Termination Policy + Rules + Procedure + Laws? - DOC Download

Dear Friends,

Can you guide me on the Termination Policy? Is spot termination of an employee possible or not? If it is, then does the company have to pay any compensation to the terminated employee? Is any notice to be issued to the employee, or any specific period to be given before terminating? On what kind of reasons can an employee be terminated? If it is possible, can you send me the detailed termination policy? Are any labor rules applicable?

Regards,
Karthi

An employer who appoints an employee has the right to terminate his services as well. But before doing so, the employee shall be given an opportunity to be heard, or he shall be given sufficient time to find alternative employment.

If you follow the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the retrenchment of an employee who has been in continuous service of at least one year (one year of service means 240 days of work, including Sundays or weekly off days, holidays, and paid leave) without giving compensation at the rate of 15 days' salary for every year of service is illegal. Similarly, an employer should give notice to the employee of his intention to terminate his service at least one month before such termination. In lieu of notice, one month's pay shall be paid. If the employer is employing more than 100 employees, then the notice or the payment in lieu of notice shall be for 3 months.

Termination on the grounds of misconduct is possible after conducting a disciplinary action. Here, the employee should be given an opportunity to explain his stance. Discharge or dismissal without holding an inquiry is illegal.

Regards,

Madhu. T. K.

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your information. It really helps a lot. If possible, can you guide me on ESI procedure - what an employee and an employer should do?

Regards,
Karthi

Dear Karthi HR,

Please follow the link provided below:
[Link removed as it no longer exists]

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Hi,

Is there any rule for termination in the appointment letter? If there is no service rule or act in the establishment, can the employer terminate by giving the reason of misconduct?

Hi there,

I would like to know how many reminders we have to give to an employee before termination. It would be great if I get the warning memo format for termination.

Thanks, Vidya

Hi All,

I'm an IT Recruiter with 3+ years of IT experience. I would like to initiate a process for unprofessional employees we come across in our day-to-day life of recruitments. By non-professionals, I mean candidates who are not serious about a job change but still proceed with interview procedures, those who always give excuses for not attending a personal interview even when in the same city, candidates who accept an offer and then never respond to calls, avoid communications, and engage in other unprofessional activities.

I understand that it's a task that a recruiter has to internalize, but there are some candidates who can be smarter as well. A recruiter can't always handle it, and can sometimes be wrong in identifying a prospective candidate.

In short, I would like to start a process where we can blacklist a particular candidate found unprofessional. We (HR, Recruiters) should actually publish the names of such candidates, considering the difficulties we face.

I would appreciate some opinions on this. If someone disagrees, please suggest an alternative.

NEED FEW SUGGESTIONS ON THIS

Thanks, Gauri
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Hi all,

Thank you, Mr. Madhu, for your updated information. My service was terminated after completing nearly 25 years of service due to misconduct. A domestic enquiry was conducted within the office premises by an unidentified person. Initially, I was absent for some reasons, but in the end, I requested a chance for clarification under natural justice. Unfortunately, my request was denied by the employer.

In this case, how can I fight to regain my service, or what actions can be taken against the MNC in Kolkata? Your valuable information will greatly help my family.

Nabolbona

After reviewing your representations, I understand that your case has already been closed against you since you did not avail of the opportunities offered by the company (employer) and the Labour Court. Now, it is a matter of reopening the case, which I feel is very difficult. Moreover, the case has been rendered time-barred for an appeal before the Hon. High Court of West Bengal.

Fighting for the benefits of other employees is not a new thing. If you were suspended on the grounds of it, it could have been declared illegal very easily had you been present before the Enquiry Officer appointed by the employer. The Enquiry Officer will always be a person not attached to either of the parties to the enquiry. Therefore, you should have appeared and put up your defense. That is why the Labour Court could not set aside the verdict of the Enquiry Officer.

A possibility of reopening exists if you could prove that the procedure followed by the management to conduct the domestic enquiry was unfair. For instance, if the management had not communicated the charge sheet, date of the domestic enquiry, etc., or if the management had not given you a show cause notice asking you to show cause why the findings of the EO should not be accepted and why you should not be terminated from service based on such findings. If there was any lapse on the part of the management, you may try to highlight it and seek a reopening of the case with the help of a good lawyer.

Regards,

Madhu.T.K

Hi All,

I was working in an MNC located in Gurgaon since March 2008 as a Quality Analyst. For a Quality Analyst, the notice period is 60 days and cannot be bought out in any case; an employee has to serve 60 days in the company. So, I resigned on 31 November 2011 and was ready to give 2 months' notice period. However, I was terminated on the spot from my service on 23 February 2012. Apart from me, there were 7 people, but the company terminated only 4 people. Out of those 4, 2 were already on the notice period.

The reason for termination is that I was doing a transactional audit using another user's ID because mine was not working, and the operation manager was already aware of that. However, I didn't make any changes in any account or cause any transactional loss for the company.

They terminated us, stating this is the policy. But if this was the policy, why did it change for other people? Also, if it is a policy, neither did they give me 2 months' salary nor did they provide me with a relieving letter.

Could you please suggest if I can obtain my relieving letter through labor laws?

Regards,

Pankaj Sharma

Hi,

Can anyone clarify the following issue for me?

If a person has been terminated on disciplinary grounds without being given notice (where the scenario is that there are suspicions of the employee engaging in freelancing using company resources), and the employee is now struggling to receive his salary for the served month, his PF amount (considering he has been working for 2 years), and a relieving letter.

The company claims to have evidence but has not shown it to the employee nor accepted his explanations. After a lengthy discussion, the employer has agreed to pay his salary but not the PF amount.

Could anyone advise if he can demand his PF amount and a relieving letter?

Thank you.

Starting in August, suddenly I was handed a termination letter from my previous company (company type - Proprietor) stating under-performance, which is incorrect as my monthly targets always exceeded the given figures (e.g., Monthly Sales Target - Month of April - 2.5L, achieved 3.75L; Month of May - 2.5L, achieved 4.10L, Month of June - 3.0L, achieved 4.40L; Month of July - 3.0L, achieved 4.95L) & in August - a surprise gift.

The company also paid salaries very late (they had promised by the 10th upon joining). For example, the salary for May '13 was given on 26th June '13. Later, I found out about its bad reputation in the market for "Check bounce" issues with suppliers.

Given these facts, how can I claim my basic rights, such as salary, from a Proprietor company, or at least teach the MD a lesson for cheating employees and prevent others from facing the same situation? (I must mention that I recently had a tough conversation with the MD, where he stated he would not pay me any money and asked me to do as I please).

Despite moving to another company (after a 20-day wait), which offers benefits like PF, timely salaries, and a structured growth plan - being a Limited company, I want to understand how to evaluate companies practically to avoid a similar situation.

I highly value all your esteemed suggestions and advice as I do not want to fall into a similar situation again.

Thank you.

Regards,

Amartya Chaudhury

Dear Karthy,

As Madhu Sir mentioned, no worker can be dismissed on the grounds of indiscipline without conducting a domestic inquiry against them. This provision is made under the ID Act.

However, in the event that you no longer wish to have him work, you can suspend him pending an inquiry and arrange for the inquiry proceedings to take place subsequently. Following the completion of all processes, he can be dismissed according to the findings in the reports.

Thank you,
Mangesh Wakodkar
Aurangabad

Dear Sir,

I would like to know if an employee who has been working in an organization for the past 4 years can be terminated without paying any severance pay under the following circumstances:
1. He is a constant latecomer to work.
2. He takes uninformed leaves in a month.
3. He approaches clients of the organization and tries to degrade the name of the employer and his services.

He has been issued a letter of warning for the same, and still, there seems to be no improvement from his side. Your input on the above will be very helpful.

Regards,
Suraj

On these grounds, you can very well frame charges and ask the employee to reply and conduct an inquiry if required. Then take a call of terminating him. At the same time, if you had not given any warning letter or conducted any inquiry based on the reports available after giving him a charge sheet narrating the charges, your act of terminating will be viewed as illegal. The charge-sheeted employee should be given opportunities to be heard before any action is taken against him.

Madhu.T.K

Thank you very much for writing back. I would appreciate it if you could also shed some light on the following:

After the inquiry, if the employee is still found to be at fault, can he be terminated? If so, I would like to know if the organization is still liable to pay severance pay to the employee.

Regards,
Suraj

Occurrence of misconduct can be viewed as 'habitual,' but that itself will not lead to termination without holding an inquiry. You have to conduct another inquiry, and certainly, in that inquiry, the precedence shall be strong evidence against him, which can be used to arrive at a punishment this time.

If the termination is after conducting an inquiry and as punishment, then severance pay need not be paid. However, at the same time, an employee eligible for gratuity should be paid gratuity even if he has been terminated following an inquiry, other than for those gross misconducts involving moral turpitude or violent behavior or such acts causing damage to company property.

Madhu.T.K

Hi Gauri,

This cannot be done. Blacklisting candidates for mere "no-shows" at interviews and not responding after accepting an offer (which may not necessarily be considered unprofessional behavior) is not feasible. Publishing such candidate names could lead to legal issues for the firm and is not justifiable. While we understand the challenges of recruiting, including meeting targets, generating revenue, and client pressure, from a professional standpoint, this approach is not acceptable.

My suggestion regarding this issue would be to analyze the needs of prospective employees before recruitment/interviews. A smart recruiter, without rushing, can conduct a thorough needs analysis, which could significantly reduce the problem of no-shows. On the other hand, a lack of response after receiving an offer is entirely the candidate's prerogative; not responding is a way of indicating, "I may not accept your offer."

Please feel free to reach out if you need further assistance.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

I have a question: if an employee leaves a job and within one year the company refuses to pay his last month's salary.

Company cannot refuse to pay the salary for the period one has actually worked. Therefore, the question of one year or one month does not arise. The employer is supposed to make payment of wages of a left employee within 48 hours of his leaving the company.

Madhu.T.K

Hello all,

I just want to know if an employee completes 6 years in the same organization and then the employer is going to terminate the employee without giving any notice or reason, what action should the employee take? Secondly, as per the law, what components should be payable? Please suggest.

The explanations are available in the threads itself. One thing is very important: if the employee has been working in a managerial capacity, he cannot get the protection of labor laws, whereas it is available to those who are not under a managerial or supervisory capacity. In such cases, termination is illegal if it is made without giving notice and without paying compensation, which is equal to 15 days' wages for every completed year of service. Wages for this purpose should include basic wages, dearness allowances, and all other fixed allowances that form part of the salary as per the contract of employment or settlement with the workers.

Madhu.T.K

Dear Sir,

I was working as an Administration Manager in one of the listed companies until December 2018 for a year. I left because the company had been experiencing losses for a few years and had no production output due to an internal financial crisis. My first-month salary was paid in the third month and gradually increased in the fourth and fifth months. My social life was being disturbed, but I patiently carried on. I resigned, served the notice period, provided a proper handover, and completed relieving formalities as per company policies. My last relieving date was January 5, 2019. However, I have not received my experience letter or relieving letter yet.

I received two months of outstanding salary by April 2019, but I am still following up with my seniors for my December 2018 outstanding salary and full and final settlement till date. I have written several emails, made phone calls, and sent WhatsApp messages to my seniors and director. However, they are not responding; they are reading all my messages but not responding.

Please guide me as during my service period, I had borrowed money from lenders to maintain my social life and am still paying interest as I did not receive my salary on time. I would be highly grateful for your assistance.

Today

Dear All,

I want to know if an employer (MNC IT company) can terminate the service and not give any salary for two months as mentioned in the offer letter. Below is the case:

Due to Covid, the company (let's say company A) fires some employees, and some employees are provided the opportunity to work with another company (let's say company B) which supplies manpower to the company. Now, employees have to sign the offer letter of company B. If an employee does not sign the offer letter and decides to decline due to some reason but is willing to work with company A, Company A considers it a voluntary resignation and does not provide any compensation. Is this action of company A legal? Please advise on what action can be taken against company A.

Thanks

This is illegal due to various reasons. Employees can be retrenched, but for valid reasons. The employees shall be retrenched in the order that it should be the LAST person employed to leave first from the company.

The company B arrangement is a sham contract. The outsourcing company is only a camouflage, and you will be continuing your work using the same computer, sitting on the same chairs, reporting to the same managers, etc. This is illegal.

In the present situation, many are trying to avoid employees using many tricks. This is one of the ways. If you react, you will lose the job. You will not be able to approach any dispute redressal machinery because in the present situation, nobody attends to all these issues, and therefore, it may take time even to hear your grievances. Alternatively, if you accept the offer, you can continue there, transfer your PF (from the parent company to the outsourced company), and forget about the other benefits.

Thank you, Mr. Madhu, for replying. Yes, you are right. We will be working on the same product, under the same manager, with the same laptop, etc. I am no longer interested in working for a company that has no ethical and moral values. I agree that the company has the right to reduce its costs. However, due to some valid reasons, I am not interested in their arrangements, and I simply want them to pay me for the two months as mentioned in the offer letter. Please advise me on how I can take legal action against the company.

Legally, what you said is correct. This is a type of arrangement where employees are shifted (transferred) to another company. Before that, the parent company should pay you gratuity (if eligible), retrenchment compensation, and notice pay. However, these apply only to employees who have no subordinates reporting to them.

Hi Madhu Sir,

When we talk about the 100 workers or more than 100 in regard to retrenchment or closure of a unit, my question is whether the contractor's labor is also considered part of the 100 if deployed in the factory, or only regular workers will be considered for eligibility for retrenchment?

Please let me know your thoughts on this matter.

Thank you.

Legally, for coverage of an establishment, employees shall include all employees, including those engaged through a contractor. Practically, as you are not retrenching the employees of your contractor, only employees directly employed by the employer shall be counted. However, the contract should be genuine and not a sham.

The new code of Industrial Relations has put this at 100 to 300.