Confused About Notice Period Without an Appointment Letter? Need Your Advice!

I am a bit confused regarding the notice period's applicability clause for a person who has never been issued any appointment letter and T&C not signed by him. As per the Shops and Establishment Act, a person who has served for more than 3 months is required to serve at least a month's notice period or a month's salary in lieu of it. Will this clause, as mentioned in the S&E Act, be applicable to that person who has not been issued an appointment letter?

I believe this will be applicable irrespective of an appointment letter being issued and T&C being signed by the employee. Signed T&C would help the management to take action according to that T&C. In the absence of such a thing, the S&E Act notice period clause will be taken into consideration to deal with that employee.

Please suggest a solution for this. In case my assumption is wrong, kindly provide me with a link/clause solving this query.

Issuance of Appointment Letter and Notice Period

As per the Delhi Shop and Commercial Act, the issuance of an appointment letter is mandatory. Please refer to Section 15.

However, you are correct that as per the Act, one month's notice must be given by the concerned employee who has completed more than three months of service. In the absence of such notice, the employer can deduct an amount equal to one month's wages. See Section 30(2).

In the absence of the appointment letter, the employee can raise a dispute. Otherwise, you are correct.

Regards,
pkjain

Thank you, Mr. Jain, for answering my query. Please also clarify what could be the consequences if an appointment letter is not issued and the company is deducting the notice amount.

There is no need to mention what the Shops and Establishment Act states if the employee has not accepted any appointment letter, as you mentioned. It is straightforward and self-explanatory. However, if the employee has signed or accepted the employment terms and conditions but did not read them carefully at the time of joining, it could be different.

Additionally, every state has its own terms and conditions under the Shop & Establishment Act, and notice period terms also vary according to the company/industry and their policies.

Returning to your main question, if the employee has never accepted employment terms or signed any appointment/joining letter, no employment condition can affect him/her in this regard. It would indeed be surprising how one can work without formally signing/accepting employment.

There seems to be something wrong or omitted in your query. If you want to know more about the Notice Period, you are just a click away. Use the "RESEARCH" option to find numerous discussions on this topic that can help you understand and find appropriate answers to your questions.

Please provide more information.

I completely agree with Mr. Arora. What is the career length of that particular employee in your organization? I believe that he should have been with your organization for more than 3 months. However, I just want to know why the employment documentation was not processed. I am surprised that even the employee did not opt for it. I strongly feel that your question is not framed completely.

Nice to get inputs from such intellectual people in my post. I would like to mention that the HR department has recently been set up in the company. That's the reason why initially the company did not follow proper processes for handling its employees.

Since one of the employees resigned lately and was asking for his dues without serving the notice period, this query came to my mind. Though we have waived off his notice amount and have processed his Full and Final settlement.

I feel I have got the answer now. In the absence of signed Terms and Conditions, it will be difficult to deal with an employee, specifically at the time of separation.

It is a settled position of law that any privilege or condition imposed by law will prevail even if it has not been incorporated into the contract. Therefore, in my opinion, even if there is no appointment letter, the employee is bound to serve one month's notice to the employer before leaving the services, as per the law. Alternatively, the employer may deduct one month's salary in lieu of that if there is no notice.

Regards,
pkjain

Though it seems okay, let's consider a scenario where the appointment letter is not issued. In such a case, if the company deducts the notice amount when no notice has been served upon leaving the company, the employee may choose to approach the labor court. In this situation, the management might be questioned as to why appointment letters were not issued, potentially leading to a violation of the law. Consequently, the company could face appropriate punishment. Therefore, I believe it would be better to waive off the notice amount instead of risking such a situation before the court.