Hi,
I resigned from my present job, gave the required 30 days notice and very professionally transitioned my current job's knowledge to my replacement. The 30 day period is about to end in two days and I have served this period without taking any leave as per the terms in my offer letter. However, my manager and the Company HR insist today that I will not be releived for the next two months!
I need some advice on the legal implications if I simply stop coming to work and join the next organization after I complete the 30 day notice period. The next Company does not require a relieving letter and only needs my current Company's offer letter and the dated letter of resignation.
Please guide me on what I can and should do before taking such a step to make sure my tracks are clear and the current Company cannot take any legal action against me. I have not signed any employment bond and I joined this organization six months ago, the work is nowhere near what I was promised and hence the dissatisfaction.
Thanks,
Karishma
I resigned from my present job, gave the required 30 days notice and very professionally transitioned my current job's knowledge to my replacement. The 30 day period is about to end in two days and I have served this period without taking any leave as per the terms in my offer letter. However, my manager and the Company HR insist today that I will not be releived for the next two months!
I need some advice on the legal implications if I simply stop coming to work and join the next organization after I complete the 30 day notice period. The next Company does not require a relieving letter and only needs my current Company's offer letter and the dated letter of resignation.
Please guide me on what I can and should do before taking such a step to make sure my tracks are clear and the current Company cannot take any legal action against me. I have not signed any employment bond and I joined this organization six months ago, the work is nowhere near what I was promised and hence the dissatisfaction.
Thanks,
Karishma
Dear Karishma
Do not get panicked by the situation. There is no law which prevents employee from leaving services of an employer.
Now please let me know the following
1. Were you issued any appointment letter. This is because you have mentioned only of offer letter. offer letter is an offer given by some one which one accepts or rejects. Appointment letter is a contract of employment on specific terms and conditions written or implied. So if you have not been issued any appointment letter and this resignation clause was there in the offer letter and you have submitted resignation based on offer letter even then you have followed the proper procedure as written in offer letter and accepted by you.
2. Now about the submission of resignation. Have you taken a receipt of submission of resignation. I believe you have submitted the same as hard copy and through email. What about the acceptance. Have they given you any acceptance in writing with respect to your resignation
Have you specifically asked for the relieving on specific date after completion of notice period and in the reply to your resignation have they mentioned about acceptance and relieving date. If the above is clear and on the records they cannot force you to continue with organisation.
3. You have mentioned that you handed over the charge to new person . Have you taken that in writing to new person that he / she has taken over the charge of following. If you have not done the same , do it as early as possible. After getting this you can also ask the person to provide you authority duly signed by management for taking over the charge. But be careful for that management can change the name of person for handing over the charge.
4. I belive the best way is to come forward and discuss with the management about your views. be confident and make them under stand that what you were expecting from your job is not there in your job profile. Put all onus on management to justify you why they are not relieving you.
You can raise a question that what will happen if same thing occur after two months. What are the changes which you require and management is ready to accept for retaining your services. Ask what management will do in terms of your monetary benefits which you are getting from new offer. Are they ready to make your job profile as good as being offered to you by new offer. What are the commitments which present employer has not fulfilled.
Ther is no harm in justifying your self. Legally if you have submitted resignation as per terms of employement and they have accepted and communicated the same in writing they cannot stop you under any law.
You have to proceed on best judgrmrnt basis. be open to your management and make them aware of short comings and other positives which they have.
I hope they will appreciate and releive you.
Regards
Anil Anand
From India, New Delhi
Do not get panicked by the situation. There is no law which prevents employee from leaving services of an employer.
Now please let me know the following
1. Were you issued any appointment letter. This is because you have mentioned only of offer letter. offer letter is an offer given by some one which one accepts or rejects. Appointment letter is a contract of employment on specific terms and conditions written or implied. So if you have not been issued any appointment letter and this resignation clause was there in the offer letter and you have submitted resignation based on offer letter even then you have followed the proper procedure as written in offer letter and accepted by you.
2. Now about the submission of resignation. Have you taken a receipt of submission of resignation. I believe you have submitted the same as hard copy and through email. What about the acceptance. Have they given you any acceptance in writing with respect to your resignation
Have you specifically asked for the relieving on specific date after completion of notice period and in the reply to your resignation have they mentioned about acceptance and relieving date. If the above is clear and on the records they cannot force you to continue with organisation.
3. You have mentioned that you handed over the charge to new person . Have you taken that in writing to new person that he / she has taken over the charge of following. If you have not done the same , do it as early as possible. After getting this you can also ask the person to provide you authority duly signed by management for taking over the charge. But be careful for that management can change the name of person for handing over the charge.
4. I belive the best way is to come forward and discuss with the management about your views. be confident and make them under stand that what you were expecting from your job is not there in your job profile. Put all onus on management to justify you why they are not relieving you.
You can raise a question that what will happen if same thing occur after two months. What are the changes which you require and management is ready to accept for retaining your services. Ask what management will do in terms of your monetary benefits which you are getting from new offer. Are they ready to make your job profile as good as being offered to you by new offer. What are the commitments which present employer has not fulfilled.
Ther is no harm in justifying your self. Legally if you have submitted resignation as per terms of employement and they have accepted and communicated the same in writing they cannot stop you under any law.
You have to proceed on best judgrmrnt basis. be open to your management and make them aware of short comings and other positives which they have.
I hope they will appreciate and releive you.
Regards
Anil Anand
From India, New Delhi
Hi Anil,
Thank you for the detailed reply. Here are the answers to your questions:
1. Yes I have an appointment letter which states the resignation terms as 30 days notice.
2. The normally followed practice in this Company is that the resignation is sent to the Manager by email, which I have done. The email was sent to my manager on 19/09/05 and I asked to be releived on or before 19/10/2005. But I have no email/written acceptance proof. The management has been coaxing me all this while to continue and all the time I have refused. I have been all the time asking for acceptance, but it has still not been done.
3. I have trained a new person, and I can even get a formal email of charge handover, but whether I will get one from Management, I am not sure. Management has been tight lipped about my releiving from the start. And with 19/10 fast approaching, there is still no word, which might force me to take this step of stopping to attend work.
4. The management cannot match my new offer. And mostly the work provided currently is promised to be changed, but only after 6 months. Management is not giving this in writing, which makes me very very unsecure about my future and the credibility of the Management. I very much want to leave and the question of continuing here does not arise.
I have been very professional about the resignation, giving the full 30 day notice and honestly handing over charge of duties over these 30 days. It hurts to see such blatant disregard for professionalism. The irony is that ever since I have resigned, I am suddenly the best person around with a lot of choices to choose from, and all the past 6 months, my requests to change my work content were falling to deaf ears.
All attempts to reach a peaceful solution from my end have failed. And now that MAnagement as well as HR refusing to releive me for the next two months, I have no other choice. So I would prefer to stop coming to work from 19/10, but I just want to make sure my tracks are clear. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks again for your time,
Regards
Karishma
Thank you for the detailed reply. Here are the answers to your questions:
1. Yes I have an appointment letter which states the resignation terms as 30 days notice.
2. The normally followed practice in this Company is that the resignation is sent to the Manager by email, which I have done. The email was sent to my manager on 19/09/05 and I asked to be releived on or before 19/10/2005. But I have no email/written acceptance proof. The management has been coaxing me all this while to continue and all the time I have refused. I have been all the time asking for acceptance, but it has still not been done.
3. I have trained a new person, and I can even get a formal email of charge handover, but whether I will get one from Management, I am not sure. Management has been tight lipped about my releiving from the start. And with 19/10 fast approaching, there is still no word, which might force me to take this step of stopping to attend work.
4. The management cannot match my new offer. And mostly the work provided currently is promised to be changed, but only after 6 months. Management is not giving this in writing, which makes me very very unsecure about my future and the credibility of the Management. I very much want to leave and the question of continuing here does not arise.
I have been very professional about the resignation, giving the full 30 day notice and honestly handing over charge of duties over these 30 days. It hurts to see such blatant disregard for professionalism. The irony is that ever since I have resigned, I am suddenly the best person around with a lot of choices to choose from, and all the past 6 months, my requests to change my work content were falling to deaf ears.
All attempts to reach a peaceful solution from my end have failed. And now that MAnagement as well as HR refusing to releive me for the next two months, I have no other choice. So I would prefer to stop coming to work from 19/10, but I just want to make sure my tracks are clear. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks again for your time,
Regards
Karishma
Dear Karishma
It seems that though you are a good professional but has not followed right procedure in the case of submission of resignation. Email is not a medium so far prescribed by employers for submission and acceptance of resignation. Don't worry you can adopt the under mentioned procedure to avoid litigation about which you are apprehensive.
1. Give details of above all , declaring you submission of resignation through email and further communication you had with your management. Make a detailed letter and submit the same to concerned authority preferably by hand or through courier. In case of courier it should be specifically mentioned on the envelop about subject i.e Regarding Resignation in respect of .................
This will serve the purpose of your submission of resignation in writing and the document will remain on record. Collect the POD(proof of Delivery) from courier company. Explain in the contents of your submission your all verbal communications with various officials of the company and HR person. This is very important for documentation point of view and will act as evidence to your contentions.
Get in writing from the person to whom you have handed over the charge. Make sure that nothing remains pending.
In all cases if you stop coming to office maximum they can do is that they will not pay you salary till 19/10 or if they want to proceed legally they have to approach civil court. In this case also they have to submit before the court that you have not followed the terms of employment contract entered by you between you and employer, you can forward the above document for your defence.
I still believe that you should approach to your appointing authority by making a verbal request. Apprise them of your future plans and job. Un less or until they have prepared a mind to go for litigation , I believe they will consider your submissions and relieve you , do not show your resentments , be cool and act like a good professional. Till date i have not seen any case where parties to the case were unable to dissolve such issues. It happens with so many organisations that till a person a doing a job they are least concerned with the satisfaction of employee. They only realise when things go beyond their control.
Better, open and transparent communication is key to success. Please make sure that neither you regret nor you employer should regret. World is very small you do not know when and where you will face each other. If you are good you will find good in every one else ......?
Go ahead and discuss to resolve the matter but only with appointing authority or person authorized in this behalf and not with other officials.
You have to act as per Best Judgement Process.
Regards
Anil Anand
From India, New Delhi
It seems that though you are a good professional but has not followed right procedure in the case of submission of resignation. Email is not a medium so far prescribed by employers for submission and acceptance of resignation. Don't worry you can adopt the under mentioned procedure to avoid litigation about which you are apprehensive.
1. Give details of above all , declaring you submission of resignation through email and further communication you had with your management. Make a detailed letter and submit the same to concerned authority preferably by hand or through courier. In case of courier it should be specifically mentioned on the envelop about subject i.e Regarding Resignation in respect of .................
This will serve the purpose of your submission of resignation in writing and the document will remain on record. Collect the POD(proof of Delivery) from courier company. Explain in the contents of your submission your all verbal communications with various officials of the company and HR person. This is very important for documentation point of view and will act as evidence to your contentions.
Get in writing from the person to whom you have handed over the charge. Make sure that nothing remains pending.
In all cases if you stop coming to office maximum they can do is that they will not pay you salary till 19/10 or if they want to proceed legally they have to approach civil court. In this case also they have to submit before the court that you have not followed the terms of employment contract entered by you between you and employer, you can forward the above document for your defence.
I still believe that you should approach to your appointing authority by making a verbal request. Apprise them of your future plans and job. Un less or until they have prepared a mind to go for litigation , I believe they will consider your submissions and relieve you , do not show your resentments , be cool and act like a good professional. Till date i have not seen any case where parties to the case were unable to dissolve such issues. It happens with so many organisations that till a person a doing a job they are least concerned with the satisfaction of employee. They only realise when things go beyond their control.
Better, open and transparent communication is key to success. Please make sure that neither you regret nor you employer should regret. World is very small you do not know when and where you will face each other. If you are good you will find good in every one else ......?
Go ahead and discuss to resolve the matter but only with appointing authority or person authorized in this behalf and not with other officials.
You have to act as per Best Judgement Process.
Regards
Anil Anand
From India, New Delhi
Hi Anil,
Thank you very much for taking the time to write in detail. I have tried asking Management verbally, but the first hit came from Management side only about not relieving. In any case, I will do as you said.
The practice of emailing the resignation has been followed in this Company for a long time. But you are right, I carefully read the Company policies and it specifies that the resignation has to be submitted "in writing" with no reference to email as a medium!
Anyways, thanks. I will update this post and let all know what happened to me and the outcome of this situation.
Regards
Karishma
Thank you very much for taking the time to write in detail. I have tried asking Management verbally, but the first hit came from Management side only about not relieving. In any case, I will do as you said.
The practice of emailing the resignation has been followed in this Company for a long time. But you are right, I carefully read the Company policies and it specifies that the resignation has to be submitted "in writing" with no reference to email as a medium!
Anyways, thanks. I will update this post and let all know what happened to me and the outcome of this situation.
Regards
Karishma
Hi Anil,
I have been following this string of mails and I appreciate and admire your effort. I am impressed with your mentoring. Resolving issues with Management prevents bad feelings all around and you have been more than once emphasing it. Good Show Anil. This world needs more people like you.
C.R.KUMAR
I have been following this string of mails and I appreciate and admire your effort. I am impressed with your mentoring. Resolving issues with Management prevents bad feelings all around and you have been more than once emphasing it. Good Show Anil. This world needs more people like you.
C.R.KUMAR
Hi Anil
That was nice of you to give the right advice.
It is always better to move out smoothly from an organisation.
As many companys make reference checks to previous employers,
it makes sense to be in the good books of the organisation.
But, at the same time mgmt./HR cannot play around these
issues as if they are wise, they must understand that other
people in their organisation are watching this and furthur prolongment
of such genuine cases are only going to affect their intergrity.
Regards,
Harsha
t
From India,
That was nice of you to give the right advice.
It is always better to move out smoothly from an organisation.
As many companys make reference checks to previous employers,
it makes sense to be in the good books of the organisation.
But, at the same time mgmt./HR cannot play around these
issues as if they are wise, they must understand that other
people in their organisation are watching this and furthur prolongment
of such genuine cases are only going to affect their intergrity.
Regards,
Harsha
t
From India,
Dear Karis,
It depands on your emp. contract. If the terms & condition states that you need to give two months notice than you have no choice unless you negotiate and pay the amount(salary) in liew of notice.
If not negotiate again with your current bos to release you early.
However if you T&C states that you need to give one month notice and without other binding factors thus there is no reason for them to stop you leaving.
Best of Luck
It depands on your emp. contract. If the terms & condition states that you need to give two months notice than you have no choice unless you negotiate and pay the amount(salary) in liew of notice.
If not negotiate again with your current bos to release you early.
However if you T&C states that you need to give one month notice and without other binding factors thus there is no reason for them to stop you leaving.
Best of Luck
Hi All,
First of all I would like to thank Anil for his support and guidance. Here is what happened eventually.
I reported to work on 19/10/2005. I once again approached my managers for my relieving. But I got a dodged answer.
The same afternoon, I approached my HR manager and explained that I cannot continue and that the HR department would get my resignation letter copy with my company ID by registered post the next day and that I would not be reporting to work from 20/10/2005. The HR manager immediately spoke to my managers and made sure I was releived the same day. He aplogized on behalf of the Company and assured that this was not a normal practice and that I should not leave with a bad image of the Company.
I have joined the next organization, but after a real harrowing experience. I hope no one else faces such a situation.
Thank you for your support!
Warm regards
Karishma
First of all I would like to thank Anil for his support and guidance. Here is what happened eventually.
I reported to work on 19/10/2005. I once again approached my managers for my relieving. But I got a dodged answer.
The same afternoon, I approached my HR manager and explained that I cannot continue and that the HR department would get my resignation letter copy with my company ID by registered post the next day and that I would not be reporting to work from 20/10/2005. The HR manager immediately spoke to my managers and made sure I was releived the same day. He aplogized on behalf of the Company and assured that this was not a normal practice and that I should not leave with a bad image of the Company.
I have joined the next organization, but after a real harrowing experience. I hope no one else faces such a situation.
Thank you for your support!
Warm regards
Karishma
Hi Anil,
Its very nice see your way of explanation. I am also trapped in a similar condition. I have resigned from my previous company and the resignation has been confirmed on e-mail(with dates specified). The employer had also given a date to my relieving. But during my notice period my father had a serious accident. So, I had to rush to my place in hurry. The process took some time, but i tried to inform the employer by mail after a week, but i missed to give all the details. On next week, i did send him complete description of my problem with medical document as attachment. During this period, the employer send me notice for my absence from my work by courier. Three such notices were sent when i was running for well being of my father. When i get stable i sent him the company materials by courier which came back as 'unclaimed'. Next to it I received a legal notice from the employer for absence from work or a claim of three month of gross salary within 15 days. I need your advice as soon as possible.
Thanks in advance.
Rajeev
From India, Madras
Its very nice see your way of explanation. I am also trapped in a similar condition. I have resigned from my previous company and the resignation has been confirmed on e-mail(with dates specified). The employer had also given a date to my relieving. But during my notice period my father had a serious accident. So, I had to rush to my place in hurry. The process took some time, but i tried to inform the employer by mail after a week, but i missed to give all the details. On next week, i did send him complete description of my problem with medical document as attachment. During this period, the employer send me notice for my absence from my work by courier. Three such notices were sent when i was running for well being of my father. When i get stable i sent him the company materials by courier which came back as 'unclaimed'. Next to it I received a legal notice from the employer for absence from work or a claim of three month of gross salary within 15 days. I need your advice as soon as possible.
Thanks in advance.
Rajeev
From India, Madras
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