Hi guys,
Here I have a question and need the correct guidance. I have been working for a US-based company in Chennai, and they have suddenly terminated my contract. Here is the reason mentioned: "you inquired about relieving and notice period procedures, and you felt 60 days is certainly huge; hence, we want to inform you that you can be relieved immediately and are no longer employed with xxx from your current position."
This happened just because I inquired about the notice period procedures with HR. In my offer letter, the notice period mentioned is 30 days, and since I heard the new rule is 60 days, I walked up to HR to confirm, and after a couple of days, I was terminated. This decision was conveyed over an email, and it also mentions that I am entitled to the salary for the current month.
What should I do? What do the labor laws state? Please help me before it is too late.
From India, Chennai
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Here I have a question and need the correct guidance. I have been working for a US-based company in Chennai, and they have suddenly terminated my contract. Here is the reason mentioned: "you inquired about relieving and notice period procedures, and you felt 60 days is certainly huge; hence, we want to inform you that you can be relieved immediately and are no longer employed with xxx from your current position."
This happened just because I inquired about the notice period procedures with HR. In my offer letter, the notice period mentioned is 30 days, and since I heard the new rule is 60 days, I walked up to HR to confirm, and after a couple of days, I was terminated. This decision was conveyed over an email, and it also mentions that I am entitled to the salary for the current month.
What should I do? What do the labor laws state? Please help me before it is too late.
From India, Chennai
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There is a provision in the Industrial Disputes Act that an employee can be terminated only after giving some days of notice. It is 30 days in the case of establishments employing less than 100 workers and 90 days in the case of establishments having more than 100 workers. Therefore, whatever happened to you is unfair and illegal. However, if you have been working in a supervisory capacity with supervisory functions, then you can be terminated as per the contract of employment. Again, if the appointment order/contract of employment suggests a notice period of 30 days but you were asked to go immediately, then there is also an illegality, like a breach of contract. You can file a civil suit against the employer for that breach of contract and wait at least for 30 years for a verdict to come from the contract.
Your act of rushing to the HR Manager's cabin to inquire about the change in the service condition (notice period changed from 30 days to 60 days is a change in service condition which can be made only after issuing 21 days' notice as per section 9A of the Industrial Disputes Act) should have sounded like an act of taking collective bargaining leadership. You should have been provoked by the others. Finally, what happened? You have lost a job, and all others who kept silent remained in their office. Now the moral of the story is don't take any decision so quickly, especially when you are working like a slave of the US capitalists.
From India, Kannur
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4766Your act of rushing to the HR Manager's cabin to inquire about the change in the service condition (notice period changed from 30 days to 60 days is a change in service condition which can be made only after issuing 21 days' notice as per section 9A of the Industrial Disputes Act) should have sounded like an act of taking collective bargaining leadership. You should have been provoked by the others. Finally, what happened? You have lost a job, and all others who kept silent remained in their office. Now the moral of the story is don't take any decision so quickly, especially when you are working like a slave of the US capitalists.
From India, Kannur
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Certainly! Here is the corrected version of the text:
"But what is wrong in this to discuss something with HR of an organization? HR is in the company to resolve the issues of employees, and employees can share their concerns with HR related to any new or existing rule or policy. The thing that happened to you is wrong. You should speak to your HR and higher officials in a humble way. If nothing good happens, then go for legal action if the contract has no hidden clauses in favor of employers. In every contract, there is a clause for termination as well; you can refer to that also.
Thanks"
From India, Delhi
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"But what is wrong in this to discuss something with HR of an organization? HR is in the company to resolve the issues of employees, and employees can share their concerns with HR related to any new or existing rule or policy. The thing that happened to you is wrong. You should speak to your HR and higher officials in a humble way. If nothing good happens, then go for legal action if the contract has no hidden clauses in favor of employers. In every contract, there is a clause for termination as well; you can refer to that also.
Thanks"
From India, Delhi
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Termination of a contract employee can only be in terms of the contract. Any violation of contractual terms can legally be questioned in a court of law.
As learned member Madhu stated, legal remedies are long and tortuous. While you spend from your pocket, the company will spend from the company's account, and there is no certainty that you will win. They appear to have given you 30 days' pay.
I suggest you move on and not waste money and resources fighting in court.
From India, Pune
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As learned member Madhu stated, legal remedies are long and tortuous. While you spend from your pocket, the company will spend from the company's account, and there is no certainty that you will win. They appear to have given you 30 days' pay.
I suggest you move on and not waste money and resources fighting in court.
From India, Pune
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Thank you, Madhu, Smonika, and Nathra.
Madhu: I have been employed by them for 8+ months. This conversation happened casually and was not a formal meeting. The HR is an approachable individual, and I just dropped this question. She conveyed the details to the CEO to confirm the new rule of 60 days or more. I was not provoked, and I am wondering if the others are still not aware of it.
Smonika: I agree with this suggestion, but the entire organization is under the thumb of the CEO. He was Indian, now settled in the US, and takes decisions in the blink of an eye. Speaking to HR, I have already done that, and they are helpless. I requested to get in touch with the CEO, but he is not responding to my calls.
Nathra: I get the point, and I do not have any financial background or time to deal with this trouble in court. Moving on is the only option a middle-class person has. But I am wondering if there is a law that I could mention to get paid for a month or two of salaries from them. It will take some time until I get my next job, and that will have a ripple effect on my family. Do we have a labor law that I can mention in my email to convey a strong response, which might help in getting my additional month's salary and prevent this from happening in the future?
Thank you, guys.
From India, Chennai
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Madhu: I have been employed by them for 8+ months. This conversation happened casually and was not a formal meeting. The HR is an approachable individual, and I just dropped this question. She conveyed the details to the CEO to confirm the new rule of 60 days or more. I was not provoked, and I am wondering if the others are still not aware of it.
Smonika: I agree with this suggestion, but the entire organization is under the thumb of the CEO. He was Indian, now settled in the US, and takes decisions in the blink of an eye. Speaking to HR, I have already done that, and they are helpless. I requested to get in touch with the CEO, but he is not responding to my calls.
Nathra: I get the point, and I do not have any financial background or time to deal with this trouble in court. Moving on is the only option a middle-class person has. But I am wondering if there is a law that I could mention to get paid for a month or two of salaries from them. It will take some time until I get my next job, and that will have a ripple effect on my family. Do we have a labor law that I can mention in my email to convey a strong response, which might help in getting my additional month's salary and prevent this from happening in the future?
Thank you, guys.
From India, Chennai
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As suggested by me, just move on. Any law you quote will not make the company change. They are aware that individuals cannot spare time and resources to fight battles in courts. It would be better to move on and look for jobs. Not that I recommend bending against injustice, but being practical as money will be spent on legal battles, and that will be more than 2 months' salary.
From India, Pune
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From India, Pune
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The first para of my reply to your post speaks about the labor law. Certainly, if you had been working in the capacity of a worker, obviously, you can quote the relevant sections of the Industrial Disputes Act. However, I will not advise you to do so considering the HR climate of the country and the way in which associations of employers are functioning. This enables them to obtain information about an employee (like you). In this scenario, if you try to demand an extra month's pay or decide to ensure the safety of other employees by teaching the management a lesson through legal action under the ID Act, you may struggle to find employment elsewhere. Therefore, it is better to maintain a good relationship with the management and resign, so that at least HR can assist you when reference verification is required in the future.
From India, Kannur
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From India, Kannur
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Hello,
Need your inputs on the following case study: A company with an observation from an audit suspected 4 employees and made them stay away after withdrawing electronic gadgets and accessibility by saying that their salaries will continue to get credited until the forensic audit completes. After 4 months, they were terminated without giving any audit findings or reason. In continuation, they also made another 4-5 employees go out by saying either you resign or we terminate. Out of these 4, a few are very loyal to the company and didn't want to spoil their careers, so they preferred putting down their papers. Do these employees have any option to defend themselves? Or can they sue a case against the company?
From India, Hyderabad
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Need your inputs on the following case study: A company with an observation from an audit suspected 4 employees and made them stay away after withdrawing electronic gadgets and accessibility by saying that their salaries will continue to get credited until the forensic audit completes. After 4 months, they were terminated without giving any audit findings or reason. In continuation, they also made another 4-5 employees go out by saying either you resign or we terminate. Out of these 4, a few are very loyal to the company and didn't want to spoil their careers, so they preferred putting down their papers. Do these employees have any option to defend themselves? Or can they sue a case against the company?
From India, Hyderabad
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Hello HR12345,
Legally, an employee has every right to receive a copy of the enquiry report. There is a difference between dismissal and discharge. In your case No. 1, it is dismissal based on an enquiry. But while doing so, the employee has to be served a copy of the report. Actually, what you had to do is to frame charges, issue charges, conduct an enquiry, give the employee all possible opportunities to defend the charges leveled against him, and then terminate based on the findings. If this has not happened, the employee can challenge the termination. You cannot say that you had conducted an enquiry by forensic experts and they have found that the employee was involved in the crime (don't know what he had done). Such a finding will only be evidence in favor of the employer. You should have at least given the employee a show-cause notice with a copy of the report from the forensic team, informing him that based on the reports, it is very clear that he has committed misconduct, and accordingly, the management has decided to dismiss him from service and asked for a reply. In the absence of such a procedure, the termination will cause a stigma which is bad in law.
In the case of others as well, provide them with a copy of the report and ask them to explain why their services should not be terminated. Then make a decision. If the report is correct, they may resign, and if they feel that the employer has lost confidence in them, they may resign as well. So, why the rush?
From India, Kannur
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Legally, an employee has every right to receive a copy of the enquiry report. There is a difference between dismissal and discharge. In your case No. 1, it is dismissal based on an enquiry. But while doing so, the employee has to be served a copy of the report. Actually, what you had to do is to frame charges, issue charges, conduct an enquiry, give the employee all possible opportunities to defend the charges leveled against him, and then terminate based on the findings. If this has not happened, the employee can challenge the termination. You cannot say that you had conducted an enquiry by forensic experts and they have found that the employee was involved in the crime (don't know what he had done). Such a finding will only be evidence in favor of the employer. You should have at least given the employee a show-cause notice with a copy of the report from the forensic team, informing him that based on the reports, it is very clear that he has committed misconduct, and accordingly, the management has decided to dismiss him from service and asked for a reply. In the absence of such a procedure, the termination will cause a stigma which is bad in law.
In the case of others as well, provide them with a copy of the report and ask them to explain why their services should not be terminated. Then make a decision. If the report is correct, they may resign, and if they feel that the employer has lost confidence in them, they may resign as well. So, why the rush?
From India, Kannur
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