Terminated Without Notice: How Can I Recover My Payment and Handle This Stressful Situation?

Dear Friends,

I need some help in making a decision on the following matter. I have been terminated by my employer from the position of Manager, citing low performance, without providing any notice period in March. I have been working with them for the past year, and they are obligated to give me a one-month notice period as per the appointment letter.

When I brought this to their attention, they verbally agreed to pay for the notice period and directed me to follow up with their Finance Department. However, for the past two months, I have been persistently reminding them, and they keep delaying, promising to pay "today" or "tomorrow," causing me significant distress.

I am already embarrassed by their decision to terminate me as it lacks validity in their reasons, and this delay has led to mental harassment and other damages. I am considering taking legal action and suing them. I would appreciate any advice you could offer to help me recover my payment.

Anish

Anish,

You have all the rights to sue your employer for not giving you a notice period or notice pay. Ideally, the employer is supposed to issue a show cause notice if they have any concerns, record your reply, and then if they are still not satisfied, they can terminate you. In your case, as you said, there has been no such exchange of notices or replies. You can formally issue a legal notice demanding your job back since there has been no formal inquiry on the same, or if you are not keen on the job, you can issue a notice claiming damages and the notice pay. In all probability, the issue will be settled in a notice itself. If this does not settle, then go for a suit.

Regards

Roopa

Hi Anish,

I am completely against employers who act on instincts. But I also have to warn you that your pay can be delayed or the suit itself can be delayed for a long period of time if your employer decides to spend money on the suit rather than giving you the money; hence, it should be the last option.

What you can do is write an email to your line manager & HR Manager requesting the reasons (as Roopa said) why you weren't issued a show cause notice and also reminding him of the contract and your one-month notice pay. Also, mention the name of the person who verbally agreed to pay you the same. You can also mention the mental anguish it has caused you.

If you do not receive any email from your line manager or HR in four days, you can arrange to forward the same email or write another email requesting the reason why he has not responded. Also, CC it to the HOD, AVP, President, and CEO of the company if your firm does have any. Make sure this is brought to their notice that there has been a violation of the contract and that you were asked to leave for unknown reasons. What I mean is to bring this to the notice of all the top people in your company.

After this and with the email replies, you will have enough proof to proceed with the suit.

Regards,

AJ

AJ, thanks for the advice.

The issue of giving notice period/notice pay and also about the contract has been brought to the notice of my reporting manager, HR Manager, AVP, and the CEO of the company on the day of termination itself. After that, the HR Manager told me the management has agreed to pay the salary in lieu of the notice period.

The matter of payment has been escalated to the Finance Department, and these guys are literally delaying it, citing fake reasons. I clearly believe that the Finance team has clear backing from the management in their delaying game. Regarding the delay, I have sent several emails to the HR Manager, and he never bothered to reply back despite saying over the phone that the management has told him to ask me to follow up with the Finance Department. Again, things are back to square one.

It's almost 2 months since they were telling these stories, and I am sure that they are not going to pay me in the near future. I am even afraid that they won't pay me because I have seen the company delaying the salaries of many employees citing unjust reasons. Moreover, I don't have any faith in the management too.

Anyway, I will send them one more email and see what they have to say. If they are not responding in time, I will go the legal way.

Also, AJ, I want to know about the legal processes related to this, especially about the duration and the success of the suit.

Thanking you,

Anish