Stuck After Resignation: Can I Leave Without Legal Trouble When My Notice Ends?

Hi,

I resigned from my present job, gave the required 30 days' notice, and very professionally transitioned my current job's knowledge to my replacement. The 30-day period is about to end in two days, and I have served this period without taking any leave as per the terms in my offer letter. However, my manager and the Company HR insist today that I will not be relieved for the next two months!

I need some advice on the legal implications if I simply stop coming to work and join the next organization after I complete the 30-day notice period. The next company does not require a relieving letter and only needs my current company's offer letter and the dated letter of resignation.

Please guide me on what I can and should do before taking such a step to make sure my tracks are clear and the current company cannot take any legal action against me. I have not signed any employment bond, and I joined this organization six months ago; the work is nowhere near what I was promised, and hence the dissatisfaction.

Thanks,

Karishma

Dear Karishma,

Do not get panicked by the situation. There is no law that prevents an employee from leaving the services of an employer.

Now, please let me know the following:

1. Were you issued any appointment letter? This is because you have mentioned only an offer letter. An offer letter is an offer given by someone which one accepts or rejects. An appointment letter is a contract of employment on specific terms and conditions, written or implied. So, if you have not been issued any appointment letter and the resignation clause was in the offer letter, and you have submitted your resignation based on the offer letter, then you have followed the proper procedure as written in the offer letter and accepted by you.

2. Now, about the submission of resignation. Have you taken a receipt of the submission of resignation? I believe you have submitted the same as a hard copy and through email. What about the acceptance? Have they given you any acceptance in writing regarding your resignation?

Have you specifically asked for the relieving on a specific date after completion of the notice period, and in the reply to your resignation, have they mentioned acceptance and the relieving date? If the above is clear and on the records, they cannot force you to continue with the organization.

3. You have mentioned that you handed over the charge to a new person. Have you taken that in writing to the new person that he/she has taken over the charge of the following? If you have not done the same, do it as early as possible. After getting this, you can also ask the person to provide you authority duly signed by management for taking over the charge. But be careful that management can change the name of the person for handing over the charge.

4. I believe the best way is to come forward and discuss with the management about your views. Be confident and make them understand that what you were expecting from your job is not there in your job profile. Put all the onus on management to justify why they are not relieving you.

You can raise a question about what will happen if the same thing occurs after two months. What changes do you require, and is the management ready to accept them to retain your services? Ask what the management will do in terms of your monetary benefits, which you are getting from the new offer. Are they ready to make your job profile as good as what is being offered to you by the new offer? What commitments has the present employer not fulfilled?

There is no harm in justifying yourself. Legally, if you have submitted your resignation as per the terms of employment and they have accepted and communicated the same in writing, they cannot stop you under any law.

You have to proceed on a best judgment basis. Be open with your management and make them aware of shortcomings and other positives they have.

I hope they will appreciate and relieve you.

Regards,

Anil Anand

Hi Anil,

Thank you for the detailed reply. Here are the answers to your questions:

1. Yes, I have an appointment letter which states the resignation terms as 30 days' notice.

2. The normally followed practice in this company is that the resignation is sent to the manager by email, which I have done. The email was sent to my manager on 19/09/05, and I asked to be relieved on or before 19/10/2005. However, I have no email/written acceptance proof. The management has been coaxing me all this while to continue, and all the time I have refused. I have been asking for acceptance all this time, but it has still not been done.

3. I have trained a new person, and I can even get a formal email of charge handover, but whether I will get one from management, I am not sure. Management has been tight-lipped about my relieving from the start. With 19/10 fast approaching, there is still no word, which might force me to take the step of stopping attending work.

4. The management cannot match my new offer. Additionally, the work provided currently is promised to be changed, but only after 6 months. Management is not giving this in writing, which makes me very insecure about my future and the credibility of the management. I very much want to leave, and the question of continuing here does not arise.

I have been very professional about the resignation, giving the full 30-day notice and honestly handing over charge of duties over these 30 days. It hurts to see such blatant disregard for professionalism. The irony is that ever since I have resigned, I am suddenly the best person around with a lot of choices to choose from, and all the past 6 months, my requests to change my work content were falling on deaf ears.

All attempts to reach a peaceful solution from my end have failed. Now that management as well as HR are refusing to relieve me for the next two months, I have no other choice. So I would prefer to stop coming to work from 19/10, but I just want to make sure my tracks are clear. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks again for your time.

Regards,

Karishma

Dear Karishma,

It seems that although you are a good professional, you have not followed the correct procedure in the case of submitting your resignation. Email is not a medium typically prescribed by employers for the submission and acceptance of resignations. Do not worry; you can adopt the procedure mentioned below to avoid any potential litigation, which you seem to be concerned about.

Give details of all the above, including your submission of resignation through email and any further communication you had with your management. Draft a detailed letter and submit it to the concerned authority, preferably by hand or through courier. If using a courier, ensure the subject "Regarding Resignation in respect of............." is clearly mentioned on the envelope.

This written submission will serve the purpose of documenting your resignation, and the document will be kept on record. Obtain proof of delivery (POD) from the courier company. In the contents of your submission, explain all verbal communications you had with various officials of the company and the HR personnel. This documentation is crucial for evidentiary purposes.

Ensure you receive written acknowledgment from the individual to whom you handed over your responsibilities. Make sure that there are no pending tasks left incomplete.

If you cease to come to the office, the most they can do is withhold your salary until 19/10. If they choose to pursue legal action, they will have to approach a civil court. In such a scenario, they would have to demonstrate to the court that you did not adhere to the terms of the employment contract. You can then present the aforementioned documents in your defense.

I still believe that you should approach your appointing authority with a verbal request. Inform them of your future plans and job aspirations. Unless they are inclined towards litigation, I believe they will consider your submissions and grant you a relieving letter. Avoid showing any resentment; maintain a professional demeanor. Historically, most issues between parties have been resolved without the need for legal intervention. Often, organizations only realize the importance of employee satisfaction when things escalate beyond their control.

Effective and transparent communication is crucial for success. Ensure that neither you nor your employer have any regrets. The world is small, and you never know when or where you may encounter each other. Be positive, and you will find goodness in others.

Move forward and discuss to resolve the matter, but only with the appointing authority or individuals authorized to handle such matters.

Remember to act with Best Judgment Process.

Regards,

Anil Anand

Hi Anil,

Thank you very much for taking the time to write in detail. I have tried asking Management verbally, but the first hint came from Management's side only about not relieving. In any case, I will do as you said.

The practice of emailing the resignation has been followed in this company for a long time. But you are right, I carefully read the company policies, and it specifies that the resignation has to be submitted "in writing" with no reference to email as a medium!

Anyways, thanks. I will update this post and let everyone know what happened to me and the outcome of this situation.

Regards,
Karishma

Hi Anil,

That was nice of you to give the right advice. It is always better to move out smoothly from an organization. As many companies make reference checks to previous employers, it makes sense to be in the good books of the organization. But, at the same time, management/HR cannot play around with these issues. If they are wise, they must understand that other people in their organization are watching this, and further prolongment of such genuine cases is only going to affect their integrity.

Regards,
Harsha

Dear Karis,

It depends on your employment contract. If the terms and conditions state that you need to give two months' notice, then you have no choice unless you negotiate and pay the amount (salary) in lieu of notice. If not, negotiate again with your current boss to release you early. However, if your terms and conditions state that you need to give one month's notice and without other binding factors, there is no reason for them to stop you from leaving.

Best of luck

Hi All,

First of all, I would like to thank Anil for his support and guidance. Here is what happened eventually. I reported to work on 19/10/2005. I once again approached my managers for my relieving, but I got a dodged answer. The same afternoon, I approached my HR manager and explained that I cannot continue and that the HR department would get my resignation letter copy with my company ID by registered post the next day. I informed them that I would not be reporting to work from 20/10/2005. The HR manager immediately spoke to my managers and ensured I was relieved the same day. He apologized on behalf of the Company and assured me that this was not a normal practice and that I should not leave with a bad image of the Company. I have joined the next organization but after a real harrowing experience. I hope no one else faces such a situation. Thank you for your support!

Warm regards,
Karishma

Hi Anil,

It's very nice to see your way of explanation. I am also trapped in a similar condition. I have resigned from my previous company, and the resignation has been confirmed via email (with dates specified). The employer had also given a date for my relieving. However, during my notice period, my father had a serious accident. So, I had to rush back home in a hurry. The process took some time, but I tried to inform the employer by email after a week. Unfortunately, I missed giving all the details in that initial communication. The following week, I sent him a complete description of my problem along with medical documents attached.

During this period, the employer sent me notices for my absence from work via courier. Three such notices were sent while I was preoccupied with my father's well-being. When I finally stabilized, I sent back the company materials by courier. Unfortunately, they came back as 'unclaimed'. Subsequently, I received a legal notice from the employer regarding my absence from work, or a claim for three months of gross salary within 15 days. I urgently need your advice on this matter.

Thanks in advance.

Rajeev

Hi everybody,

Please help me out! My situation is like this - I have resigned from my company, i.e., emailed my resignation letter to my manager. I am going to join another organization. The problem is that in my company, the notice period is two months, but my joining date in the new company is 15 days earlier than that. I conveyed to my manager that I need to be relieved earlier and I am ready to pay for the notice period. He told me that I have to do knowledge transfer for the new joiner, and he would relieve me by 2nd September 2010. The knowledge transfer is now complete. However, he has not relieved me yet and is not replying to my calls and emails.

I need to get relieved by the end of next week.

What should I do?

Dear Rashmi,

If you have given the notice for resignation as per the provisions of your appointment order, the management should relieve you as desired. Generally, one clause will be there in every appointment letter that "the services of an employee can be terminated by either party by giving... months notice or making payment in lieu of notice... by one party to the other.

In your case, you should be relieved of your duty in the organization of your present employer 15 days earlier than the completion of your notice period of 2 months. This means you should pay 15 days' salary, which shall enable you to complete the notice period. By making payment for 15 days, you should request your present boss to relieve you from your duty.

Normally, no company should compel any employee to stay with them against their will, and in your case, they cannot do such a thing. Meet your manager and remind him about his promise to relieve you with effect from the second of September 2010. Then, your problem will be solved.

Regards,

NVRao
Hyderabad

On paper, there is an agreement that I have to serve a notice period of 2 months if I plan to leave my company. Now, I have got a better opportunity, and I wish to serve a notice of 1 month only. I am willing to pay for the remaining one month. However, my company is not accepting my resignation.

My first resignation letter was replied with "not acceptable," giving a reason that I am not serving two months' notice. Then, I had replied to the same mail attaching a copy of the agreement that states that in case I serve notice of less than 60 days, I'd have to pay for the remaining days, requesting to kindly relieve me after I serve 1 month's notice, and I will pay for the remaining one month. My company has not replied to my request.

It's a small company that is not process-oriented, and decisions are made by a few people.

Kindly suggest what to do as I need the Relieving/Experience letter and get relieved within a month.

Thanks,

Regards