How Can Companies Handle Employees Who Disappear After Taking Leave?

Dear All,

Please find a solution to my problem. How can a company protect itself when a confirmed employee (an employee who has successfully completed his/her probation) uses some of his leaves (say 6-7 days), takes the month's salary, and then does not show up the next day without any notice or resignation?

This is a serious issue in my organization as it is causing leave policy problems for others.

Urgent.

Regards,
Gunjan

Dear Gunjan,

Are your employees deserting you after they are given confirmation? Kindly elaborate.

Regards,
Swastik
9433258202

Dear Swastik,

Some cases have happened in the company where a confirmed employee, after taking leaves and receiving their salary, calls up the next day saying they are no longer interested in the job for various reasons. What should we do? Is there a flaw in the current leave policy? Can changes be made so that they do not receive a full month's salary even after taking leaves and being confirmed? Is it ethically right?

Regards,
Gunjan

I noticed a similar case with one of my client sites where 35-80 people leave every month. It seems to be related to compensation.

So, what is the protection for the company whose money is also gone along with the employee?

In one of the tier II BPOs, I noticed a similar thing. They now pay their employees between the 15th and 20th of every month, with another month's lag for even the allowances to get finalized and then come incentives, et cetera. This is a wrong strategy similar to the one adopted for domestic helps. People give them a small pocket money every month, and even when the servant wants to go on the annual pilgrimage to his hometown, people do not pay the entire amount for fear of losing the employee.

This is an ideal scenario for initiating an Employee Satisfaction Survey and conducting Exit Interviews preferably by third parties since most management do not enjoy the credibility or impartiality needed for a free discussion. Surveying competitors' compensation levels won't harm either.

Surya

How can we hold back a part of the salary and give it later? I don't think it would be acceptable by employees, which can create further dissatisfaction. Though I agree that this happens because there is a lack of transparency or openness in the organization and people may feel scared to disclose beforehand that they have found another job.

Please suggest a systematic solution to it. How can I devise a leave policy that will protect the company from such incidents?

Hey guys,

This is something unexpected from the members of this community. Please suggest a solution to my problem.

Hold an employee satisfaction survey either yourself or through a third party and act upon the findings.

a) Try introducing a salary hike on completion of the probation after six months.

b) You may give a loyalty bonus to employees who successfully complete a year of service.

c) Closely tied to the second option, increase the hiring through employee referrals.

d) If your employees are practically freshers, then introduce a concept of paid learning like we had in plenty of IT companies earlier.

Set up a training wing, ask people to enroll, teach them for one month, and then put them on live calls. Pay them a stipend according to their performance for the next few months. Your company makes money by training fees plus wage differentials during on-the-job training. Lastly, set up a placement wing and provide placement services too. Make money once again (>10% CTC).

e) Interact with a university for courses like MBA/BBA, offer to pay half of their course fee, and provide benefits like company cabs/food, etc., on weekends when classes are held.

Surya

You will have to address the sanctioning of leaves afresh. You will have to make it clear to all employees that taking leave is not a matter of right. It can be sanctioned at the sole discretion of the management.

As an HR resource, you need to engage employees in constant dialogue with you to find out the root cause of this particular issue. You also need to note who the managers are that lose their employees in such a fashion. There might be serious problems of manager-subordinate relationship.

By using these options, you will be able to find out why this is happening.

Daleep

The question is not about leaves. People are on the lookout for a better option and are leaving. So delve deep, look for reasons of dissatisfaction. I am sure you would be aware of COPC guidelines: well, unscheduled leaves need to be controlled. But the problem is if an employee is leaving, a leave policy can't control him. The worst part is a wrongly devised or harsh leave policy may affect people who are not leaving.

Surya

Dear Gunjan,

In this case, you can blacklist the candidate and take legal actions such as publishing in the newspaper or media that this person has engaged in such activities and has been blacklisted.

Thanks,
Tapan
9893920032

Hi Gunjan,

Normally, what you can do is:
- No paid leaves in the probation period.
- Divide the number of paid leaves for the year, and as the employee is putting time in the company, more leaves would be added to his/her account. For example, 1.5 leaves a month (year from April to March). So in April, he can't take more than 1.5 leaves; exceeding this would result in unpaid leaves.
If there are any incentives or rewards with operations, you can give them every three months. This way, employees will be more cautious.

Regards,
Tikam Singh - Pune
09823509139

To file a complaint at the police station, threatening an employee to recover money is not the right approach. Even if you have not yet visited the police station, continuously threatening them is not advisable. It is essential to address any issues through appropriate channels and not resort to intimidation tactics. If you have concerns about recovering money, there are legal and civil ways to pursue it. It is important to handle such situations with professionalism and in accordance with the law.

Hi Gunjan,

The following steps may assist you:

1. Have a clause in the appointment letter stating that taking unauthorized leave, for example, more than 10 days, may lead to dismissal.

2. If a person resigns, for instance, on the 2nd of the month after receiving a salary on the 31st of the month, you can consider the following actions:
a. Review compensation components: Items like Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) can be paid annually, and medical reimbursements can be on a pro-rata basis.
b. Adjust Earned Leave (EL)/Paid Leave (PL) against the Full and Final (F&F) settlement.
c. Variable/bonus amounts may be payable after a year of service.

Regards,
Rajat

Hi Gunjan,

As we all know, the attrition rate of all organizations is soaring very high recently due to opportunities available in the market. Other organizations ask the candidate to join at the earliest possible, so they intentionally or unintentionally think it's a better opportunity and should not miss it out.

But according to my personal experience, I could say, look at the behavior of his/her immediate boss/manager/senior. It is a long-term process and sometimes needs to take harsh decisions against them. It really helps in the long run. As an HR personnel, try to build personal interaction with them on a very regular basis until the crisis is over. Give assurance of security and praise for long-term relationships with the organization and getting along with old employees of the organization. Describe the ethical values of the organization.

Simply making any amendments in the leave policy will make a hell of a difference.

I feel this may help you in overcoming the recent problem.

Regards,

Anubrat Das (9810123314, email: anubrat_das@yahoo.com)

AM-Corporate HR

Hindustan Syringes & Medical Devices Ltd, Faridabad

Dear Gunjan,

It is not exactly the problem with the company's leave policy; it is more towards employees' satisfaction level and motivation. Going harsh and being more punitive would only result in increased dissatisfaction among employees. Some motivational activities, if applied, may work. However, such a high employee turnover is alarming and needs to be taken care of immediately.

First, you should resort to an Employee Satisfaction Survey and try to understand the reasons for dissatisfaction. You may also use informal means to gather information. Analyze the reasons and take appropriate action.

Thanks and regards,
Anshu

Hi,

You can stop his/her full and final settlement because if he/she wants to join another company, they have to submit all documents related to the previous company's relieving letter. So, without them, no one can join a new company. As per your mailed information, you can deduct the LTA amount and medical amount mentioned in the offer letter.

Hi Gunjan,

The attrition is pretty high currently, especially in IT/ITES companies. There are various mechanisms to curb them by applying various retention strategies, but the point is how to curb problems arising out of employees exiting without notice. You need to revisit your exit policy/process and add some more stringent norms for exits without notice.

While it may be easy for an employee to exit without notice, it definitely will have long-term repercussions for him/her which need to be communicated effectively.

- Today many companies are getting background verification done, and the employee needs to be wary of the feedback that will be passed on by the ex-employers if he does not take a clean exit.
- Introduce a notice period for quitting.
- In cases where the employee exhausts his leaves, takes his monthly salary, and quits, do not issue a relieving and experience letter.
- For critical positions, you can have an agreement system with specific terms and conditions about the exit.
- To create a greater sense of belongingness in the organization, introduce engagement initiatives, rewards, and recognition benefits that would be employee-friendly.

While the above can help to reduce exits without notice, it may not eliminate them completely.

Hope the above helps.

Regards,

Asha