Hello Everyone,
I am a HR Executive in a private limited IT firm. I joined this company 3 months back, in fact I joined the Human Resources field just 3 months back so basically I am still in the learning phase about the core of this field. I would like to discuss about one of my office’s scenarios to clarify my doubt.
So, it happened that one of our employees resigned last week. She stopped company all of the sudden and sent a resignation from home to the HR Manager saying that she has some medical issues (she recently got eyes Lasik surgery and was claiming about some complications). Now, our HR Manager replied to her resignation saying that we are not accepting your resignation and you have to report back to the office within 24 hours and have to serve the notice period of 2 months. To this employee replied saying she won’t be able to serve the notice period, on which the HR Manager sent her a termination letter including that we are rejecting your resignation and as you failed to serve the notice period, we are terminating you from the employment. And now that employee cannot claim her relieving letter or experience letter from this Company even after spending 2 years here.
Being a human, I am feeling bad for that employee and I feel that this company is doing wrong with her career. But being a HR, I am in a dilemma if this is the right thing to do with the employee in such a scenario. Please help me out understanding this whole case.
Thanks!
From India, undefined
I am a HR Executive in a private limited IT firm. I joined this company 3 months back, in fact I joined the Human Resources field just 3 months back so basically I am still in the learning phase about the core of this field. I would like to discuss about one of my office’s scenarios to clarify my doubt.
So, it happened that one of our employees resigned last week. She stopped company all of the sudden and sent a resignation from home to the HR Manager saying that she has some medical issues (she recently got eyes Lasik surgery and was claiming about some complications). Now, our HR Manager replied to her resignation saying that we are not accepting your resignation and you have to report back to the office within 24 hours and have to serve the notice period of 2 months. To this employee replied saying she won’t be able to serve the notice period, on which the HR Manager sent her a termination letter including that we are rejecting your resignation and as you failed to serve the notice period, we are terminating you from the employment. And now that employee cannot claim her relieving letter or experience letter from this Company even after spending 2 years here.
Being a human, I am feeling bad for that employee and I feel that this company is doing wrong with her career. But being a HR, I am in a dilemma if this is the right thing to do with the employee in such a scenario. Please help me out understanding this whole case.
Thanks!
From India, undefined
Dear friend,
I appreciate that you wanted to emphathise with the resigning employee. HR cannot be impersonal and that's what exactly your HR Manager is doing.
Nevertheless, it is the battle of the resigning employee. Let her fight it out. At best suggest her to approach this forum to take advice from the seniors on how to handle her case. However, do this surreptitiously!
It is better if you keep yourself out of this! Not just injustice, but we find that atrocities also go on against the section of society. However, to what extent to involve oneself, is a matter of personal judgement.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
7881I appreciate that you wanted to emphathise with the resigning employee. HR cannot be impersonal and that's what exactly your HR Manager is doing.
Nevertheless, it is the battle of the resigning employee. Let her fight it out. At best suggest her to approach this forum to take advice from the seniors on how to handle her case. However, do this surreptitiously!
It is better if you keep yourself out of this! Not just injustice, but we find that atrocities also go on against the section of society. However, to what extent to involve oneself, is a matter of personal judgement.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
Hi,
Termination of the lady was sad but not wrong. If anybody working from the company and has some expectation from it then in same way company also has the expectations from the employee which he / she should fulfill. When she had signed the appointment letter it must have the clause for termination of contract and the same is supposed to be followed. If she cannot come for duty due to her sickness then she may apply for some days leave or leave without pay with proper justification. Also, if she is so sick that she can't able to serve the notice period as well then had she provide any proper medication or treatment or medical certificate from medical practitioner. Also, if yes then are they verified through company doctor if yes only then company can think for humanity ground but just sending an resignation from home can not be consider a correct process. Also, company has to follow some legal process for which they need to take some strict decisions which may be not favorable or popular but right at there place.
Termination of the lady was sad but not wrong. If anybody working from the company and has some expectation from it then in same way company also has the expectations from the employee which he / she should fulfill. When she had signed the appointment letter it must have the clause for termination of contract and the same is supposed to be followed. If she cannot come for duty due to her sickness then she may apply for some days leave or leave without pay with proper justification. Also, if she is so sick that she can't able to serve the notice period as well then had she provide any proper medication or treatment or medical certificate from medical practitioner. Also, if yes then are they verified through company doctor if yes only then company can think for humanity ground but just sending an resignation from home can not be consider a correct process. Also, company has to follow some legal process for which they need to take some strict decisions which may be not favorable or popular but right at there place.
Dear Manoj,
Nothing wrong to terminate the absenting employee nevertheless, the method of termination is not just questionable legally but from the point of HR Management also.
What was the need to show overzealousness to terminate the woman employee? If she had some medical problem then HR Manager could have paid visit either to the hospital or at her home. This visit would have helped in obtaining the ground information as well as establishing the emotional connect with the employee. "Employee engagement", is it not a buzzword amongst the HR professionals? How the engagement is developed? By hurried termination? What message will be sent to the other employees by this kind of termination?
HR could have discussed with the management to explore the possibility of keeping the absenting employee on the roll but without pay. It would have helped the sick employee to join once she became medically fit. What was the need to drive away from an employee who worked for two years in the company? Once the employee works for two years in the company, he/she gets well attuned to the culture of the company. Is it that easy to get a replacement that is culturally suitable? Going further, each employee takes away the knowledge when he/she exits the company. Resignation of each employee erodes knowledge assets or knowledge wealth of the company?
Lastly, no employee can be terminated without conducting domestic enquiry. The over smart HR Manager has failed to fulfil this legal obligation also.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
Nothing wrong to terminate the absenting employee nevertheless, the method of termination is not just questionable legally but from the point of HR Management also.
What was the need to show overzealousness to terminate the woman employee? If she had some medical problem then HR Manager could have paid visit either to the hospital or at her home. This visit would have helped in obtaining the ground information as well as establishing the emotional connect with the employee. "Employee engagement", is it not a buzzword amongst the HR professionals? How the engagement is developed? By hurried termination? What message will be sent to the other employees by this kind of termination?
HR could have discussed with the management to explore the possibility of keeping the absenting employee on the roll but without pay. It would have helped the sick employee to join once she became medically fit. What was the need to drive away from an employee who worked for two years in the company? Once the employee works for two years in the company, he/she gets well attuned to the culture of the company. Is it that easy to get a replacement that is culturally suitable? Going further, each employee takes away the knowledge when he/she exits the company. Resignation of each employee erodes knowledge assets or knowledge wealth of the company?
Lastly, no employee can be terminated without conducting domestic enquiry. The over smart HR Manager has failed to fulfil this legal obligation also.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
Hello, Your feelings for the employee are appreciated, but the employee has to fulfill her part of the obligation. When there is a notice period of two months, either serve the notice period or pay for the notice period. Organisations cannot work with a revolving door policy, people joining and leaving at will, there has to be some stability in operations. This issue is rather acute in IT field and the damage to the organisation is incalculable. So if the employee is unable to serve the notice period, then she has to pay for the notice period. You can help by getting the employee to pay for the notice period and the employee walks off with her relieving order & experience certificate. You can informally sound the HR Manager, if the proposal is OK, then you can convey the same to her.
From India, Mumbai
From India, Mumbai
Dear Divakar Sir,
With all due respect, with the query raised by the person specifically indicates that the employee is willing or showing any interest to continue and directly she had sent her resignation letter to the HR department. In case of absconding the domestic inquiry is surely to be consider as legal norm but is it really require to the employee who is resigning on immediate ground on her willingness ??? If she really want to continue then she should have applied for leave or asked for concession from the management which she had not done.
Secondly, as a part of employee engagement or development HR manager is supposed to follow the above suggested things by you but it is possible if employee is really looking for the concession or help from the management. Getting so rude in nature and sending resignation letter does not solve problem neither create any communication as it should be.
Thus in my view, it is failure from the employee side as she is surely aware about her notice period and she should have meet personally or should have called the management to inform about her situation and put up request for help or assistance which surely she had not done and choose a way or putting up resignation. It is not easy as management to work on door to door policy and surely not possible in cases where employees putting up immediate resignation.
These are totally my views which may or may not be agreed by many people from the group / site.
With all due respect, with the query raised by the person specifically indicates that the employee is willing or showing any interest to continue and directly she had sent her resignation letter to the HR department. In case of absconding the domestic inquiry is surely to be consider as legal norm but is it really require to the employee who is resigning on immediate ground on her willingness ??? If she really want to continue then she should have applied for leave or asked for concession from the management which she had not done.
Secondly, as a part of employee engagement or development HR manager is supposed to follow the above suggested things by you but it is possible if employee is really looking for the concession or help from the management. Getting so rude in nature and sending resignation letter does not solve problem neither create any communication as it should be.
Thus in my view, it is failure from the employee side as she is surely aware about her notice period and she should have meet personally or should have called the management to inform about her situation and put up request for help or assistance which surely she had not done and choose a way or putting up resignation. It is not easy as management to work on door to door policy and surely not possible in cases where employees putting up immediate resignation.
These are totally my views which may or may not be agreed by many people from the group / site.
Dear Friend,
Would you agree to point that the terminated employee was under an agreement with the employer to serve notice? If yes, why she did not serve the notice for which she is bound. The employee could have saved her by paying the amount in lieu of notice.
If the employee still feel injustice has happened to her can knock the door of law, if something emerge out of it.
From India, Mumbai
Would you agree to point that the terminated employee was under an agreement with the employer to serve notice? If yes, why she did not serve the notice for which she is bound. The employee could have saved her by paying the amount in lieu of notice.
If the employee still feel injustice has happened to her can knock the door of law, if something emerge out of it.
From India, Mumbai
I appreciate Manoj Kamble, every organization and every desiganation have some responsibilities, all should care of their responsibilities.
From India, Mumbai
From India, Mumbai
Dear Manoj,
This is my reply to Post No 6.
Yes, I agree that there was immaturity on the part of the employee. But then, in this case, an immature behaviour was retaliated by immaturity from HR too. HR followed a dotted line. "Either follow what I say or get lost" was the dictum that HR adhered too. This could have worked during the days of the Personnel Management but this authoritative style is incongruent with HR Management of 2017.
Who knows the employee might be playing truant also. The reason for medical unfitness could be fake also. But then HR neither made efforts to find out the veracity nor used influencing skills to retain an employee. Is employee retention not that important for unbranded companies?
Let us keep aside the medical fitness of employee or even inability to serve the notice period. There are routine cases wherein employees quit by serving the notice period. But even in such cases also, HR in many companies persuade resigning employee to remain with them. Why they do it? Why they do not stick to their duties perfunctorily and initiate the separate process?
On the side, HR shows a penchant for jargon like employee engagement but in actual practice, works contrary to these theories. This post is a classic example of this contradiction.
Adherence to the rules and regulations or discipline is important for any organisation. Nevertheless, I just questioned the crude implementation. I did not find any "humane" side of HR. That is what I would like to say.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
This is my reply to Post No 6.
Yes, I agree that there was immaturity on the part of the employee. But then, in this case, an immature behaviour was retaliated by immaturity from HR too. HR followed a dotted line. "Either follow what I say or get lost" was the dictum that HR adhered too. This could have worked during the days of the Personnel Management but this authoritative style is incongruent with HR Management of 2017.
Who knows the employee might be playing truant also. The reason for medical unfitness could be fake also. But then HR neither made efforts to find out the veracity nor used influencing skills to retain an employee. Is employee retention not that important for unbranded companies?
Let us keep aside the medical fitness of employee or even inability to serve the notice period. There are routine cases wherein employees quit by serving the notice period. But even in such cases also, HR in many companies persuade resigning employee to remain with them. Why they do it? Why they do not stick to their duties perfunctorily and initiate the separate process?
On the side, HR shows a penchant for jargon like employee engagement but in actual practice, works contrary to these theories. This post is a classic example of this contradiction.
Adherence to the rules and regulations or discipline is important for any organisation. Nevertheless, I just questioned the crude implementation. I did not find any "humane" side of HR. That is what I would like to say.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
Ideally in this kind of scenario HR should first talk to her Manager incase he knows something. Because before mailing for the resignation, employee usually talks to manager then only sends mail.
This scenario is a little suspicious, may be she has got some negative behavior from manager regarding her situation so she directly sent a mail
OR
she may have some another job offer in hand and with this reason she can join there immediately too.
From India, Pune
This scenario is a little suspicious, may be she has got some negative behavior from manager regarding her situation so she directly sent a mail
OR
she may have some another job offer in hand and with this reason she can join there immediately too.
From India, Pune
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Termination-emp loyment_563.pdf
Resignation Letter.jpg
Resignation cum relieving letter.doc