Can You Terminate an Employee for Unprofessional Emails During Their Notice Period?

Hello Seniors! What if an employee resigns and is serving a notice period, but during the notice period, he doesn't behave well? Although he doesn't use any foul language, he writes emails and questions the reporting managers on their performance. He actually expresses his frustration in that manner. He is aware that he cannot verbally express himself as it may be deemed misconduct, so he chooses to communicate through emails (without using any inappropriate language). Despite counseling, he remains unresponsive.

Can an Employee Be Terminated During the Notice Period?

My question is, can an employee be terminated solely for the reasons mentioned above, particularly during the notice period?

Thanks! Saunee

Even after counseling, if there is no impact on the delinquent employee, then issue the show cause notice and ask for an explanation. If the explanation is not satisfactory, then give him a warning letter. Termination would be too harsh of a punishment.

Regards,
DVD

Many thanks for replying so early. This is what we did. But I'm in doubt, is it good to allow him to work for more days? What if he does something that may impact the image of the organization? What do you think about this?

Even after issuing a warning letter, if that person continues to be wayward, conduct the domestic enquiry. Let his misconduct be proven, and then you can take any action as you deem fit.

Regards,
[DVD]

Understanding Employee Behavior During Notice Period

You wrote one side of the story, and it's about Initiating Disciplinary Action. I want to know the other side of the story because I have been studying human psychology of behavior, and I am sure that there must be a concrete reason and associated factors for an employee to either misbehave or behave abnormally (it can be anything apart from normal behavior). At times, these kinds of behaviors don't harm anyone other than the doer itself. Yes, others may get irritated or may not be able to tolerate his presence.

• As a counselor, I would like to know more about your employee and why your employee is "frustrated."

• Also, let me know why he spoke about your manager's performance. Is your manager's performance up to the mark?

• How was the interpersonal relationship between the manager and this employee?

• Whatever he had questioned, is it related to his behavior?

Kindly note that if a performing employee is leaving the company due to genuine reasons (if not personal), then it's a loss to the organization.

Looking forward to hearing from you at the earliest.

With profound regards,

Hello Seniors! What if an employee resigns and is serving a notice period, but during the notice period, he doesn't behave well. Though he doesn't use any foul language, he writes emails and questions the reporting managers on their performance. He actually takes out his frustration in that way. He knows he can't say anything verbally as that may be taken as misconduct, so he writes emails (no bad language). If we counsel him, he doesn't listen.

My question is: can an employee be terminated just for the above-mentioned reasons, that too during the notice period?

Thanks!

Saunee

In your place, I would follow one of the following options:

(a) Send an internal email to all resources to ignore the contents of emails sent by him since he is a disgruntled employee.

(b) Ask your System Administrator to block all emails sent by him. This can be done in the mail server. (You cannot do anything if he sends emails to personal email IDs of your employees.)

(c) In case the emails sent by him are going to affect the business interests of the company in a significant way, the best option is to send him home ASAP by paying him compensation in lieu of the notice period.

Please let me know how you finally tackled the issue.

Regards,
Wing Commander S. Harshavardhan

You can ask him to leave even without the notice period deduction of any compensation. Alternatively, if the appointment allows, you can provide one month's notice period payment and release him immediately.

Regards,
Alphonse

I am surprised why we start providing solutions without having full knowledge or the other side of the story. Saunee raised a question regarding the termination of an employee who is serving the notice period. Why are we suggesting how to terminate that guy, counsel him, or issue a show-cause notice? Why are we trying to find ways and means to terminate the outgoing employee and help Saunee?

I would suggest everyone help Saunee understand the situation (Successful people do not do different work, but they do work differently).

My Viewpoint on the Thread:

1) The company conducts exit interviews to understand the reasons why an employee is leaving the organization. This is done with a positive attitude to improve the organization's performance and for employee retention. This helps the organization learn lessons from an employee who is leaving (There are various reasons to conduct exit interviews).

2) In this case, the employee has resigned and raised a valid question regarding the performance of the seniors (this could be a reason for him to leave the organization). The company should learn from this and implement a proper performance appraisal system.

3) HR should understand why this employee is leaving and take corrective and preventive action to retain people.

4) My question to Saunee: why are you protecting the senior? If the senior's performance is excellent, then nothing will happen with the allegations of the outgoing employee.

5) Employees leave managers; they do not leave the organization.

Saunee, I hope I am clear to you.

Thanks & Regards,

Manjay Kumar Sharma | Senior Consultant | [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons] | Skype ID: manjay.sharma73 | Mobile: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Malay Gauri Consultants Pvt. Ltd

| Outsourcing and Consultancy URL: www.malaygauri.com | Human Resource URL: MGcrpo | Job portal URL: www.nayeeraah.com |

Dear Mr. Manjay Kumar Sharma,

Kindly read my views posted on PAGE 1. I have already covered most of the points you mentioned in your post. I sincerely appreciate your views as they are valid points for HR to consider. I agree with you on the statement: "Employees leave their managers but not the organization." In my experience, managers rarely leave their organization because they are well compensated and there is no effective performance management system to evaluate them.

With profound regards,

Thanks for replying!

Please ignore the previous reply; there were some typos.

Please correct me if I am wrong anywhere. Below is my take on this:

1) A company conducts exit interviews to understand why an employee is leaving the organization. This is done with a positive attitude to improve the organization's performance and employee retention. It helps the organization learn lessons from departing employees. (There are various reasons for conducting exit interviews.)

What I have learned from my experience is that exit interviews are conducted in voluntary cases. However, in cases of abusive behavior during the notice period, would it still be considered a voluntary exit? We conduct exit interviews only in voluntary cases; in other cases, fair views cannot be expected. It is bound to be biased.

2) In this case, the employee has resigned and raised valid questions regarding the performance of seniors. This could be a reason for his departure from the organization. The company should learn from this and implement a proper performance appraisal system.

He did raise questions about the seniors' performance because he accepted his mistake but disagreed with improving it, saying it's a human error that can happen to anyone. I agree, but how often do you make the same mistake repeatedly?

3) My question to Saunee is, why are you protecting the senior? If the senior's performance is excellent, then no harm will come from the allegations of the departing employee.

True, we are not protecting the seniors, and there is actually no need to do so. We simply ignored this incident.

Dear Saunee,

Understanding Employee Resignation and Management Challenges

There are many organizations today looking for politicians and not performers. In your company's case, the employee had resigned from the job, indicating that he was facing problems with seniors/management. Have you ever tried to find out why he resigned and what problems he was facing? In my 21 years of work experience, I have seen many performers resigning and leaving offices just because of their immediate boss. One cannot become a Rambo (a one-man army). Rambo looks good in movies but not in real life.

Addressing Employee Concerns

If the guy is badmouthing the company or management, then there must be some amount of truth in it. Well-managed organizations always try to address employee issues with dialogue, research, discovery, and remedy. Have you ever tried to look at the other side of it? I guess there will be an exit interview of the employee? I am sure he will address a few things that would be an eye-opener for the management.

Personal Experience with Management Issues

By the way, I myself resigned as an advisor just because of an As...ole CEO, who had little management experience, and his entire career was in retail banking. Many senior managers followed me. I never regret my decision, neither did they. We are all happy now...we are in business :)

Regards,
AMJAD LALA

We can relieve the employee by paying the notice period amount, but as an HR professional, you should find out the reason why he is doing so. What's the reason? This way, you can get another side of the story.

Regards,
DILIP

Handling Employees During Notice Period

Generally, when an employee is under a notice period and the handover is complete, it is better to relieve him or her to avoid unnecessary wasting of time. This is often caused by employees who try to influence others by speaking about lucrative offers, badmouthing the organization, etc.

An employee who badmouths the company should be aware that their relieving letter can contain feedback that will affect their future.

Regards

Firstly, try to find out why the employee is behaving in this way. There could be a possibility that what he is trying to highlight is correct.

Secondly, there could be more employees who are suffering because of the same reason, so get the surveys done, conduct skip-level meetings to find out the same.

Thirdly, if this employee is crossing his limits, issue a warning letter to him, and consider taking actions such as revoking his email rights, etc.

Regards,
Pankaj Soni

I appreciate your practical views and agree as well. I too had resigned because of my boss and all those politicians (old employees) who love to butter/polish him. This is how they secured their jobs for years, but I was not interested in receiving my paycheck without doing something extraordinary that is beneficial for the organization, institutions, and employees. What's the great point in offering services when we can't contribute to the growth of our organization? My boss trusted these politicians, but not me, even though I was the only employee who systemized the entire operations and generated a substantial amount of revenue from those business units which was not noticed by anyone in the history of KES.

Suggestion for Professional Conduct

My sincere suggestion for you is to kindly avoid using abusive words in this forum because we are professionals with specific competencies/skills. We have a reputation to uphold, and we must maintain decorum to safeguard our image as it is in our hands.

Good luck.

With profound regards,

Regards

Understanding Employee Behavior During Notice Period

You all are giving ways and tricks to get this poor fellow down. No one wants to know why he is doing that. Why is he not engaged by your managers? There might be something wrong with your managers for sure, rather than seeking ways to ride on him. Look at your human resource management process.

Regards,
Surender

Please assist him with the exit interview format, where he would be free to express his grievances against the management. This feedback can be useful to policymakers.

If he is being arrogant and using his notice period to criticize the management while assuming his relieving is granted, you can consider withholding or withdrawing his relieving and warn him of possible dismissal. You may also choose to release him earlier within the notice period.

If his behavior is abusive, you can inform him that his relieving letter will contain negative remarks that could adversely affect his future employment prospects.

Thank you,

Bishu

Agree with Mr. Alphonse. While not putting the issue raised by him under the carpet, do take care of feedback. Further, since he has already resigned, relieve him immediately.

Regards,
HC Nagar

I believe we can't terminate an employee who is serving his/her notice period. (Please correct me if my information is wrong.) The best way to solve this problem is to counsel him, find out why he is frustrated, upset, or dissatisfied, identify the problem, and act unbiased and wisely.

Regards,
Smarika

Dear Saunee and all seniors, I have gone through all the replies, so I request you, Saunee, to please counsel him and conduct an exit interview as well. I am sure you find this level of dissatisfaction with other employees too. Through my experience, I can say that I too resigned from my last organization only because of this reason. At that point in time, I had no one to share my discomfort, and guess what, within a month of my resignation, the organization lost another 7 important pillars.

Dear, do take this employee's feedback seriously and bridge the gap as soon as possible. My best wishes are with you.

Dear Friend, Please do the following:

1. Ask your system administrator to block his email IDs.
2. Release him ASAP after receiving all documents and files.
3. Inform him that his behavior during the notice period will impact his Full and Final Settlement and Experience Letter.
4. If he has leave balance in his account, issue him the leave.
5. Advise him that if he continues to forward such emails, the company will take strict legal action against him.

Regards,
Hem Chandra Tewari
Deputy Manager - HR

He has resigned. He doesn't want to work in the company. The company doesn't want his services. Why carry the headache? Relieve him (not terminate) from the services. Focus and spend your energy on productive things.

Handling Employee Behavior During Notice Period

Just keep it simple. Speak to him, speak to him, and ensure that he behaves properly. During the notice period, you can actually avoid his emails. Termination would be the last and final punishment.

Regards,

The person is under a notice period. Instead of getting into legalities, the best action would be to relieve him immediately. This will stop the environment from getting further contaminated due to his behavior.

Regards,
Anand

Subject - Re: Termination because of badmouthing the organization

Saunee, in your place, I would consider one of the following options:

- Send an internal mail to all resources to ignore the contents of emails sent by him since he is a disgruntled employee.

- Ask your System Administrator to block all emails sent by him. This can be done in the mail server. (You cannot do anything if he sends emails to personal email IDs of your employees.)

- If the emails sent by him are going to affect the business interests of the company significantly, the best option is to send him home ASAP by paying him compensation in lieu of the notice period.

Please let me know how you finally tackled the issue.

Regards,
Wing Commander S. Harshavardhan

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I fully agree with Sir. Good advice, Sir.