Employee's Last Day Dilemma: Should We Issue an Experience Letter Despite IT Concerns?

Hello all,

I have a situation where I have to make a decision on the relieving and experience certificate of an employee. Today was his last working day, but the IT security department has raised a concern that he forwarded some technical documents (non-project related) outside the company. However, all of the emails were deleted from his personal email by IT security, and nothing is outside the company premises. The employee has served our company for a really long time and has a good performance record. In his defense, he mentioned that it was purely unintentional.

Should we issue an experience letter and relieving letter with no mention of termination? Or should we terminate the employee? Please guide me through this.

Thanks...

First, you have to check whether he is guilty or not. If you find any fault, you should issue the termination order after conducting an inquiry. Otherwise, you should issue an Experience certificate and a relieving letter if management doesn't want to continue his employment.

Regards,
(RAHUL KUMAR)

Unless it is not proved whether the data sent outside was intentional or inadvertent, it is fatal to presume anything. Indian law also presumes the person as innocent until the charges are proved. Please inquire/probe, then only come to a conclusion. Please do not spoil anybody's career by careless presumptions and decisions.

Thank you, Rahul and Prashant.

The employee has also provided us with a written apology for the incident that occurred. Additionally, the employee does not have a history of such misdeeds.

Shall we issue the experience letter and relieving letter? Also, as a penalty, can we withhold the re-hire option and any benefits from the employee during the clearance process? This way, he can face the penalty without jeopardizing his career.

Hi,

I completely agree with Prashant. I mean, we should not unnecessarily play with someone's career. Moreover, why would he do it on his last day? Please look into all details before coming to any conclusion.

Regards,
Vyakhya.

Hi!

When you already know that the emails the employee has forwarded are not project-related, then there is no point in proving him guilty. It could be that he might have forwarded office team outing pics or some training material to his personal email, as most people do this on their last day.

When there is no other proof, there is no other choice but to provide him with his deserving experience letter and relieving letter.

Rehiring is at management's discretion, but all the other benefits should be provided to him as his past record is clean.

Regards,
Harshiika

Hi,

It's clear. You are certifying him as having a good and long relationship with your organization. Now, the person wants to leave the organization. Please send him off happily and ask him to contact you back whenever he feels the need to return.

Punishing or refusing to provide his experience certificate will damage your organization's reputation. It will create a negative impression of him within your factory circle.

Make a bold decision to relieve him without any worries in mind. Remember, "People never leave the organization. They leave only bosses."

Ensure that he holds a positive opinion about your organization wherever he goes.

Vetrivel Titan Industries Hosur.

Dear nnvakil,

Thanks for putting up this query. I have no comments to offer. I thank the members for giving appropriate suggestions. As I go through your query and this thread again, I feel it is high time that we remove the word "Human" from HRM. There seems to be no "humanity" left in HRM; otherwise, such queries would not have been posed. The best solution in such cases - and I am sure you'll come across many every day in your career - is to EMPATHIZE. Just try to PUT YOURSELF IN THE SHOES OF THAT PERSON, and you'll know the injustice that you are trying to heap upon an employee who served your company.

Hi Friends,

I opine that if the outgoing employee wants to transfer the data, why does he have to do it on the last day or even through the mail? He can as well do it from the date of his submitted resignation. Knowing that the IT department can trace out the data transfers and that he may not be making a mistake, he might have chosen other alternatives.

You are only certifying that his track record is good, so why suspect on the last day? Regarding rehiring, that is a matter for the future. Let us see who is who over a period of time. You also don't know that you may join a company where he holds a very senior position, like CEO, or elsewhere you have to report to him, as this field is akin to a train journey.

Spoiling the career of any individual or the relationship is not advisable. If you are issuing a relieving and service certificate, why hold or deduct his payables? Please clear and let him go happily; a word of mouth may spoil the image of the company and the individual.

Regards - Kamesh

Hi,

Please issue this gentleman a relieving and experience letter in good faith. Termination is not at all justified in this case by the HR and Personnel Department.

I also feel that the 'H' of HRM is getting depleted in today's corporate scenario. Very recently, we all read that HR manager Sathish of Infosys in Bangalore had killed his wife Priyanka in broad daylight for his selfish reasons. His profile at Infosys prior to this brutal act was being responsible for background check verification of Infosys employees!

I am not saying that all HR managers engage in such actions in their daily life and career. However, this example clearly illustrates how inhumane we can be when dealing with people in the corporate world and in our daily lives.

Regards

Hello Vakil,

I guess you have the reply you needed.

I concur with the other like-minded forum participants -- that there's no point in ruining the career of someone whose track record has been very good all through.

Everyone makes mistakes -- one needs to appreciate those who realize it [which he did], followed by correcting it [which he also did]. The next step is not for you or us to judge -- that of learning from the mistake. That's his problem -- if he learns from this mistake, it's him who will benefit.

As far as your company is concerned, like Vetrivel said, let him go with a positive opinion of the company; but make it very clear to him that: though what he did wasn't right [which you say, he admitted], he is still being relieved in the regular way for three reasons, rather than disciplinary action being taken against him: his past track record has been good and he admitted his mistake and the information he forwarded wasn't critical from the company's perspective [I wouldn't differentiate project and non-project since even some non-project information could be critical].

The reason why I am suggesting this action plan is this Vakil: Human tendency is to use such situations as precedents; so I am sure you wouldn't like any repeating of such scenarios in the company. You can be sure the message will pass down the line through him -- if you want to be treated well, you should deserve it.

Regards,

TS

Dear All,

We could not agree more with Mr. Raj Kumar Hansdah. The department of HR Managers cannot be working like robots, i.e., while analyzing a situation, we should not be trying to find out only black or white. Unless we understand that there is always a grey area and to err is human, we can never be People's managers in the true sense.

In the end, I would like to thank nnvakil for considering our opinion on this topic.

Warm regards to all,

Amit

Dear N.N. Vakil,

All my HR friends are looking into this matter seriously, and they all feel compelled to think so. In the absence of any evidence against the employee with a good service record in the past, you cannot take further steps. If it is admitted by the employee, a charge sheet shall be issued. However, it is improper when he is voluntarily leaving the services. Therefore, I am of the opinion that the relieving letter along with the experience certificate shall be given in good faith to secure the reputation of your organization.

Kiran Kale, Labour Law Consultant. Kolhapur.

I am glad to learn that the age-old humane touch is still in the minds. Always say goodbye so that you both are able to face each other in the future, smiling and not with an evil grin.

Greetings,

Once an employee resigns, the employment comes to an end. The release of the employee remains an employer's prerogative to ensure Knowledge Transfer. Hence, terminating an employee after he resigns is not possible. You may, at the most, release him early.

In case there is a serious defect caused by the employee and is proved, you may issue a disciplinary note to the employee and maintain a copy in the employee file as a record of the employee's behavior.

In this situation, when it's evident it was a human slip, I guess issuing a note is enough. It would only send a strong message to your existing employee base. If you take a re-look at the situation, losing an employee to the talent market is the biggest information/knowledge drain. The documents might amount very little in comparison to that!

At the end of the day, it's your call whether you wish to send a strong message to your existing employees or maintain an employee relationship with a talent who can be your future rehire.

Regards,

(Cite Contribution)

Hi,

As an HR professional, we must have a "Transformation Mindset." Our minds should be flexible enough to adapt to any emerging situations. Therefore, we are able to analyze whether the person in question is proven guilty. It is evident that the forwarded emails were not linked to the project they were based on. He is absolutely clean.

Putri Aleeya
UEM Group
KL, Malaysia

Please ask for a detailed written report from your IT Security Department. The report should mention in detail the number of emails sent, the contents and attachments, and whether any sensitive data/information was sent out.

The above-mentioned authentic information can only be provided by the IT Security Department. Encourage them to fulfill their responsibilities.

The degree of action against an employee will depend on the seriousness of the security breach.

To assess the seriousness of the IT security breach and determine the appropriate action to be taken against any employee, it is necessary to formally involve other department heads, project heads, etc. The HR Department may not possess the necessary expertise to make decisions on such matters.

Hello All,

Thanks for your comments. I appreciate all of you for guiding me through this. Unfortunately, I was not able to help this poor chap. Our company has decided to terminate him suddenly without providing him with an experience letter and relieving letter.

I hope other companies' HR departments will understand this situation and give him a chance to continue his service in a new company.

Thanks...