Struggling with Late Salaries and Notice Periods: What Are My Rights If I Resign?

Respected sir, my employer is not giving my salary on time for the past 2-3 years. The salary is received once every two months (December salary is currently pending), and the company has not released my LTA from the period 2008 to the present. It is deducted as a part of my salary in equal monthly amounts.

Notice Period and Gratuity Calculation

If I resign, is it necessary to give the two months' notice period as mentioned in my appointment letter? Also, please confirm the calculation of the gratuity period.

Thank you.

An employer not interested in complying with statutory regulations will certainly demand notice pay when you leave. I'm sure that once you leave, the arrears of salary, LTA, and whatever else is due will not be paid. Yes, this is the circumstance when employees feel they should come under the umbrella of a Trade Union!

If you are a workman (not by designation but by means of a salary not above Rs 10,000, by not having the right to approve leaves for your subordinates, by not having the right to initiate disciplinary action against another employee, or by not having the right to appraise another employee), you can present the matter to the Labour Department. They will treat it as a matter falling under the Industrial Disputes Act and Payment of Wages Act. However, if you are in a managerial capacity, forget about the past or prepare yourself to fight in a civil court to recover the sum.

Regarding Gratuity, you will receive it (from the employer only!) if you have completed five years of continuous service with the company. For that, you can approach the Labour Department even if you fall into a managerial category. The amount of gratuity will be equal to 15 days' salary for every completed year of service, subject to a maximum of Rs 10 lakhs.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Hi vs09876, It is always beneficial for an employee to give a notice period to the company so that they can hire a replacement, and you can hand over your responsibilities properly. Also, it is advisable to always maintain cordial relations with the company, which helps in references and otherwise as well. But in your case, if you give a notice period, you won't get paid, and even if you don't give one, I feel the chances of getting a salary are very low. So, find out what happened with the people who have left the company in recent months to have an idea.

Gratuity Eligibility

Now, regarding the gratuity part: if you have worked in the company for 2-3 years, then you are not eligible for the gratuity amount. The gratuity is payable only after 5 years or more of regular service in any organization. If you have any further queries, please feel free to ask.

Regards,

Dear, there are two issues regarding your query.

1. There are certain dues that need to be paid to you, which are not being paid. You always have the right to ask for them. You can submit a written request to your management and keep a copy for yourself. If they don't address this issue, there is always a solution available to escalate to the next level. Therefore, you need to follow the system of grievance redressal.

2. Secondly, giving a notice period to the employer before quitting. Yes, you need to give a notice as per the terms of your appointment letter. It is required for the employer to search for the next person to take over the charge.

Moreover, will you keep quiet if your employer tells you in the morning when you report for duty that from tomorrow onwards you are not required to come to the office? Will you not make it a big issue? Will you not go to the conciliation office? So, it is just fair for an employer to expect a notice period from an employee before quitting.

Otherwise, he has the right to deduct your notice period salary from the dues payable to you in the final settlement.

Regards, Balaji

I think you missed the point the OP was making. He also knows that he is required by his terms of employment to give notice of 2 months; the question is, does the employer not paying salary on time and not having paid some part for a long time still deserve a notice period?

I would think this needs a practical approach. If you have a job offer on hand that requires you to join immediately or in less than the notice period, by all means, dump this job and go. Any employer not giving salary and statutory dues is not worth working for.

However, if your new employer needs you to give him a relieving letter, then you need to complete your notice period or get a waiver from the company. In such cases, the threat of going to the labour officer/court, etc., for late payment of salary and outstanding dues may be leverage to get your relieving letter.

It is better if you can quit on good terms with your employer. It's a small world; we will meet up somewhere in the future. But you alone will be able to judge whether it is worth giving the 2-month notice period. It's not a question of law but a question of whether you need to interact with him in the future.

Fair Treatment and Consequences

If someone treats you unfairly, will you also do the same thing? If both of you are in front of the conciliation office, both the employer and employee will have their own justifications, like "he has not paid me dues, that is why I quit the organization without giving notice period." Don't you think when you have the right to claim your dues either by requesting them from the employer or going to the conciliation machinery, the employer also has the right to deduct his notice period pay? Ultimately, both will end up sharing a bitter experience. Is that what you want?

Consequences of Not Following Procedure

Secondly, your immediate employer may not want you to get the relieving letter. Due to the urgency of the job, he may accept you to join immediately without the relieving letter. But when you go to the next employer (who might check the antecedents of the employee), it will be known that you abruptly quit without giving a notice period. This may increase the chances of being eliminated in the interview.

Advice for Handling Employment Issues

My advice to you is to follow the procedure and ethics. If you do so, you will have the upper hand in case your issue is referred to the next level.

Regards,
Balaji

I have a feeling (the OP can decide) that he will not get his dues irrespective of whether he requests, gives notice period, or goes for conciliation. In any case, who has time to go to the labor department and follow up for God knows how long? Will his next employer give him time to do that? Generally, employers will check with the immediately preceding job for verification. Only in some large companies do they check back to other jobs. In many cases, they don't have time. The difference is probably if he is at a relatively high post.

Hi, should the notice period for the employer and employee be equal, or can it vary, such as 15 days for the employer and 2 months for the employee in the appointment letter?

Thanks,
Samsheen