Notice To The Ex-employee For Deleting Company Data And E-mails

Sir,
I am HR Manager in the company, my ex-employee leave the job without any information . Moreover deleted all the data and e-mail of the company related his job. So kindly give effective advice how we take suitable legal actions and direct action with the employee besides this all secret data laying with them.

Dear Ms. Ashwanidruv,

Businesses these days run on internet genre, highly enhanced technology modes have developed and henceforth employers too have kept their safety background in terms of BACK_UP systems & "Information Technology FORM". This IT Form is somewhat seen in most of the BPO's given to joinees along with their appointment. Signing of the form impedes the employee from any malpractise or breach of such may lead to illegitimate issues.

Do you have a server specific IT system? Mostly, companies do have-- If YES, you may track down all the emails exchanged by this employee (stored in the server) for your citation -- From this you may clearly seek the unofficial mails done by the person [if any].

Does the appointment letter has any clause on IT or internet usage? YES you may then use this against the employee.

No track of finding employee misappropriation -- investigate his workplace, send him a show cause notice for absconding along with malfunctioning with company data seeking exigent explanation with a stipulated time for him to revert. A couple of notice with no reponse should prove to have a sneaking suspicion that the records have been distorted. Besides knowing the fact, you'd still like to proceed towards a legal procedure as directd by the management, pull off a legal representative.

Remember, DATA MANAGEMENT IS AN IMPORTANT ASSET TO COMPANY, it should be protected by the all means. Law enforcement should be made only if you have sufficient reason to believe the suspect is guilty in case of no material evidence.

Dear Ashwini,

There are two issues here viz. (a) abandonment of employment by the said employee and (b) destruction of sensitive information

Now for the first issue, based on the records of attendance, you can order domestic enquiry and give him chance to explain his position. If the explanation is not satisfactory then you may initiate disciplinary action against him. Possibly it could be termination.

For the second issue, we need to prove that it is "misconduct". Do you have certified and approved Standing Orders? Disposing off the company information without proper authorisation is "misconduct" however, we need to check how is it defined in your standing orders. You may order separate enquiry for this misconduct also. However, be clear that he was custodian of the "data" that you are mentioning. Who else had the access to this information? Do you have sufficient evidence to show that he only deleted the company data and no one else? "Maintenance of the proper records", was it part of his Job Description?

For second issue, if the company has incurred hefty losses then you may lodge a police complaint also. However, approach police with sufficient evidence.

How to Recover Permanently Deleted Data? I am giving this information from my general knowledge. If you "delete" any file, you can restore it from "Recycle Bin". However, if you hit "Shift + Del" then you cannot recover it. However, it is possible to recover the file. This is because, all that computer or laptop does is to deny access to the file though remains on the hard disc. As long as new data is not stored exactly where this deleted file is, it remains at the same place. To restore the "permanently deleted" file, you download free software called "Power Data Recovery". You may click here to download this software. I have used this software to recover the files. In case if you are not satisfied with this software then you may click here and download other freewares.

Ok...

Dinesh V Divekar

Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.

Hi folks,
one of our resigned employee deleted all the official files & mails from company laptop. We have not ye done the Final settlement to this employee & our Management had decided to take some action on him but before that i just want the explanation form that employee for deleting the official data. How can i approach him through mail please advise.
Thanks & regards,
Pavithra

Dear Pavithra,
Two issues arise from your post. First one is whether the employee in question was issued proper letter stating that he is responsible for the protection and handover of the data that under his custody while separation from the company. Second issue is when employee handed over the laptop, why check was not done whether he has handed over the company property that was under his possession (in your case soft data is company property). If the separating employee was casual and did not follow the proper procedure of handing/taking over, so was the employee who took over from him.
In fact when the employee submitted letter of resignation, while replying to this letter, did anyone issue instructions on handing and taking over process? If yes, then was it through written communication? In many companies this procedure is enumerated in the letter that conveys acceptance of resignation. Did you do that?
There are employees who out of malice resort to this kind of recklessness. However, to protect the interest of the company, HR properly frames two important policies, one on handing/taking over procedure and another on process of separation. Sans these policies or non-communication of these policies result into the issues that you are facing now.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar