Employee Left Without Notice Holding Client Data – What Legal Steps Can We Take?

Hello All,

Greetings!

Currently, I am facing a problem :( One of our employees left the company without any intimation. Our client data is with him only. For the last 15-20 days, we tried to contact him, but we could not reach him. We sent him an official letter, but there was no reply. We want to take legal action against him because, as per the company policy, he is required to serve a 1-month notice period or pay back.

Please suggest possible solutions.

Thanks & Regards,
Nikita.

I think your company head just has a skull on his shoulders. Does anyone give a database without a secure backup of the same? In every organization, most people leave without intimation or at the last minute inform about it, so this is the norm rather than an exception. Hopefully, he should reply to your notice letters, or else take help of the police (mind you, in our country, taking legal help is a curse rather than a boon!). Regards

Dear Nikita,

Absconding with the company or client database is an offense punishable under our law, and you should immediately lodge a police complaint against the staff at your nearest police station. Also, immediately publish the photo of the absconding employee in the leading newspaper. Mention in the advertisement that he has the choice to surrender immediately to avoid any legal or future damage to his career. Have your Administration Staff also visit his home address to check on him. Always remember, do not give much room and space in such cases for the employee. In my past experience, a similar case occurred where the employee was untraceable and was later found dead in an accident when the police reached their home based on the complaint. Proceed with care and presence of mind.

All the best, and I hope this information is helpful.

Regards,
ukmitra

Hello All,

Greetings!

Currently, I am facing a problem. One of our employees left the company without any intimation. Our client data is with him. For the last 15-20 days, we have tried to contact him, but we could not reach him. We sent him an official letter, but there was no reply. We want to take legal action against him because as per company policy, he is required to serve a one-month notice period or pay back.

Please suggest possible solutions.

Thanks & Regards,
Nikita

To my knowledge, this is a punishable offense, and you should seek the help of the police. But in any case, please ensure that such a measure or step does not ruin the life or career of that employee. You should first warn him by contacting the police and then only make it public, like through advertisements and all.

Hello all,

Thank you for your suggestions. Yes, we will take care of not spoiling the employee's career. For now, we have sent a legal notice from our advocate. Let's see what the consequences will be.

Thanks & Regards,

Dear Nikita,

Abandonment of employment is not an offense under any circumstances. Learned members of this forum, who have expressed their opinion that way, should have quoted the valid reference of some act of IPC.

You can take police action only if you are in a position to prove that the client database is under his custody and this is illegal possession after his abandonment of employment. Who handed over this database to him? Has the employee in question, who has run away, signed for the receipt of this database? Do you have proof for this?

If, in the normal course of his duties, clients' database gets generated, and if he were the custodian of this database, then have you taken any written undertaking from him that at the time of separation from the company, it is mandatory to hand over this database? If not, then your case will become weak.

Ok...

DVD

Dear Nikitha,

Absconding with company or client databases is an offense punishable by law, and you should immediately lodge a police complaint against the staff at your nearest police station. Additionally, publish the photo of the absconding employee in a leading newspaper. In the advertisement, mention that he has the choice to surrender immediately to avoid any legal or future damage to his career. Have your administration staff visit his home address to check on him.

Be cautious when handling these types of issues.

Regards,

V. P. Vijay Avinas
HR Manager

Dear Vijay Avinas,

You have said that "Absconding with company or client database is an offense and punishable under our law, and you should immediately lodge a police complaint against the staff, at your nearest police station".

Can you please elucidate under what section of IPC the offense is punishable? If the police were to book the alleged defaulter, under what section of IPC can they book them?

Education on the above matter will help all other members of this forum.

Thanks,

DVD

Don't lodge any police complaint or publish photographs in the newspaper.

1. No police complaint should be filed because leaving the company without intimation does not amount to a criminal offense. This has legal civil liabilities. You can only take action as stipulated in the service contract which may involve a violation of the contract in a civil suit. However, the Indian Contract Act always has exceptions for violations.

2. Secondly, regarding the publication of photos, refrain from doing so until the employee finishes the notice period. The employee might have a valid and reasonable reason for not coming to the office. Nikita, it is advisable not to proceed with any legal action if the employee is not facing any proceedings at the time of leaving the organization.

By the way, why do you want to initiate legal proceedings against the employee? This will have a negative impact on the organization. Let the employee be happy and you focus on your work as a business enterprise rather than taking on a policing role.

Many employees do lack the loyalty factor; they want a fast buck, quick elevations, and are not willing to go through a certain grind. In my opinion, if an employee vanishes without any iota of a message, we would prefer to lodge a police complaint, stating that the employee is "missing," especially if the employee is female. This course of action would be taken only if the employee is unresponsive to phone calls, their house is locked, and neighbors are unwilling or unaware of any information.

In the interest of the employee, HR can lodge a police complaint with the concern that the employee may have met with an accident, been kidnapped, or faced some form of criminal attack. There is nothing wrong with filing a police report as a "missing person," without concern for the specific Section of the IPC.

Sridhar

Hello,

Yes, we are not interested in getting into legal action. We are interested in our client data. We tried calling him to submit the data and then leave the company, but there was no reply to our calls, mails, and letters. We have backup data as well, but what if our customer raises a question about not taking care of his assets, fearing that his data may be misused. Ultimately, we are not interested in that candidate but in maintaining relations with our client.

Dear All,

Nobody is disputing the fact that resigning from a job is not an offense, and it is the right of every individual. However, leaving the position of in-charge for which you were entrusted by the company without information and/or criminal intention is not allowed under any law. Of course, we have to ascertain if the intention was criminal or not.

Making a police complaint is the first step to protect the company's interests, as they are under pressure regarding their own security, where the client may feel that anyone can take away their data. Therefore, a police complaint is important to safeguard the company's interests and to prove that they are not colluding with the so-called absconding employee.

As for determining if the employee is criminal or not, I believe that is why we are involving the Police Department, as I don't think we, in business, have the time, effort, expertise, or money to conduct an investigation for one employee.

Regarding the IPC sections under which we can charge the employee, if proven guilty, they are Section 98, Section 97, Section 415, and Section 420. I assume we must leave it to our Police Department to decide how they would like to charge the absconding employee based on the severity of the crime, as may be proved by the company.

Ukmitra