Facing a 90-Day Notice Period Dilemma: Can My Company Legally Enforce This?

I am working at IBM India Pvt. Ltd. since April 2011. When I joined, I was placed on probation for 1 year. However, after just 6 months, in October 2011, I received an email from my manager with an attachment stating that my probation had ended and I was confirmed as a regular employee. The letter was on the company letterhead and included the following at the bottom:

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for IBM India Pvt. Ltd.

<Manager's Name>

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Although the letter was not signed, the offer letter had mentioned that the confirmation of the end of probation would be provided in writing.

The issue now arises as I have tendered my resignation on the 5th of April, and my manager has enforced the 90-day notice period. Even though I have been released from my current assignment since the 27th of April, I will remain on the bench without any project or assignment until the end of the notice period on July 4th. Despite my discussions with the managers, they insist that I must serve the entire notice period.

I have reviewed the offer letter, and one clause states that:

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either you OR the company may terminate your service at any time by giving 90 days' notice or basic salary in lieu thereof. However, due to exigencies of business, the company may, at its sole discretion, reject the salary in lieu of notice and ask you to serve the entire or part of the notice period. You shall not be deemed to have been relieved of your services except upon the issue of a letter by the Company to that effect.

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I am willing to compensate for the unserved days, but they are refusing to approve this.

My Concerns

1) Can the company legally enforce the 90-day notice period?

2) Can I notify them of my departure date, allowing them to recover any dues from my full and final settlement?

3) Can they withhold my relieving/experience letter if I do not complete the notice period, even if the unserved days are financially settled?

4) What legal recourse do I have in this situation? I feel they are manipulating the policy unethically.

I would greatly appreciate your suggestions.

Thank you,

AP

It seems that your HR department wants to cause you trouble by not relieving you from the services and not accepting payment in lieu of the short notice period. When they keep you on the bench, it indicates that there is no proper work for you, and you could be relieved from the service by accepting the shortfall of notice as per the terms and conditions of your appointment letter.

The computer-generated appointment letter needn't be signed since it can be taken as evidence under the Evidence Act due to its latest amendment. Thus, the confirmation letter sent to you by your HR department is valid, and the terms mentioned therein are binding on both you and the company.

My suggestion is to convince your HR department and obtain relief by paying the amount towards the shortfall of notice. You can state that you have been kept on the bench without being assigned any work, etc.

Regards,
N.V. Rao
Naidupeta

Thank you for your reply. That's what I am trying to do—convince the HR/manager for the last three weeks, but until today, no success. A few days back, when I informed the HR department that as there is no work for me and I am on the bench, they are violating the offer letter clause by holding me up and not accepting the basic salary in lieu of unserved notice period days, and I can take legal action to resolve it, all of a sudden they have started giving instructions to the deployment managers to find a short-term project for me so that I should not be on the bench and serve the entire notice period.

I don't know how feasible this approach is. Currently, I am attempting to meet with the delivery manager responsible for me and convince her to respond negatively regarding the availability of a short-term project so that I can escalate the issue to higher authority for an earlier release.

Any further suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
AP

I have been working at IBM India since 2008. I joined IBM as a subject matter expert, but upon immediate joining, they assigned me a project management role. Since then, I have been handling project management in various accounts, consistently receiving good PBC ratings. In 2008, my PBC was 2, in 2009 it was 2+, in 2010 it was 2, in 2011 it was 2+, and in 2012, due to unfair treatment by a manager, I received a PBC rating of 3. Suddenly, in 2013, I was placed in a redeployment pool after much conflict between my HR partner and manager, with no favorable outcome for me. During this time, my HR partner assigned me work at a lesser profile. Despite this, I started working with my new manager. By the end of the year, they gave me a PBC -3, stating that my work was not up to par, despite my strong contributions among my peers. When I contested the unfair rating and provided relevant evidence, my manager began harassing me, sending unjust emails and escalating issues to HR. I escalated my concerns to senior managers regarding the harassment and the unreasonable demand to work two shifts in a day. I provided proof of working 19 hours a day through chat history and email records, even though my manager claimed otherwise.

Seeking Advice on Labor Law and Employment Concerns

Now, I seek advice on the following:

1. Can I raise my concerns under labor law, considering I worked as a manager at IBM for 5 years but received a lower salary compared to other employees who were earning 75% more than me?

2. Given the numerous disputes with my manager, is there a possibility of termination?

3. If termination occurs, what would be the best course of action for me? Should I approach the labor court for a stay, or should I resign instead of facing termination?

4. If IBM terminates my employment, what impact will it have on my future job prospects?

Please advise.

Regards,
Raiz