Dear All,
I would like to have your advice for this situation. One of our staff has resigned due to poor performance and behavioral issues. As part of the normal exit process, we asked the staff to prepare the handover summary and hand over all equipment, documents, etc., to the organization on the last working day and to collect the full and final settlement from the office after completion of all exit formalities.
Closer to the last working date, I received an email from the staff stating that she is medically unfit to come to the office and is advised bed rest. The staff mentioned they would call and let us know when she can come to the office to hand over and take the final settlement. To date, the staff has not contacted me or the reporting manager and is also not responding to our phone calls. We have been sending emails/reminders to come to the office for the handover and to complete the exit procedures. We have received only one email which says to send my final statement to the bank and then I will submit the equipment. We replied that this is not possible according to the organization's standards, but have not received any reply since.
What should our next step be?
Thanks
From India, Bengaluru
I would like to have your advice for this situation. One of our staff has resigned due to poor performance and behavioral issues. As part of the normal exit process, we asked the staff to prepare the handover summary and hand over all equipment, documents, etc., to the organization on the last working day and to collect the full and final settlement from the office after completion of all exit formalities.
Closer to the last working date, I received an email from the staff stating that she is medically unfit to come to the office and is advised bed rest. The staff mentioned they would call and let us know when she can come to the office to hand over and take the final settlement. To date, the staff has not contacted me or the reporting manager and is also not responding to our phone calls. We have been sending emails/reminders to come to the office for the handover and to complete the exit procedures. We have received only one email which says to send my final statement to the bank and then I will submit the equipment. We replied that this is not possible according to the organization's standards, but have not received any reply since.
What should our next step be?
Thanks
From India, Bengaluru
Hi,
I am not an expert on this topic, but I faced a similar situation in our office. What we did was send a notice to report to the office on a mutually agreed-upon date via registered post. If the employee agrees to report to finish the handover process, all is well and good. In case she does not, you can terminate her employment due to her being absconding and make a recovery of your equipment from her full and final settlement, as per company policy. Also, care must be taken to provide a comfortable working environment when she comes to the office to complete her handover, if she does. Please take an opinion from 2-3 seasoned professionals before taking any action.
From India, Mumbai
I am not an expert on this topic, but I faced a similar situation in our office. What we did was send a notice to report to the office on a mutually agreed-upon date via registered post. If the employee agrees to report to finish the handover process, all is well and good. In case she does not, you can terminate her employment due to her being absconding and make a recovery of your equipment from her full and final settlement, as per company policy. Also, care must be taken to provide a comfortable working environment when she comes to the office to complete her handover, if she does. Please take an opinion from 2-3 seasoned professionals before taking any action.
From India, Mumbai
What she is doing is an offense that can be covered under Criminal Breach of Trust under IPC. Also, if she tries to sell those equipments, the same is theft under IPC. So, ask your legal team to take action. Also, visit the site below.
From India, Kolkata
From India, Kolkata
Respected Ms. Laura Maria,
I would like to discuss the topic of "Legal Formalities" involved in a situation like the one here.
It seems that the employee is trying to play a little game of "Hide & Seek" by not answering your calls but is documenting all her points through emails sent to you. Under such circumstances, it would be advisable to publish classified ads in one national daily and one local daily, clearly stating:
- that she (name of the employee) has resigned from the services of the company on [put date here], which has been accepted by your management via Letter No. [insert number] dated [insert date], and she has been instructed to properly hand over equipment, etc., for the settlement of her Full & Final dues as per company policy.
- that she is not responding to your phone calls or meeting you in person but is sending emails with her own conditions for settlement that are not acceptable to the company.
- that she is requested to contact Mr. [name] at [company address] within 7 days from the date of publication, failing which the company will be forced to recover the cost of the "Equipment" from her final dues.
You may then proceed to settle her dues accordingly. The aforementioned publication would protect you in any legal forum.
Regards,
Soumitra Sengupta
From India, Pune
I would like to discuss the topic of "Legal Formalities" involved in a situation like the one here.
It seems that the employee is trying to play a little game of "Hide & Seek" by not answering your calls but is documenting all her points through emails sent to you. Under such circumstances, it would be advisable to publish classified ads in one national daily and one local daily, clearly stating:
- that she (name of the employee) has resigned from the services of the company on [put date here], which has been accepted by your management via Letter No. [insert number] dated [insert date], and she has been instructed to properly hand over equipment, etc., for the settlement of her Full & Final dues as per company policy.
- that she is not responding to your phone calls or meeting you in person but is sending emails with her own conditions for settlement that are not acceptable to the company.
- that she is requested to contact Mr. [name] at [company address] within 7 days from the date of publication, failing which the company will be forced to recover the cost of the "Equipment" from her final dues.
You may then proceed to settle her dues accordingly. The aforementioned publication would protect you in any legal forum.
Regards,
Soumitra Sengupta
From India, Pune
You can directly go ahead with a public showcause notice in the court. This will ensure that formalities are taken care from your side. Also raise police complaint about missing equipment.
From India, Bengaluru
From India, Bengaluru
Dear friends, Thank you so much for your response and advice. would certainly put forward your inputs
From India, Bengaluru
From India, Bengaluru
Dear Laura,
The other learned members have given advice from the legal point of view. My reply is from the management science point of view. There is one important sentence in your post. It says "we have received only one email which says send my final statement to the bank and then I will submit the equipment."
Now my question is why the employee felt the need to pledge the office equipment to get the terminal benefits? Why is the employee in question not ready to trust you? Irrespective of the reasons for the exit, are the employees treated fairly?
While you may sue the employee for unauthorized retention of the company's property, and you could win the court case also, the underlying fact of lost trust cannot be ignored. It could be a one-off case, but even if one employee looks at management suspiciously and resorts to some trade-offs, then this is a manifestation of the loss of credibility. Sooner you take steps to restore the credibility, the better. How to create an environment of trust is a far larger issue than what you are looking at.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
The other learned members have given advice from the legal point of view. My reply is from the management science point of view. There is one important sentence in your post. It says "we have received only one email which says send my final statement to the bank and then I will submit the equipment."
Now my question is why the employee felt the need to pledge the office equipment to get the terminal benefits? Why is the employee in question not ready to trust you? Irrespective of the reasons for the exit, are the employees treated fairly?
While you may sue the employee for unauthorized retention of the company's property, and you could win the court case also, the underlying fact of lost trust cannot be ignored. It could be a one-off case, but even if one employee looks at management suspiciously and resorts to some trade-offs, then this is a manifestation of the loss of credibility. Sooner you take steps to restore the credibility, the better. How to create an environment of trust is a far larger issue than what you are looking at.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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