other suitable competent authority?
Taking into account the above-mentioned details, please provide answers to my four questions.
Thank you,
Anu
From India, New Delhi
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Dear Anu,
Greetings!!!
Lodge a complaint with the labor office in the area where you are presently living. If necessary, they will forward it to the relevant court. However, my suggestion would be to send a legal notice to your company before proceeding to lodge a complaint, assuming that you have already exhausted the steps of escalating this to senior management. If not, then send an email to your HR Manager, with a copy to the HR Head, CEO, MD, and Your Ex-Manager.
From India, Delhi
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108Greetings!!!
Lodge a complaint with the labor office in the area where you are presently living. If necessary, they will forward it to the relevant court. However, my suggestion would be to send a legal notice to your company before proceeding to lodge a complaint, assuming that you have already exhausted the steps of escalating this to senior management. If not, then send an email to your HR Manager, with a copy to the HR Head, CEO, MD, and Your Ex-Manager.
From India, Delhi
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After reading the post, I feel that the company will not give you a chance to talk; they are engaging in unethical practices. You can definitely go to the local labor law office with all the proof, and they will certainly assist you with this.
From India, Pune
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From India, Pune
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PF & ESI are statutory. There is no link with welfare fund. You should deduct amounts for PF & ESI and pay to the concerned authorities along with employer’s contribution. D.SUBBA RAO
From India, Visakhapatnam
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From India, Visakhapatnam
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Dear Shantanu,
The company seems to be unethical in its approach and careless in its documentation. But please tell me, under which act, rules, or regulation will the complaint be filed? In any case, the maximum you will get is 2 weeks' salary. The rest of the documentation will get corrected once the complaint comes in.
Anu, I do not think you will get much joy in any legal action against the company. It's better to focus on finding a new job. Bangalore has lots of opportunities for software personnel. However, I would suggest you review your work. Most software companies do not remove expensive programmers and hire cheaper ones because the experienced ones have a much higher throughput. In fact, there is a demand for good programmers. You need to review what you do and see how you can become better and more efficient so that your future employers do not look to replace you based on salary grounds. By the way, you are not eligible for gratuity.
From India, Mumbai
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The company seems to be unethical in its approach and careless in its documentation. But please tell me, under which act, rules, or regulation will the complaint be filed? In any case, the maximum you will get is 2 weeks' salary. The rest of the documentation will get corrected once the complaint comes in.
Anu, I do not think you will get much joy in any legal action against the company. It's better to focus on finding a new job. Bangalore has lots of opportunities for software personnel. However, I would suggest you review your work. Most software companies do not remove expensive programmers and hire cheaper ones because the experienced ones have a much higher throughput. In fact, there is a demand for good programmers. You need to review what you do and see how you can become better and more efficient so that your future employers do not look to replace you based on salary grounds. By the way, you are not eligible for gratuity.
From India, Mumbai
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Hi all,
Thank you all for your valuable suggestions and discussions. I would like to clarify your doubt; I don't care about money. I care about my rights and want to protect them. I know this is an industry-wide HR practice, but as far as I am concerned, I don't want to allow them to do the same to me and want to raise my voice about it. I have proof of everything with me, such as a soft copy of the appraisal form, policy documents, PIP documents received from my manager, and all other relevant emails.
Please provide me with suggestions now: should I log my complaint with the competent authority? Where should I log the complaint? How can I proceed, and what would be the possible consequences? Additionally, I am currently working in another organization. Will this impact my current job?
I am also planning to send a copy of the complaint, along with a covering letter, to NASCOM. Is this the right decision?
Thank you once again.
Anu
From India, New Delhi
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Thank you all for your valuable suggestions and discussions. I would like to clarify your doubt; I don't care about money. I care about my rights and want to protect them. I know this is an industry-wide HR practice, but as far as I am concerned, I don't want to allow them to do the same to me and want to raise my voice about it. I have proof of everything with me, such as a soft copy of the appraisal form, policy documents, PIP documents received from my manager, and all other relevant emails.
Please provide me with suggestions now: should I log my complaint with the competent authority? Where should I log the complaint? How can I proceed, and what would be the possible consequences? Additionally, I am currently working in another organization. Will this impact my current job?
I am also planning to send a copy of the complaint, along with a covering letter, to NASCOM. Is this the right decision?
Thank you once again.
Anu
From India, New Delhi
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Dear Sir,
Please let me know the steps to file the complaint. Should I need to file a complaint separately for Gratuity and the labor department for other issues like salary, superannuation amount, etc.
Currently, I am residing in Delhi, and my employer's office is in Noida, with their head office in Mumbai. So, where should I go to file the complaint?
Also, please suggest any advocate in Delhi/Noida who can help me out without my physical presence.
Thank you, everyone, once again for their valuable suggestions.
From India, New Delhi
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Please let me know the steps to file the complaint. Should I need to file a complaint separately for Gratuity and the labor department for other issues like salary, superannuation amount, etc.
Currently, I am residing in Delhi, and my employer's office is in Noida, with their head office in Mumbai. So, where should I go to file the complaint?
Also, please suggest any advocate in Delhi/Noida who can help me out without my physical presence.
Thank you, everyone, once again for their valuable suggestions.
From India, New Delhi
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