Facing a Notice Period Dilemma: How to Handle Unexpected Fees for a Relieving Letter?

I have given a notice period of 15 days to my company against the notice period of 1 month which the company actually requires. However, I gave the salary for the remaining 15 days, which fell short of the notice period. After 3 months, I requested my HR to issue me the relieving letter. They did so, but by mistake, they put the wrong joining date in the relieving letter. I asked them to send me the revised one, to which they agreed.

But now the issue is that just before sending the new relieving letter, they informed me that I have to pay Rs. 31,000/- to them to receive it as I did not serve my full notice period. I explained that I had given a 15-day notice period and paid for the other 15 days. However, they claim that my resignation wasn't accepted, and I chose to leave the company, so they are not considering the 15-day notice period I provided.

Initially, they did not mention any of this before sending the previous (with the wrong date) relieving letter. Now they are insistent on this matter. In the company policy, there is no mention of such a situation where the notice period is not accepted. Please guide me on what I should do.

In practice, one month's notice means one month's notice in advance. However, a company can waive 15 days after accepting 15 days' salary in lieu of notice. That was what your company did in your case. The company should have relieved you in such a situation. It is unfortunate that even after accepting 15 days' pay from an employee, the company is asking for one month's pay. This is very bad HR, I say. A modern HR should never do this because it amounts to unfair labor practices.

You may write a reply to the concerned stating that you had paid 15 days' salary and given 15 days' notice with an understanding that it would be acceptable to the company. Had you been informed that the company would not accept the notice in parts (i.e., 15 days in notice and 15 days in payment), you would never have paid the amount. Instead, you would have served a 30-day notice by postponing your joining the new company to that extent. You can also mention that the present company would have agreed to wait for you for 15 more days, but as the old company had agreed to accept 15 days' notice followed by 15 days' pay, you acted accordingly.

Since you cannot take legal action against the old company in the Labor Court or any other conciliations under the ID Act (given that you draw Rs 31,000 per month as salary), it is better to have a discussion. However, you can challenge it in courts and state that the company had cheated you by accepting 15 days' pay and promising to relieve you after 15 days. You can also mention that the company had issued a relieving order, which signifies that the company had accepted the resignation. Any error in the relieving order should be considered a clerical mistake on the part of office assistants.

I hope that a reply like the one mentioned above, showing your innocence and pointing out the HR's greediness, will have some impact. Give it a try.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

You don't need to worry about anything. You have the joining date in your appointment letter. So, even if there is any wrong date in the relieving letter, it doesn't matter. Moreover, in traditional industries, the HR is bound to face such obstacles. Chill, dude!

For counting service, the date mentioned in the appointment letter will not be considered because the date in the appointment order need not always be the date of joining. The date of joining may be an earlier date or a date after that depending upon the agreement in this regard. Even by holding an appointment order, one cannot say that he worked in such a company, and hence, it cannot be taken as proof of service. Therefore, it is advisable to get a service certificate or relieving order corrected.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Thank you for your valuable suggestions. When I submitted my resignation, they did not accept it, and I informed them about my last day in the company. They did not respond and simply stated that it was not accepted. However, I had to leave and I returned. After reaching out to them again via email, they agreed to provide the relieving letter but mentioned that it would be issued after 3 months. I received it after 3 months, but it had the wrong date. Now, they are requesting money. Why didn't they ask for it before giving me the one with the incorrect date? Additionally, can I take this matter to court? Is there any law that applies to this situation? They have also blocked my PF amount. I attempted to discuss this with the HR personnel, but she is very rude and enforces her own rules. It appears she is very close to the chairman, allowing her to act as she pleases. Please advise.

Also, I would like to mention that my 6-day salary was due with them, for which I wrote to them that they can take that amount as my 15 days' notice period and after that, I never received that salary. Now they want to settle in full and final. Do you think they are organized? I don't think so. After issuing me a relieving letter (albeit with the wrong date), they are proceeding with the full and final settlement.

You may write a letter stating all these, such as 16 days' salary with the company and accepting the resignation earlier, and the relevant matters. This would help you. In fact, an HR Manager should not behave like this. He/she is supposed to be very neutral between the employer and employee. He/she has to look after the welfare of employees and ensure that the employer is also happy with every decision he takes.

Regarding EPF, the employer is not going to lose anything because the amount is paid by the EPF Organization and not the employer. There is a provision in forms 10C/10D or 19 wherein the signature of the employee has to be countersigned by the employer, but it does not mean that the signature of the employer is mandatory and final. The amount can be withdrawn by attesting the forms by a Bank Manager/Gazetted Officer/a member of the Board of Trustees/MLA or others mentioned in the Act. You can raise this matter before the Employees Provident Fund Organization; they will take care of it.

Therefore, write a pleasant letter requesting the employer to correct the date of joining and withdraw the claim of notice pay.

Regards,

Madhu.T.K

Thanks, Madhu. I want to mention that I have already done whatever you said to write but to no avail. Now they are stretching it too long. I asked them to at least send me the full and final settlement so that I can see the details of how you made that amount. They are just saying that they will send it on some specific date, but on that date, they never turn up. It's been over a month now that I am continuously sending them emails, and they just say not to mail and that they will send it whenever it is ready.

Moreover, about PF, I had filled out the Form 10 (I am not sure about the form number), but they sent me the PF forms (on my request) to fill out and send back to them. I did. Now when I ask them if they have submitted it to the PF department, they say it will only be sent after the relieving is issued.

I am in a mess, and my career seems to be in a mess too. In the future, I will need that. Please help me. Thanks in advance.

In such situations, I prefer to have a personal talk rather than doing it by sending emails or by chatting. Make it convenient to fix a hearing with the Chief/Head of the institution and bring it to his notice.

I have seen in one case where the employer was not aware of all the mistakes made by the HR Manager who tried to find faults with the resigned employee so that he could be congratulated for his best effort! Therefore, fix a day for a hearing, clarify the matters, and if they are adamant, then harden your words by stating that you have proof and you would sue the employer. He will come to your side. Simultaneously put forward the matter of EPF. The issue of EPF can be easily resolved by writing to the Assistant Commissioner of Employee Provident Fund Organisation.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K