Dear all,
I need your valuable advice to take appropriate action against my previous employer who has apparently cheated me out of my severance package. Let me explain what actually happened.
Background and Initial Agreement
I joined a Singapore-headquartered private limited software company in Chennai as a Technical Consultant in December 2012. The compensation offered was Rs. 6.5 lakhs, which included a component called "Performance Based Incentive" for Rs. 50,000/-. When I asked for details about this component, the General Manager told me that it was not performance-based but was paid as an annual bonus upon completion of a year's service. It was a verbal agreement, and I accepted the offer.
Upon completing six months of probation, I completed my Confirmatory Appraisal and was confirmed by the employer as a Permanent/Full-Time Employee in June 2013. In December 2013, I completed my Annual Appraisal, received positive feedback from my General Manager, and was promised a salary hike and a change in designation to Sr. Tech Consultant during the appraisal discussion.
Incident #1: Unsolicited Advice and CEO's Reaction
In the last week of December 2013, I was on a telephone conversation with a colleague from our Singapore office. He was giving unsolicited advice about whom I should approach for my leaves/permissions while we were discussing another official matter. I told him politely that I was already approaching the right people in the right way for leave approvals. However, he repeatedly insisted that I was wrong and needed to follow his advice. I informed him that he was not my manager and that my actual manager had no issues with my approach to leave requests. He became aggravated and asked me to reply to him via email. I agreed. Later, he sent me an email with unsolicited advice on the leave request procedure. I replied, saying, "Thanks for the feedback, and as I said on the phone, you are not my manager and hence cannot tell me whom I need to approach for my leaves."
A few hours later, our CEO called me and shouted at me for sending such an email. He did not give me a chance to speak. Finally, he said that if any seniors give advice, I should not respond back to them. I agreed. Later, the CEO sent an email to the involved people saying that the matter was resolved and that he had given me feedback.
Incident #2: IT Policy and Dispute
In the first week of January 2014, the internal IT team took my laptop to replace its battery. During this process, they asked me to provide my login ID and password. I refused to share my login password as I believed it was against the Information Security Policy and my personal integrity. As a result, one person from the team shouted at me in a disrespectful and rude manner. I approached the IT Manager, who replaced the battery without requiring my username and password.
Once the work was done, I approached the IT Manager and complained about the IT Team member's rude and disrespectful behavior, requesting him to prevent such incidents in the future. He assured me he would take care of it. However, after a few minutes, he called me for a discussion with the General Manager and the IT team member. I explained the incident and the IT Team Member's behavior to the GM while his manager was also present in the conference room. The IT Team did not accept their fault and argued for more than an hour. In the end, I asked the GM for a resolution. The GM assured me that he would take action against the person if he behaved in the same way again.
The next day, to document the incident, I sent an email to the GM thanking him for settling the dispute and assuring me that action would be taken against the IT person if he repeated the behavior. I included the IT Team Manager in the loop. A few hours later, the IT Manager replied to the email, saying it was my mistake for not sharing my password and that I was unprofessional. I replied, stating, "The matter is already resolved by the GM," and warned him not to use remarks like "unprofessional." I asked him to contact the GM if he had anything further to say on the subject.
The GM was on leave that day, and the CEO called me to his cabin a few hours later, asking me to leave the job. The CEO said that everyone in the company had a problem with me, so I should leave. He did not give me a chance to speak and was effectively firing me. However, he asked me to discuss the final settlements with the General Manager when he returned to the office.
Forced Resignation and Severance Agreement
On 13 January 2014, the GM returned to the office and called me for a meeting. In the room, he said that the company was laying me off because my attitude and approach were not compatible with the organization. He mentioned that the company had no issues with my work. He asked me to resign or else he would terminate me.
I told him I would resign, but since it was not my choice and the company was forcing me to resign, I needed some financial support. I asked for two months' salary and the Annual Bonus of Rs. 50,000/- which was due for payment. The GM agreed to that and gave me a piece of paper to write a resignation letter.
I wrote my resignation letter stating the conditions agreed upon between me and the company, viz. payment of salary for the following two months until I found another job, payment of the Annual Bonus Rs. 50,000/- due, and providing good conduct/positive feedback to any background verification by prospective employers about me, etc.
The General Manager read it and signed the letter, saying "Accepted." I got a photocopy of the letter for my records and left the job.
Breach of Severance Agreement
I received a call from the GM the following week, and he told me that as per my offer letter, the notice period was one month, and hence he would not pay me two months' salary but only one month's salary. He also mentioned that the Rs. 50,000/- was listed as a Performance Based Incentive, and therefore, I would not receive it.
I have a copy of my resignation letter with the conditions of my severance package signed and accepted by the General Manager of my previous employer. I also have phone call recordings of my conversations with him.
The day they forced me to resign was 13th January 2014, and they paid me salary till 12th February 2014 and provided me with a Relieving Letter mentioning 12th February 2014 as my last working day. I waited to receive my full and final settlements, which were also completed. I have applied for PF withdrawal through my previous employer.
Recently, I got a job, and the background verification was also completed positively. Now, I want to take necessary action against my previous employer who has breached a written severance agreement and cheated me out of Rs. 90,000 (annual bonus due + one month's salary). Please share your valuable advice and point me in the right direction to recover the dues and possibly some compensation/maintenance for the mental agony and harassment.
Thank you for patiently reading the entire essay. I'm grateful to all of you!
Sincerely,
Karthik
From India, Chennai
Acknowledge(0)
Amend(0)
I need your valuable advice to take appropriate action against my previous employer who has apparently cheated me out of my severance package. Let me explain what actually happened.
Background and Initial Agreement
I joined a Singapore-headquartered private limited software company in Chennai as a Technical Consultant in December 2012. The compensation offered was Rs. 6.5 lakhs, which included a component called "Performance Based Incentive" for Rs. 50,000/-. When I asked for details about this component, the General Manager told me that it was not performance-based but was paid as an annual bonus upon completion of a year's service. It was a verbal agreement, and I accepted the offer.
Upon completing six months of probation, I completed my Confirmatory Appraisal and was confirmed by the employer as a Permanent/Full-Time Employee in June 2013. In December 2013, I completed my Annual Appraisal, received positive feedback from my General Manager, and was promised a salary hike and a change in designation to Sr. Tech Consultant during the appraisal discussion.
Incident #1: Unsolicited Advice and CEO's Reaction
In the last week of December 2013, I was on a telephone conversation with a colleague from our Singapore office. He was giving unsolicited advice about whom I should approach for my leaves/permissions while we were discussing another official matter. I told him politely that I was already approaching the right people in the right way for leave approvals. However, he repeatedly insisted that I was wrong and needed to follow his advice. I informed him that he was not my manager and that my actual manager had no issues with my approach to leave requests. He became aggravated and asked me to reply to him via email. I agreed. Later, he sent me an email with unsolicited advice on the leave request procedure. I replied, saying, "Thanks for the feedback, and as I said on the phone, you are not my manager and hence cannot tell me whom I need to approach for my leaves."
A few hours later, our CEO called me and shouted at me for sending such an email. He did not give me a chance to speak. Finally, he said that if any seniors give advice, I should not respond back to them. I agreed. Later, the CEO sent an email to the involved people saying that the matter was resolved and that he had given me feedback.
Incident #2: IT Policy and Dispute
In the first week of January 2014, the internal IT team took my laptop to replace its battery. During this process, they asked me to provide my login ID and password. I refused to share my login password as I believed it was against the Information Security Policy and my personal integrity. As a result, one person from the team shouted at me in a disrespectful and rude manner. I approached the IT Manager, who replaced the battery without requiring my username and password.
Once the work was done, I approached the IT Manager and complained about the IT Team member's rude and disrespectful behavior, requesting him to prevent such incidents in the future. He assured me he would take care of it. However, after a few minutes, he called me for a discussion with the General Manager and the IT team member. I explained the incident and the IT Team Member's behavior to the GM while his manager was also present in the conference room. The IT Team did not accept their fault and argued for more than an hour. In the end, I asked the GM for a resolution. The GM assured me that he would take action against the person if he behaved in the same way again.
The next day, to document the incident, I sent an email to the GM thanking him for settling the dispute and assuring me that action would be taken against the IT person if he repeated the behavior. I included the IT Team Manager in the loop. A few hours later, the IT Manager replied to the email, saying it was my mistake for not sharing my password and that I was unprofessional. I replied, stating, "The matter is already resolved by the GM," and warned him not to use remarks like "unprofessional." I asked him to contact the GM if he had anything further to say on the subject.
The GM was on leave that day, and the CEO called me to his cabin a few hours later, asking me to leave the job. The CEO said that everyone in the company had a problem with me, so I should leave. He did not give me a chance to speak and was effectively firing me. However, he asked me to discuss the final settlements with the General Manager when he returned to the office.
Forced Resignation and Severance Agreement
On 13 January 2014, the GM returned to the office and called me for a meeting. In the room, he said that the company was laying me off because my attitude and approach were not compatible with the organization. He mentioned that the company had no issues with my work. He asked me to resign or else he would terminate me.
I told him I would resign, but since it was not my choice and the company was forcing me to resign, I needed some financial support. I asked for two months' salary and the Annual Bonus of Rs. 50,000/- which was due for payment. The GM agreed to that and gave me a piece of paper to write a resignation letter.
I wrote my resignation letter stating the conditions agreed upon between me and the company, viz. payment of salary for the following two months until I found another job, payment of the Annual Bonus Rs. 50,000/- due, and providing good conduct/positive feedback to any background verification by prospective employers about me, etc.
The General Manager read it and signed the letter, saying "Accepted." I got a photocopy of the letter for my records and left the job.
Breach of Severance Agreement
I received a call from the GM the following week, and he told me that as per my offer letter, the notice period was one month, and hence he would not pay me two months' salary but only one month's salary. He also mentioned that the Rs. 50,000/- was listed as a Performance Based Incentive, and therefore, I would not receive it.
I have a copy of my resignation letter with the conditions of my severance package signed and accepted by the General Manager of my previous employer. I also have phone call recordings of my conversations with him.
The day they forced me to resign was 13th January 2014, and they paid me salary till 12th February 2014 and provided me with a Relieving Letter mentioning 12th February 2014 as my last working day. I waited to receive my full and final settlements, which were also completed. I have applied for PF withdrawal through my previous employer.
Recently, I got a job, and the background verification was also completed positively. Now, I want to take necessary action against my previous employer who has breached a written severance agreement and cheated me out of Rs. 90,000 (annual bonus due + one month's salary). Please share your valuable advice and point me in the right direction to recover the dues and possibly some compensation/maintenance for the mental agony and harassment.
Thank you for patiently reading the entire essay. I'm grateful to all of you!
Sincerely,
Karthik
From India, Chennai
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
You have been clever enough to manage the situations right from the beginning, and you have recorded the conversations you had with the GM as proof of what has been agreed. In this situation, I personally feel that our knowledge to share would be very limited, and you can handle the battle very well. I have only one piece of advice: since you have cleared a reference check, do you really want to fight? After reading your post, we can imagine how friendly you would be in the organization. The CEO is right, I would say if the Singaporean wants your leaves to be approved by another person, you should have agreed to it. Then, in sharing the password, there may be some vulnerability, but it can be conveyed lightly. I am not sure about the way in which you communicated it to the IT team, but I felt you were rude. In such a scenario, if the CEO thought that you were a problematic person, I cannot say his decision was wrong.
Performance Pay and Legal Action
Now, coming to performance pay, if the term is "performance pay," you will not get it even if you fight legally. By fighting, you would be wasting your time. Also, if the present company comes to know about this, they will also ask you to leave. You cannot defend yourself by saying that your service certificate states that you are good, or that the background verification was positive, as these documents are created for employees to build a career, and it is understood that no negative remarks will be given in such documents under normal circumstances.
Regards,
Madhu.T.K
From India, Kannur
Acknowledge(3)
Amend(0)
4526Performance Pay and Legal Action
Now, coming to performance pay, if the term is "performance pay," you will not get it even if you fight legally. By fighting, you would be wasting your time. Also, if the present company comes to know about this, they will also ask you to leave. You cannot defend yourself by saying that your service certificate states that you are good, or that the background verification was positive, as these documents are created for employees to build a career, and it is understood that no negative remarks will be given in such documents under normal circumstances.
Regards,
Madhu.T.K
From India, Kannur
Acknowledge(3)Amend(0)
Thank you very much for your valuable advice. I have included conditions such as receiving two months' salary and performance pay in my resignation letter. The General Manager has read and signed it, indicating "Accepted." However, I have not yet received any payment from them. Therefore, I would like to inquire if there are any steps I can take to recover the 90,000 from them. Kindly advise.
Thank you,
Karthik
From India, Chennai
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Thank you,
Karthik
From India, Chennai
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Approaching the General Manager and HR Head for Clearance
You have to convince the GM and the HR head to get the clearance done by showing that you were asked to leave and had submitted your resignation papers with the condition that you would receive two months of severance pay and performance pay. The GM will be the first person to approach in this matter.
Regards,
Madhu.T.K
From India, Kannur
Acknowledge(1)Amend(0)
You have to convince the GM and the HR head to get the clearance done by showing that you were asked to leave and had submitted your resignation papers with the condition that you would receive two months of severance pay and performance pay. The GM will be the first person to approach in this matter.
Regards,
Madhu.T.K
From India, Kannur
Acknowledge(1)Amend(0)CiteHR is an AI-augmented HR knowledge and collaboration platform, enabling HR professionals to solve real-world challenges, validate decisions, and stay ahead through collective intelligence and machine-enhanced guidance. Join Our Platform.
Employee agreement.doc
Legal Clarification on Revocation of Resignation & Severance Dues.pdf