How Can I Fight Back Against Unfair Treatment and Get My Due from My Former Employer?

I was working at XYZ Ltd. for more than 20 months, having joined the organization as an off-role employee in January 2011. When I joined the company, I was told that after six months, I would be migrated to the company payroll. However, by October 2012, I had not been migrated to the company payroll.

So, I planned to quit the company. When I submitted my resignation, my manager was very rude, saying, "You bloody get out of my office, and I am not accepting your resignation. I am terminating you." Subsequently, I directly sent several emails to senior management, but to date, I have not received any help from them.

Please go through the emails I am attaching in doc format, so that everyone will understand what Edelweiss is and how they are troubling me. Please suggest how I can fight against them and get proper justice. It has been three months since I did not receive my relieving letter or my full and final settlement. Moreover, I could not join any other organization, even though I received many opportunities. Being from a poor middle-class family, I am suffering a lot because of these people. Please help me out.

Thank you.

Regards,
Sunil Kumar

I have thoroughly read your attached document and feel very sorry for the same. I am taken aback by a company like that (though I would still suggest not to mention the names of companies in such open forums). You can seek help from a labor lawyer now if they aren't responding. With this suggestion, I would also like to mention that consulting a lawyer will involve a lot of time and cost, but if you wish to fight back, that is the only way out.

Dear Mr. Sunil Kumar,

Aww, it's a crying shame by the entire team. These people will have to get a wallop to understand that troubling someone will not do any good to their entire structure. Therefore, your points [PF deduction of employer's is from employees' salary + Not providing your Full & Final settlement + Terminating without reason] are very strong to complain at the labor office near the location of the employer to make the source to the conciliator work better on your case.

Steps to Take for Resolution

Firstly, send them a letter asking them to release your F&F in a registered post. You may have the acknowledgment for that, which will be proof for your request letter to your employer. On the basis of the above emails, you might also fight back a civil suit by appointing an attorney. Remember, the timeframe to fight a case is limited, i.e., 3 years from the time of your resignation with the company. The procedure goes thereby favoring your concern. This process takes a little longer with downright justice to your appeal.

Good Luck...!!

I edited the firm's name in your post to ensure your privacy and provide greater protection for your data. I trust this change will be helpful to you.

In addition to the solution Sharmila has offered, please maintain a file with the documents you mail to the company. Until they respond, this document will serve as your declaration of resignation and signify the end of your employment with your current employer.

Regarding the registered letter, as suggested by Sharmila, please include an end date within which your employer needs to respond. If they fail to do so, the situation will naturally escalate to the next level.

Thank you.

I have gone through the email copies you have attached. It made amusing reading.

Complaint Management Procedures

There are proper complaint management procedures in your former organization. You chose not to use them. There was an officer assigned to investigate; however, you did not respond to her calls or to the email you sent. Your first few emails have a completely different allegation compared to the last one. There are inconsistencies there.

Points of Confusion

1. You are an off-payroll employee (meaning working for a contractor, obviously). So, the salary to be paid to you is by the contractor, not by the company. Your resignation should be to the contractor and not to the company. Further, the company cannot terminate you.

2. I see in the mail that you wanted to leave without notice (it says relieve me immediately).

3. There is no rule or law that you have to be made a permanent employee of the company. That is the discretion of the management. If you were not happy with that, you should have simply resigned and left to join another company. Your resignation letter copy (or email) would be enough. The contractor would have given you the relieving letter.

4. I do not see any mail or anything from anyone in the company that shows that they have behaved badly or anything. In fact, someone was assigned by the company to investigate your complaints, but you did not respond to her calls.

5. You have made a lot of allegations about a lot of people without any substantive evidence. I am quite certain others would have made similar or worse allegations against you. What is the use of all of that when you are leaving the company and just wanted your relieving letter? The letter looks like an attempt at revenge against a single person whom you hold responsible for your failure to grow in the organization. That rarely works. It would be different if you were trying to get some grievance settled when you were there.

6. A senior person (VP) has offered a way out - asked you to send a fresh resignation (though I still do not understand why this should be for an off-payroll employee) and he would settle everything. You have refused to do that. You have not waited for the 15 days' time to pass before sending another complaint saying you have not received your money.

Whatever your grievance against the company may be (and I am not in a position to say whether it's true or not), you could have simply focused on finding a job, resigning from the present job, completing your notice period, and leaving with your experience certificate.

While understanding the mental agony you are currently undergoing, I would like to suggest that you think calmly and proceed further. Your entire episode appears to be an outcome of an emotional outburst. You could have used grievance redressal avenues before taking an eventual step. SaswataBanerjee's post depicts your case very clearly. Separating in an embarrassing situation will not help you in your future endeavors either. Try to sort it out amicably, preferably through your contractor/employer.

Regards,
Balamurugan Sivaprakasam
HR Consultant
Bangalore