Left My Job Without Notice: Do I Really Have to Pay This Huge Amount?

Hi All, I was working in an IT company in Bangalore, and I left the organization without informing them. Now, I have received a letter from the company asking me to pay for the unserved notice period along with a category called 'ex gratia'. I am not sure what this means. I do not need any documents from the company, so the question is, should I pay? I know it was my mistake to leave the company without informing them, but it just happened that way. Now, I don't want to pay such a huge amount, which is more than 4 lakhs. What are my options? The company is not ready to listen.

Notice Period and Payment Obligations

The notice period is 3 months. Do I need to pay the gross or only the basic salary? And what about 'Ex Gratia'?

Regards,

Hi Kumar, It has been discussed time and again that leaving companies without any notice or proper resignation may create trouble, and it is also very unprofessional to do so.

Options for Handling Unserved Notice Period

I think the options available are both to pay or not to pay as well. Once you pay the notice period, you get the clearance as well as all the required documents, which you may not need as of today. If you don't pay, the company can seek legal action against you as this clause is generally mentioned in the Contract of Employment of every organization. Getting into legal trouble will create more difficulties.

Settling the Matter with HR

You can speak to the HR department and your boss to settle the matter with them for as little as possible. The clause of termination/resignation generally talks about when an employee is required to work out a period of notice, and if they do not, an ex-gratia payment equivalent to payment in lieu of that notice will be made.

Hope this clarifies your doubts.

Regards,

Thanks for the quick response. I am still not very clear. If the ex gratia is the amount equivalent to the notice period which I didn't serve, then what is a notice period buyout? In my case, the company is asking for both—a notice period buyout (3-month salary) and a huge ex gratia too.

Archna said, "The clause of termination/resignation generally talks about when an employee has been required to work out a period of notice, and they did not, an ex-gratia payment equivalent to payment in lieu of that notice will be paid."

Hope it clarifies your doubts.

Regards,

Instead of asking Archana or anyone in this forum, why don't you ask the HR of the company where you worked about your ex-gratia query? You won't like this, but the fact of the matter is: maybe you brought this upon yourself and deserve what the company plans to do.

On one hand, you admit "it is my mistake to leave the company without informing," and on the other hand, your attitude is so very callous and nonchalant to mention: "but it just happened that way"?

When you commit a mistake, it's you who needs to pay for it—not anyone else, including the company in this case. You did what you did since you thought you could get away with it—if you had known earlier that the company would react in the way it did, I bet you wouldn't have done what you did.

And much less admit your mistake "now," since you are smart enough that none will agree with you if you were to say it wasn't a mistake. If it were not for the company's notice, would you have even tried to dream of what you are now saying?

The Bible says: As you sow, so you reap.

Either talk to their HR (you say they are refusing to talk) or talk to a lawyer to fight your case legally—in the process spending time, money (who knows—could be more than the 4 lakhs that you want to avoid), effort, and more importantly your attention which you ought to be showing in your current job, wherever you are working now.

Though I don't intend to frighten you, can you guarantee that the HR won't alert your current company about the situation—as they see it? Can you handle it?

I am sorry if this hurts—but I thought you need to be told 'point-blank' the way others view what you did.

Regards,
TS