Navigating Termination Without Notice Period: Understanding Legal Implications and Employee Rights

Dear Sir/Madam,

I joined an events company as a project executive on 28th January 2013. The appointment letter shows 1st February, though. After working for the entire month of February, I was terminated yesterday, 4th March 2013, for not being able to bring business to the company within this month (we had a monthly target of 500,000). The termination email also mentioned that they would withhold my salary, which is payable on the 7th of every month.

My question to you is, are they liable to do such a thing after making me work for the entire month without providing me with prior notice? I must mention here that my prospect list was taken away under the pretext of helping me out with it and given to someone more experienced.

Thank you.

Dear Ankita Mam,

Thank you for your quick reply. I am an MBA fresher. This was my first job. My fixed salary was 16,500 + incentive. They justified giving the joining date on 1st Feb by stating that in the previous dates, they were providing us training, so we should pay them instead.

My appointment letter states:
A) Your appointment with us can be terminated by you after confirmation on giving two months' notice or by forfeiting your two-month salary.
B) Your appointment can be terminated by us at any time without any prior notice if your work is not found satisfactory, and the company reserves the right to either withhold or not withhold your salary.

What is bothering me the most is that they took away my prospect list under the pretext of helping me with it. Can I at least ask them to pay me my salary?

Dear Ankita Mam,

They terminated me over email. Let me copy and paste the content for you. The reason given was for not being able to bring in business for the company. I am unsure about what an F&F is, honestly. Yes, Mam, I worked here from 28th Feb to 04th March 2013.

Dear Ekta,

This is to inform you that you have been terminated from your job as your work was not found satisfactory, and you have not produced results. The company reserves the right to withhold your salary as you have not even brought in a single business deal.

Please hand over all the data, documents, and visiting cards entrusted to you to Mr. Hemant.

Renit Daniel
+91 98400 93858

[QUOTE=ektachakraborty;2033813]Dear Sir/Madam,

I joined an events company as a project executive on 28th January 2013. The appointment letter shows 1st February, though. After working for the complete month of February, I was terminated yesterday, 4th March 2013, for not being able to bring business to the company within this month (we had a monthly target of 500,000). The termination mail also stated that they will withhold my salary, which is payable on the 7th of every month.

My question to you is, are they liable to do such a thing after making me work for the entire month without providing me with a prior notice? I must mention here that my prospect list was taken away on the pretext of helping me out with it and given to someone more experienced.

Dear ektachakraborty,

According to labor law, employers cannot withhold anyone's salary. You need to approach the Conciliation Officers, Labor Commissioner of your jurisdiction for your salary issue; it is your right. Nobody can hold your salary. Just ask for clarification as to why your salary is being withheld by the company. Ask for a show cause notice and submit a fresh grievance letter to the Labor Commissioner attaching the reply to the show cause notice from your company for the reason for withholding salary. You are entitled to your salary, not for the incentives.

Thank you.
Regards,
Kannan Thevar. S

F&F = Full And Final Settlement...

The company has no right to withhold your salary, and you have every right to have it even if you are terminated for your own mistake or misconduct unless you have not caused any damage or loss to the company.

Thank you, Kannan Sir, "Jibinkpious," and Ankita mam, for your time and the valuable information that Google could not have provided me. Please provide me with any other relevant information that you think might help me.

Hi,

Out of curiosity, were the prospect lists that were given to someone else generated by you, or were they given by the company? Did you keep the company informed of what you were doing each day and what the status was of each contact or prospect you processed? Or was the company completely in the dark until the last day? Were you the only person recruited, or were there others? What has been the success or otherwise of the others? Were you the only one terminated?

Our company is new in Delhi. We were not given any database, so I started making a database of my own and kept a follow-up. We also had to email a DSR (Daily Sales Report) to our senior every evening before leaving. We called them the prospect list, those who had a chance of becoming our clients or with whom we were keeping a constant follow-up, and the response seemed positive.

There are 5 of us who joined. One among us has also been able to bring some business. The rest are in a similar condition like me, though I was the first to receive the termination letter.

Dear Ekta,

I am sorry to hear about your travails and the lousy way the company treats its employees.

Some of the points that clearly emerge are:

- The company's standard is evident from the shoddy way they have framed their appointment letter and also the termination letter.

- The company never intended to pay any salary to Freshers and just wanted them to generate the leads for future business.

- From the lead generated by you, they can reduce their efforts and send their experienced sales staff to close the deals started by your efforts.

- They are aware that it always takes more than a month of sustained efforts to convert cold calls to sales closures. Thus, it's irrational to expect business in the first month itself.

- They have taken your list of prospects for this very reason. Hope you have a copy, which you can put to good use later (I'll elaborate later on the "how" of it).

What about others' (those who joined under similar situations) experiences?

The clauses in the appointment letter are arbitrary and unjustified. These will not stand the scrutiny of the Law and are meant only to deny the employees of their rightful salary.

Such companies go about such business, assured by the knowledge that no employee would go about fighting a legal battle and would be more busy with finding another job.

I hope you meet the Labour authorities of the area, put up a complaint, and pursue the matter further. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Please feel free to seek further guidance/assistance from our members for fighting this injustice.

Warm regards.

Having agreed to their 'termination clause', you may not be able to contest it; however, there is no reason why they should withhold your salary. I think employers should exhibit far higher ethics; leave alone what the law says. When the company hires a candidate, especially a fresher, the company knows it is taking a risk and there is always a cost associated with this. This cost has to be incurred by the company whether results are achieved or not.

Dear ektachakraborty,

To receive your salary, you must justify your attendance, muster, timesheet, or any other form of presence in the company to show that you are on duty. Request a reply regarding the hold on your salary. According to labor law, withholding salary is an unfair and illegal practice. Salary deductions can only occur if it can be proven that the employee has caused financial loss to the employer. I recommend addressing these points with the management. If they do not cooperate, consider taking legal action to recover your salary from the company.

Submit a fresh application or request letter to the labor commissioner in your jurisdiction.

Thank you.

Regards,
Kannan Thevar. S
(HR Administration)

Dear Ekta,

All seniors have rightly suggested methods to claim your salary.

There are certain SMBs who would do this either because they are ignorant of rules and regulations or they think employees are ignorant. I have faced a similar situation and have seen a few friends suffer too. Kindly ensure the following -

Kindly learn from the experience and question all such practices in the initial offering stage. Even on your joining date, it is up to you to sign the appointment letter. If the rules are not equalized and you feel it is unfair, you should talk about the same to the HR and seniors and get your doubts solved then and there.

Also, be thankful that you got to know the actual practices of your company as early as in 30-40 days. Weigh your pros and cons and accordingly move ahead. Please note that filing a complaint, as suggested by seniors, would not just help you claim the salary for the service you rendered for the said period but also ensure that they do not repeat such a thing with other employees.

Wish you luck :)

Mail sent by my Senior today:

Dear Ekta,

Please note that in the appointment order duly read and signed by you, Point No. 7 states, "Your appointment can be terminated by us at any time without any prior notice if your work is not found satisfactory, and the company reserves the right to withhold or not withhold your salary."

We have found your work unsatisfactory as you have not generated any revenue for the company since your appointment. Therefore, it is clear that we must withhold your salary due to your non-performance and failure to deliver for the company.

Please find attached a copy of the appointment order that you signed.

This is the mail Renit Daniel sent me today. Should I reply to him? Should I file an FIR against him? Should I file an RTI? Or should I visit the labour commissioner?

Hi Ekta,

Don't worry, go to the labor office and meet ACL or DCL, and explain the situation to them. They will ensure your salary is paid. The company may have rules like probation, confirmation, offer letter, appointment letter, etc., but all statutory entitlements will start from day 1 of your joining. Don't think too much; your salary is Rs. 16,500. You can approach the labor office if your salary is above Rs. 30,000; otherwise, you need to proceed through the court of law.

Chills,
Karthik

As I said, an agreement is valid only if both parties would gain something. Here, the clause is such that the gain is only to one party while the other suffers. Such agreements are not enforceable in the court of law. So just chill.

Have they mentioned any probationary period? If yes, they are to evaluate your performance at the end of the probationary period. If no, again to your advantage. Any new joiner (irrespective of fresher or experienced) is given a probationary period of 3-6 months wherein his or her work and skills are evaluated.

First, go to HR and ask the following questions -

1. What performance was expected from you in the very first month?
2. What is your probation period?
3. Take a printout of the email conversations which mention your termination and the reason for it.
4. Ask them to give you a proper termination letter - on the company's letterhead and mention the reason for termination & any clause that they have to mention.
5. Compare the reasons (there is a possibility they may change the reason on the formal termination letter)
a) If the same, proceed further.
b) If different, ask for your full and final settlement, i.e., salary. If that is denied, ask them to provide the same in writing and the reason for it.
6. Proceed to the labor office and file a complaint with a labor officer. You would need your appointment letter, your termination letter over email, and a termination letter on letterhead. Explain the whole matter. Let him guide you further and take necessary action under his guidance. As far as my knowledge goes, once you lodge a complaint with the labor office, they go to the company, and the company is answerable to them.

Relax. As mentioned, a one-sided clause in an agreement is null and void; you do not have to worry much.

All the best. :)

Dear All,

I received my salary just with a simple text message of going to the labor commission, but they paid it in cash, as they did to all the other existing employees. I signed a printout in which it was written that 'I have received my salary and have no further claims.'

Thank you for your support!

Hi Ekta,

Thanks for the feedback and congratulations! We are all happy that you fought for and got what was actually your right! Wish you the very best in your next assignment!

Warm regards.

Hello Ekta,

Now that all is well and settled with the guidance of CiteHR members, suggest learning from this experience. Like the saying goes: A mistake is a mistake until you realize it, correct it, and learn from it - then it's experience. Guess the next step would be to look for another job ASAP.

All the best.

Regards,
TS

Dear ektachakraborty,

To get your salary, you have to justify your attendance, muster, timesheet, or any other mode of being present or absent in the company, indicating whether you are on duty or not. You should then request confirmation from the company to release your salary. According to labor laws, holding an employee's salary is not a fair practice; it is illegal.

Salary deductions can only be made if it is proven that the employee has caused financial loss to the employer. I recommend discussing these points with the management, and if they do not respond, consider taking legal action to recover your salary from the company.

I advise you to prepare a new application or request letter to the labor commissioner in your jurisdiction.

Thank you.