How to Handle an Employee Who Absconded with Company Property and is Now Blackmailing Us?

Dear All,

In my company, one of our employees absconded from the job for more than 3 months. Along with this, he holds the company belongings (Company Car and Company Camera). After a long search, I found him in a different city. He is working with one of our competitors. Now, he is blackmailing us by giving a wrong interpretation in the market and not returning the belongings. Due to his actions, some of our projects are not able to be completed in the specified time.

Can any one of you help me in this regard as to what to do in this case?

Regards,
Ravi

Hi Ravi,

Firstly, tell me, is there any policy in your company that the employee cannot join the competitors? If yes, then the easiest solution will be to send him a legal notice from the company. If possible, contact him and tell him that you can easily reach out to his new company's HR and provide them with the same story about how he absconded and how he is not a stable employee. You can even inform them about the theft of company property. Certainly, that person will likely be in a senior position and will easily understand that he will lose his job as well as his reputation in the market if he does not return your company's belongings.

Hope this solves the problem.

Regards,
Bhumika

Hi All,

There is no such clause in the company policy, and I want to add this clause to the policy. It must include that employees shall not join any contractors, vendors, or our customers without prior notification to the employer and their approval.

Can any one of you be kind enough to provide me with that specific clause statement in legal terms? (Seniors, you can do that)

Regards,
Ravi