Worried About Legal Trouble After Leaving My Job Early – What Should I Do?

Hi Readers,

I am working in a BPO organization since the past 1.6 years, and I resigned from this company on 1st August 2008. The appointment letter that I signed states that I have to serve a notice period of 3 months. However, due to some personal and professional circumstances, I had to leave this organization on 31st August by serving only a 1-month notice period. I have completed all exit interviews and have the soft copy of the acceptance of my resignation letter by my manager (although he mentioned in that email that I have to stay for 3 months, my resignation was accepted). They are requesting me to stay until my replacement is found, so I proactively forwarded 10 CVs to them.

I also have the email in which I informed my manager that I would not be able to stay beyond 31st August. I expressed my willingness to cooperate, transition all my knowledge and work to any other resource, and even buy out the remaining period.

I am concerned about the possibility of this company filing a case against me and withholding my relieving letter and F&F. Although my new company does not require the relieving letter at the moment, they might request it later, possibly after 3-4 months. I am experiencing significant distress as I want to avoid legal complications. So far, I have maintained good relationships with all my managers and HR personnel in my previous company.

Please assist me.

Abhik

Hi!

From a legal and technical point of view, you have violated the terms and references of the "resignation policy" of your company - which you said to have established a "notice period lead time" of three (3) months.

I would like to understand that the acceptance of your resignation by your immediate manager was based on the assumption that you will observe the mandated lead time requirement of the company.

Unless your company policy provides for an option on the part of the employee to buy out the remaining notice period, and your country's Labor Law mandates only a one (1) month notice to be sufficient compliance for resignations, it would appear that you don't have any legal option but to comply with your company policy.

Non-compliance to company policies, like the required "resignation notice period lead time," would normally carry its consequent penalties. Unless the policy and penalties are contrary to the provisions of your country's Labor Law, the company can rightly and legally implement the prescribed DA (Disciplinary Action) enumerated for such offense.

Hence, if your internal policy states that non-compliance to the required lead time for resignation would mean the withholding of employment clearance, last pay, and benefits, the company can rightly and legally do them to you. Moreover, the company can even sue you for damages arising from your breach of the said policy - e.g., if the company incurs losses due to disruptions in its production operations that can directly be attributed to your sudden resignation and disappearance from work.

You should understand that "notice period lead time policy" is formulated and implemented to protect the company from "irresponsible employees" who would just leave their posts anytime they like, especially when offered a better employment arrangement and/or compensation by others. The law recognizes this sad situation and protects the employer from such kind of employees by giving them the option to litigate against employees who would cause them problems and losses.

However, I would still suggest that you consult a very good Labor Lawyer to review your case. But if all the details that you mentioned above were accurate and true, I think you have a very tight case should you decide to litigate this matter, even if you can find a very good lawyer - that is usually expensive to retain.

As a Labor Relations consultant, I have always advised employees who are caught in difficult labor relations problems to just talk it out with their employers instead of fighting them in courts. We should always remember that many of the companies we serve have full-time lawyers and legal consultants who are ready to defend their clients' rights and interests anytime and anywhere.

Best wishes.

Ed Llarena, Jr.
Managing Partner
Emilla Consulting

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Hi Abhi,

I see there is no hassle in you getting relieved. The only thing you need to do is, as you have served a good amount of time with the organization, please ensure that you get a proper replacement and transfer the knowledge. Inform the people around you that you are always available to help them out with any matters for a month after your relieving. Also, keep the management of the new organization informed about this.

Please prepare knowledge transfer documents, a checklist of things that you will be handing over, and the locations where you have stored them, which will make things easier.

Get properly relieved and have a bright future.

Kumar

Ms. Abhi,

There is no legal issue in this matter. First, you need to hand over all things related to your job and get the acknowledgment. Kindly inform your new company's boss about this issue. Check the appointment letter, which states that you may need to pay a certain amount if you violate the notice period. They will not withhold your F&F (like PF and other benefits), so don't worry about this.

If you have further doubts, please email me at the address mentioned below:

[Email Address: sudharshanansudharshan@al.in]

Regards,

Sudharshanan

Dear Ed Llarena, Jr.

I very much appreciate your kind concern and I can understand the problems a company could face if an employee resigns. However, if the employee is willing to pay the remaining notice period days and is fully prepared to cooperate with the company by transferring all knowledge and work to another team member to ensure production is not affected, is prepared to work full-time in this last month, complete all pending work before leaving, and additionally assist management in finding a suitable replacement, would the company still create problems for him/her simply because he/she signed this agreement?

Anyways, I spoke to my manager today, and he mentioned that there is a slim chance they will take legal action against me as I have transitioned all my work and have not been independently involved in any projects, allowing the team to manage my absence. Let's wait and see what unfolds.

This was my first job, and I didn't realize how demanding the corporate world can be, draining every last drop of energy from you. I will certainly be more cautious in the future.

Thank you again,
Abhik

Thank you, everyone, for your replies and kind consideration.

I talked with my manager today, and he mentioned that there is a very little chance that my company can file a case against me. This is because I am not handling any independent project/process, and I have already transitioned my knowledge to other resources in the team. Generally, they file a case against an employee who is very critical to the process, and the company suffers a huge loss after their resignation. It looks okay to me for now. Let's see what happens. Moreover, the most cooperative person in my company is my HR manager. She confirmed today that in any case, I will receive the relieving letter and Full and Final settlement.

Let's see what happens. Thank you again.

Abhik

All the best, Abhik. You will be relieved. There isn't any issue for this. It's only a tactic organizations play in order to retain their talent... that's it.

So just chill out and don't panic. This forum is for this purpose only, where you can share your queries, knowledge, ideas, etc.

Regards,
Surabhi

Dear readers,

Thank you again for your kind responses so far. I am worried because of my company's reputation. It is notorious for filing cases against its employees and harassing them to the core. The company has a legal team that is a fixed cost, so there are no overheads for them. I don't know what will happen. I hope for the best. Let's see what will happen.

I am ready to cooperate with them, but they are not concerned about this. They only focus on revenue leakage (my company is a BPO, so they will lose the money they charge from customers). I will never join a BPO/KPO in the future and will advise you guys not to join such companies.

Thank you,
Abhik

Hello Abhi,

I am facing a similar problem. Please have a look at my post [link removed]. In my case, I've given a resignation letter which specifically states a 15-day notice period. Despite the company having a 3-month notice policy, they have accepted my resignation letter.

Any suggestions are appreciated regarding my situation.