Can My Employer Take Legal Action If I Leave Without Completing My Notice Period?

Dear sir, I resigned from the company, and they accepted my letter, but they are insisting on a three-month notice period. However, I would like to be relieved within one month. I am willing to pay for the remaining month, but they are not agreeable to this arrangement.

I do not require a relieving letter or an experience certificate from the company. If I choose to leave the company directly, could they take any legal action against me? Please advise me on this matter.

Thank you.

Please read your offer letter or acceptance letter, especially the terms and conditions section. Thank you.

In my offer letter, they mentioned that the company shall have its own discretion to adjust any leave due to you or recover such an amount from your dues for the shortfall in the notice period. Please help me understand if the company can take any legal action or not.

If your appointment letter states that the notice period is 3 months, then you either have to serve for 3 months or compensate by paying the company. You are well within your right to serve for one month and pay them 2 months' salary. The company cannot take any legal action against you if you do so.

Regards,
Col. Suresh Rathi

In case you don't need the relieving order/service certificate, you can leave the company without paying the notice salary. They cannot take legal action against you.

Regards,
D. Gurumurthy
LL.HR & IR Consultant

You mentioned that you do not need a relieving letter or an experience certificate from the company. However, it is possible that while your new company may not require it now, you may need it in the future for other companies that ask for all your previous experience certificates.

You could discuss with the company management and try to convince them to relieve you earlier, or inquire if the new company is willing to wait for a few more days. Typically, companies consider a 10 to 15-day extension.

I suggest that it is always better to part ways with the organization amicably rather than making decisions that we may regret in the future.

Regards,
Sulakshana

Leaving a Company Without an Experience Certificate

Leaving a company without an experience certificate may cause issues in the future. It is better to move out of any company on good terms. In your situation, you can write a letter referring to your resignation and the terms and conditions in your offer letter/appointment order. State that you would like to leave the company on good terms, providing one month's notice period and paying the next two months' salary or whatever is mentioned in your offer/appointment letter.

Have two copies of the letter, and ensure one copy is acknowledged. If your employer does not accept the one-month notice, inform them in writing that you will work for one month and pay the amount specified in the appointment order for the remaining two months. Give them this in writing and keep a copy for yourself. With all these documents in hand, you can leave the company after one month. Legally, they cannot take any action against you. According to the law, if you are willing to honor the contract and the employer does not, legal support will be on your side.

Regards,
Balaji

In my offer letter, the following clause is included, so please help me:

During the probationary period and after the confirmation, either party will be entitled to terminate the contract of employment by giving three months' notice in writing to the other, subject, however, to the company's right to pay three months' salary in lieu of such notice to you.

Further, in the event of your giving a notice of termination shorter than the above period, the company shall have its own discretion to adjust any leave due to you or recover from you such amount from your dues towards the shortfall in the notice period.

What Mr. tsabv1971 says is quite correct. It is far better to leave the company on good terms. It is the responsibility of both parties of the Contract Appointment to adhere to the terms of reference. If you positively implement the terms of reference of your contract, there will not be any legal problems. You may appraise your Management to accept one month's notice with payment of two months' salary, in lieu of the remaining two-month period, and request them to issue a relieving order in good spirits. No management can deny the genuine request. In spite of you adhering to the terms of reference of your offer letter in good terms, if the management does not want to follow the terms of reference of your offer letter, then you may leave the company, duly giving them a detailed representation, explaining the circumstances under which you are leaving the company, and duly pointing out the terms of references of your offer letter being adhered to by you in good faith.

Mr. Saingole,

An appointment is a contractual agreement. The standard terms of separation in an appointment contract typically involve either party giving a specific notice period or making a payment in lieu of notice, which should be agreeable to both parties. No company or management can insist on the complete notice period being served. If an employee is willing to pay for the full notice period, the company must release the employee immediately, without any legal implications.

Joga Rao