How to Draft a Legal Notice for an Employee Who Didn't Complete Their Project?

Dear All,

In My Company (located in Pune, Maharashtra), one employee has left the job, and the last working date is the 14th of December 2006. He has not completed the project assigned to him. He submitted his resignation letter on the 24th of November 2006. In our company, the general policy is a one-month notice period, but sometimes, management can permit or accept a shortfall notice once all procedures are completed without any pending issues.

The candidate promised that he could finish before the 14th of December or complete his tasks before the end of December, including working holidays - Sunday and Saturday, and finishing it before the end of December 2006. Therefore, management accepted.

However, he has not completed the work as promised and has not reported accordingly.

Therefore, management intends to send a letter, and I have drafted the following body of the letter:

We are disappointed and dismayed by your behavior. Upon investigation, it has been noted that you have not completed the assigned project nor properly handed over your responsibilities.

Regarding the Notice Period Shortfall:

Any employee is required to serve a one-month notice period for separation. Management may consider accepting a shortened notice only if the candidate can complete the project before the specified due date. You submitted your resignation on the 25th of November 2006, with your last working date set for the 14th of December 2006. According to the policy, there is an 11-day shortfall. As per your commitment, you failed to complete the project by the 14th of December 2006.

Furthermore, during the resignation period, you did not report regularly and were absent for multiple days without prior permission or notification.

We request you to report to the office within eight (8) days of receiving this letter. Failure to do so will be deemed as disregarding this communication.

If you do not report within the specified time, management reserves the right to take appropriate legal action against you without further notice.

However, management desires a format that resembles a legal notice. Can anyone assist me with this matter?

Regards,

Ramya Shankar

Did you settle his full and final payment before he completed the assigned task and handed over the responsibility to somebody else?

Dear All,

We have not settled his dues and service certificate. His one-month salary is on hold. He has now joined a new company with double the salary, so he is not interested in it. He has already provided the salary slip, appointment letter, etc., to the new company; hence, they may not be interested in or bothered about the relieving letter or service certificate.

Our company is small in size. He was working on an in-house project and technology, with 20-30% still left to be completed. He is the only one who knows what has been done and what needs to be completed. If we hire a new person, the knowledge will be lost to the company. He needs to understand this and will require time to complete the project.

Previously, there was no HR department, so a proper appointment letter was not issued. We do not have any record of an appointment letter, agreement, or bond. However, we have issued a warning to him, so I need a legal letter template.

Regards,
Ramya Shankar

Ramya,

I think instead of getting into legal hassles, an intermediary (like a good friend of that employee in your organization) could try to persuade him about the issue. If that doesn't help, maybe try speaking to his new boss, explaining the problem and requesting if they could spare him for some time at least. I believe these legal issues may not be helpful, as the employee could gain strong support from his current organization.

This is my opinion. Let's also await others' views.

Tania

Hi Ramya,

I have gone through your posting. If that person has submitted the resignation letter, it should be accepted by your company. Companies never accept the letter until the individual has completed the given tasks. Moreover, for joining another company, he should have the checklists such as your company's relieving letter, appointment letter, salary slips, and bank statement. He will be getting in touch with you people for these documents, so do not take legal actions or do anything that could spoil his chances at his new company. You can wait for him.

This is my opinion, and while it may not be entirely correct, I believe it's one way to handle the situation.

Regards,
Tulasi
Associate Consultant

Dear All,

Thanks for your inputs.

I have no idea about his current company name; even after checking with his friends, they are not ready to inform me, possibly because he might have instructed them not to do so.

He knows better than anyone about the current status of his job and the company's requirements. No one is required to inform him because it is a new in-house R&D project handled solely by him for the past year.

I believe it is better to directly send an email or letter to notify him that if he does not cooperate with us, we will take legal action against him. If he does not respond, then we can proceed to find out his current company as the next step.

We are aware that legal action may not be successful, as we do not have any supporting documents such as a proper appointment letter or agreement.

Some have suggested that he will return to collect his dues and certificates.

In my opinion, I doubt he will come back, as he joined and has been working at his current company from the 15th of December until today, which is one month.

Nowadays, many companies do not pay attention to all the procedures and credibility; if they find a suitable candidate, they appoint them immediately with a significant pay raise.

He has all monthly salary slips, obtained signatures from the HR department mostly, and acquired some salary certificates and other details for his loan (as mentioned in the letter for the loan). I believe this is sufficient proof of his employment.

He received a provisional relieving letter stating his Last Working Day (LWD) and that he will be formally relieved once all pending matters are resolved. However, there was no mention of his salary or service in that letter.

Thanks,

Ramya

Hi Ramya,

I think most companies play "games" with their employees - a win-lose game - and in the end, they get what they used to give: distrust. Employees start playing a win-lose game in which they will win, and the company will lose (sometimes they start playing a lose-lose game).

How can one expect an employee to stay in the company when he is getting a 100% salary hike? Is it fair? If the employee was of such importance to the company, why did you not let him know this by giving rewards and recognition both? Is it not unfair to ask someone to work on an R&D job without any team members? Just imagine an employee who is working all alone - nobody knew or even cared to know what he was doing.

I am also working in a small company (less than 50 employees). However, we make sure that the knowledge stays within the company when the employee leaves by working in teams - at least a team of two employees. Also, we ask the employee to work as an external consultant and train the current employees. We give the employee a well-deserved "SendOff/farewell" party and announce at the party that the employee will start working as an external consultant. It works in my company.

Please don't mind if I made some not-so-good statements.

Shashank