Navigating Resignation: Do Notice Period Rules Apply When Salary Grievances Arise?

Dear Seniors,

I need your help in order to handle the mentioned case.

Case: If a person resigned from his services without mentioning in his resignation whether he will serve a notice period or not (in his resignation dated 07/12/2011), but the company has signed Terms & Conditions at the time of appointment agreeing upon a 1-month notice period or salary in lieu from the employee or employer at the time of resignation.

Query: If an employee wants to leave the company due to some salary grievance, mentioning that "There are many offers to me, and now it is becoming hard to carry on my service. In the future, I can't stay anymore, so please accept my resignation."

So, in that case:

1. If the employer is accepting his resignation, is he liable to serve the notice period or not?

2. If the employer asks him to leave the company with immediate effect after accepting his resignation as per his mentioned reason, is the employer liable to pay him any compensation against his notice period?

3. Do the Terms & Conditions of the appointment play any role in this case, or can we treat it as mutual consent between the two parties?

What should be the plan of action as per legal terms?

Please help; it's really important for me.

Thanks & Regards,
Sneha

You have not made it clear how long that employee has been working in the organization. Under what conditions was this salary issue raised? Has there been any discussion between the employee and management regarding the same? Conditions vary in each case, depending on how you handle the issue.

I believe you should first discuss the salary hike with management. If nothing progresses, then politely serve your notice period and depart with all the settlement. Provide them with a chance to contemplate and a reason for your departure. If you are an asset to them, they will likely not want to let you go.

Resignation and Notice Period Obligations

1.) If the employer is accepting his resignation, is he liable to serve the notice period or not?

Answer: If the employer is ready to accept the resignation with an understanding of valid reasoning by the employee, there is no need for the employee to serve the notice period. However, the employer needs to handle the pay cut for the "short notice period" as per the procedure, which varies from company to company based on their own policies and procedures.

2.) If the employer asks him to leave the company with immediate effect after accepting his resignation as per his mentioned reason, is the employer liable to pay him any compensation against his notice period?

Answer: There is no question of the employer asking, as the employee is already resigning from his/her position with a valid reason, and the employer has agreed and accepted it. In the case of resignation by the employee, the employer is not liable to compensate but to deduct the short notice period amount as mentioned above. Compensation by the employer is only applicable in cases of termination, lay-off, etc.

3.) Do the Terms & Conditions of the appointment play any role in this case, or can we treat it as mutual consent between the two parties?

Answer: If the employer agrees with the reasoning provided by the employee and is ready to accept the resignation, it automatically falls under mutual consent. However, according to the T&C of the appointment letter, generally, an employee has to serve the notice period. If the person does not follow or serve the notice period as the T&C states, he/she needs to pay for the short period or for the loss of employment. For example, if the notice period is 3 months and a person wants to leave after 2 months, then he needs to pay back the company the amount equivalent to his 2 months' salary. (This also varies from company to company.)

I hope I am clear and to the point. If you still have any questions or need further clarification, please feel free to contact me.

Also, you can go to the sidebar of this page for more related posts/threads under "Similar Topics," which will help you understand your case.

Regards

Dear Seniors,

Thanks for attending to the query. Anil Sir, your reply is really giving direction. But, I want to clarify this point again, Point No.1:

1. If the employer is accepting his resignation, is he liable to serve the notice period or not?

Query: If an employee is willing to serve the notice period in the same case after resignation as per T&C of the appointment, but the company wants to relieve the employee with immediate effect and doesn't want the employee to serve his notice period due to concerns that the employee can harm the company with his wrong intentions, what should be the plan of action in this case?

Option 1: Should the company ask the employee to leave without serving any notice, and is the company liable to pay him in this case?

Option 2: Should the company ask him to stay and not pay him against his notice period if he causes any harm to the asset or image of the company?

What appropriate action should be taken by the HR Department in this case?

Regards,
Sneha

Dear Sneha, to clear your doubts, let me give you an example. For instance, I am an employer and you are an employee. Now, as you are willing to resign and ready to serve the notice period, which is a requirement according to the T&C of your employment, I would appreciate it. However, if I feel that I should relieve you and don't want you to stay longer for whatever reason, I would ask you to leave or relieve you immediately.

But for your information, no employer wants an employee to be immediately relieved, and no employee can harm the employer because the employee is already bound by the terms of employment. If he/she does anything like this, they will be liable for legal action by the employer.

Can any employee harm or do anything wrong so easily to his/her employer? Do you really think it is that easy to perform this? What wrong can an employee supposedly do? You must read the terms and conditions of any employment letter, and you will find conditions that never allow an employee to do anything like this.

Your Point: If the employer is accepting his resignation, is he liable to serve the notice period or not?

As you (the employee) have resigned and I (the employer) have accepted your resignation but feel that you are doing or can do anything wrong, I can relieve you anytime, and there would be no question of serving the notice period but with compensation if that has been according to the Terms & Conditions of the employment letter because it is a mutual agreement between both parties (employee and employer).

Hope you got your answers.

Regards,