Employer Dilemma: How to Handle a New Hire's Deception and Salary Dispute?

Hi friends.

I have come across a situation in front of me. One of my friends is running a website development work. He appointed a girl (Priya) as branch manager in his company. Now, Priya joined his office without a relieving letter from her last company, saying that the last employer is out of the city, so has not received a formal relieving letter, but has discussed with them and has received verbal relieving.

In actuality, Priya was fake, and she has just taken leaves from her last employer. After Priya joined my friend's company, her performance was really bad and she was using office resources like phone and internet for her personal use. So, my friend decided to discontinue with Priya and asked her to leave. Now, she is asking for the salary of 4 days she has worked for, and she is asking for a higher salary. She has also complained to the police regarding it.

Please tell me what to do in this case.

Hello,

Did she receive her offer letter or appointment letter? If yes, what were the conditions or policies for the probation period, as judging within 4 days can be quite challenging. A company has the right to terminate based on any clause mentioned in her formal letter if it has been violated. Therefore, an employer has the full right to terminate an employee if he/she has violated any policy that could adversely affect the company's image. Remember, everything is in your hands, my dear friend. Handle the situation accordingly.

Regards, Prof. Jyoti Panwar, HOD HR Department Chemeli Devi Institute of Management and Research

Hello,

What is the clause mentioned in the appointment letter for termination of services? Mostly during probation, termination can be done within 24 hours or without intimation if there is no productivity or on the grounds of misbehavior.

Dear Dev,

You have mentioned that Ms. Priya has misused your office resources such as the phone and internet.

1) Please identify the phone number used by her, calculate the cost of the phone calls, and deduct the amount from her 4-day salary.

2) Please check her in-time and out-of-time. If she arrives late, deduct her salary for the lateness.

We do not have the right to withhold any employee's salary (except in cases of theft), so you may release her salary for the number of days worked to her.

This is my view.
Viju

Hi,

Generally, during the probation period, the management has every right to terminate an employee without giving prior notice if they are not satisfied with the performance. This clause is typically mentioned in the appointment letter. Please ask your friend if this point is included in his appointment letter. If it is, he has every right to implement it.

Regards,
Priyanky

Mate, the simple solution is that you have a claim to terminate her without paying her anything as she has misrepresented herself for appointment in your company, which amounts to fraud. Implicate her under the clause of Background Verification, which happens to be against her.

The other ground is "she was found misusing the facilities provided by the company." Hopefully, once you implicate her on the above grounds, she herself would surrender, and even the police department would have no qualms.

Abdul Qadir

Mr. Qadir is right, and so are the others. First, check the contract as your friend would need black and white to prove his point. As Ms. Priya has committed a fraud with both companies, it is quite evident that your friend can file a case against her instead. Firstly, she shouldn't have been hired without submitting a copy of the formal email that she should have sent to her employer. Now, as the mistake is done (based on trust) and her background verification has shown red, the company has every right to fire her. If they want to pay her for whatsoever service she has done, they can do it. I haven't heard of a company deducting the value of the resources used, but if it is mentioned in the company's rules or policies, then you can go ahead.