Is It Legal to Include Threatening Language in a Warning Letter for an Absconding Employee?

Hi, recently I drafted a warning letter for one of my employees who was absconding. Later, it was edited by my boss, and the following was added:

"Failure to report to our office in 2 days and we will report to the police on account of all the loss the company has encountered because of your absconding from our office and leaving unfinished work, which has adversely affected the relationship with our client, for which he may refrain from giving us any more future projects. Legal action will be taken against you, and a case might be filed for all the loss the company is suffering for now and future prospects with our client due to this act. Moreover, we will also send all the gaming companies a notice on account of your behavior, explaining to them about you continuously lying to us and absconding from here."

I believe that this statement should not have been mentioned in this manner, as it comes across as threatening. Can someone tell me if this is legal to mention in a warning letter? Also, as I want to.

Firstly, I would like to understand the reason for absconding. Though the above statements are unethical, provided the employee did not do anything seriously wrong to the organization willfully, there is nothing as lawful. Let us know the scenario so as to advise accordingly.

I agree with Loretta Rebello; the language is too harsh and should not be used like this.

Absconding and Warning Letters

In the case of absconding, a warning letter must convey a message and warning of losing employment but should not be in the form of a threat to an employee. The most important thing, Loretta Rebello, is to be very careful on your end. See the changes in your drafted letter made by your boss, which implies you can't overrule but can discuss and ask for his advice on a matter that won't affect you directly but sends a message. Also, if you have good terms with your boss and feel you can deliver your message to him without expecting any negative effect or reaction to your action, you must speak to your boss. However, if you do not feel comfortable, you must not go against this.

Absconding is not acceptable, and I agree that the employer has to take some good actions to tackle things and should convey a message to all employees so that others won't try and act unprofessionally. However, the employer has no right to use language that does not stand on professional terms itself.

Approaching the Employee

Second, your kindness in this matter is appreciated, and on professional terms, the best solution for your problem is trying to reach this employee telepathically or by using a reference or any friend/employee. Deliver a message that a warning letter is going to be issued and serious action can be taken against him, but without using words like those advised by your boss.

Lastly, you have to keep in mind that you cannot overrule your boss, or if you are not on terms that allow you to express yourself in this matter, DO NOT OBJECT.

It seems you left something to say, so please complete your query...

I'm an entrepreneur and I have had a couple of employees who absconded. Since our company is small, there was no backup for these employees. Due to this, we suffered a lot and actually lost a few customers who never came back to us. I fully understand the boss's point of view.

Just as employers can't fire anybody without giving a notice period or notice pay, employees do not have the right to abscond for reasons of low pay, work dislike, or better opportunities elsewhere.

Proposal for Employee Abscondment Tracking

I think there should be a website where all such employees should be mentioned based on their ID proofs so that future employers can check and avoid them.

Regards,
K Shah, Mumbai

I completely understand the implications of an employee absconding from a job, especially in a small organization where the employer may not have a backup. However, I do not agree with Mr. Shah as he is only looking at one side of the coin. We also need to understand the reasons for the employee absconding.

Being an HR professional, I have come across many employees absconding from their jobs in my career, and to be very honest, I also used to be very stringent with the employee in situations like this. Thanks to one of the posts I came across online, which made me understand the role and importance of human resources. Probably that is why any company would require a human resources department.

This department should educate the employees and let them understand the results of such acts. Human Resources also needs to take precautionary measures to avoid people absconding from their jobs.

With my current employer, in the past 6 months out of 30+ people (absconded and resigned), there were only 2 people who have absconded, and out of them, one person had a genuine reason.

Seniors can correct me if my views are wrong...

Thank you for your comments and contributions. I've spoken to my boss about this point, but as he is truly upset, he is not going to change his mind. This employee has seen the company grow from 5 to 30, yet this is the way he left. Apart from this, the employee who left has cost us dearly in terms of money, loss of clients due to him not completing his projects on time, incomplete projects, and joining another company which happens to be our client, hence making a fool of us. The most shocking part is that he has joined without a relieving or experience letter, and I wonder how!

My boss has also taken advice from some advocates about recovering losses incurred due to this employee from this employee. The losses are immense, in terms of losing our big clients and delay in the delivery of projects which are crucial to us as we are a growing company.

I really don't know where this is going to end, but the end doesn't seem too good for this employee.

Communicating Consequences to the Team

I would like to know how we can communicate to the entire team of 30 employees about the consequences of being absconding and many other issues that we are facing as a small company.

Seeking Suggestions for Positive Change

As I am the only HR in the company and I am not trained to handle these issues (I am only trained in Recruitment), I would like some suggestions on how to change the mentality of the team and bring in some positive energy and motivation.

I am looking forward to starting some sessions to promote self-motivation and good relations in the company. Can anyone guide as to where I can seek help for the same?

Thanks,

Loretta Rebello

I understand your predicament. I agree with the opinion of Dikshit.tgs and others.

Unfair Blame and Legal Action

About the paragraph added by your boss, despite his emotional state, it is entirely unfair to put the blame on the person who absconded. Taking legal action for the losses does not hold water. For one, if the employee was so valuable, what was his designation, salary, and other compensation? Do these justify the role he was performing? I am certain that despite such responsibilities that can cause such a huge loss to the company, he must have been exploited and paid peanuts. He helped the company grow from 5 to 30, yet he must not have been rewarded adequately. What else can be the reason for his leaving like this?

Need for Internal Reflection

It is advisable to do some soul-searching. Attempting to make him responsible for the losses (some of which may be entirely hypothetical) would only project the ridiculous way the company has been functioning. Why was he not made the Director (or promoted to some senior position) if he was so responsible for the existence and profits of the company? This has happened only because that person was saddled with much more work than he could handle, and there was no backup or support available to him. Had it not been the case, the company would not have been hit so hard due to his absence.

Pardon me for the contrarian opinion, but I feel the employee had no other choice left but to leave without any notice. Under the circumstances, as cited by you, one does not think his notice of resignation would have been accepted, considering that the company is so vulnerable due to his absence.

Future Recommendations

It would be in the best interest of the company if, instead of pursuing this matter, which is not at all worthwhile, the company pursues a policy of HRD and developing its employees to an extent that "no one becomes indispensable." It will also result in lesser attrition.

Warm regards.

Dear Mr. Raj Kumar,

I clearly did not mention this employee being the only person to have brought the company up to this level. It has taken the efforts of the entire team for this company to stand where it is now. He has had a contribution as a part and not entirely. We offered him a team handling position and with that an incremented amount which would, as with all, have been negotiable. We never forced anyone in this company to do work that is beyond their capacity. Because if we were so, we wouldn't grow in the first place.

In fact, we had a number of issues with the employee regarding his indiscipline, regarding not coming on time to work, taking excessive leaves and half-days, etc. But we always kept an open mind, warned him, and still motivated him to work hard, as we considered his talent above his mannerisms. Even though he was talented, he couldn't give proper timelines for deliveries and always delayed every project delivery. I understand the content of the letter was rude, but I'm glad it's not illegal.

And Mr. Raj Kumar, you make our company come across as some kind of slave-run operation. While we are just the opposite.

Nevermind. I would like to inform you that we had accepted his resignation, but wanted him to follow the company policy of completion of a 45-day notice period, which he did not do. Also, he left the project midway without a proper handover, and he purposely created bugs in the application he was developing and put us into a mess before leaving, deleting all research material which is company property. What more can I say.

But I still take a stand for my boss as I can truly understand as a human being when all the training you put into an individual to convert him from a fresher to a proper developer, and he ditches you in a manner that puts you to such a loss of image, you are bound to let human emotions override you.

I was hoping for a more positive outlook from this forum on how to handle this situation. Still keeping my hopes alive.

Thanks,

Loretta

As mentioned by you about educating employees and letting them understand the consequences of being absconding, could you suggest ways on how I can go about doing this? I really agree with your point. My knowledge in this field is limited as I am just beginning, but I am willing to go all the way. I would really appreciate your help on this.

Thank you.

To address this issue, I would suggest calling up the employee to help him understand the situation and invite him for a discussion with the management. Negotiate the notice period, consider his resignation, and get the pending work done. If the employee is unable to come, allow him to complete the task at his convenience, even from home. Meanwhile, you can try to find another resource for his replacement. Hope this works out.

Whatever may be the reason, the employee should have followed the proper procedures of resignation and relieving. Calling him now for negotiation and asking him to complete the pending job is of no use. Even if one forces the employee to come back for the notice period, he may not work properly. You can lead the horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.

I understand your boss's feelings, and the probable reason for adding a little harsh language could be to teach him a lesson and make others understand the consequences of leaving without information. The motive may be to prevent future losses rather than to gain anything from the present case.

Regards,
K. Ravikanth

I am not absconding; I have resigned properly from work, completed the tasks assigned to me, and handed them over to the project coordinator and other related employees.

Appointment Letter Clause

As per clause 7 of the appointment letter, I was never confirmed as a permanent employee, despite my repeated requests. Please review the appointment letter and refrain from harassing me or causing mental stress to me and my family.

Work Commitment and Contributions

I worked tirelessly in your organization, even on weekends and public holidays, under immense work pressure without complaints. I diligently followed instructions and strived to perform to the best of my abilities. Despite never receiving any training from your organization, I independently acquired the necessary skills and knowledge, which I then contributed to the organization in exchange for compensation.

Recognition and Role Clarification

I appreciate being recognized as a team leader, even though I never held that position officially or managed any staff during my tenure with the organization.

Financial Losses and Responsibility

Regarding the alleged financial losses due to my resignation, I was only a junior mobile developer among 30 employees. Surely, the organization can easily redistribute my responsibilities to other qualified developers without incurring significant losses.

Work and Research Materials

I want to clarify that all my work and research materials are saved on the organization's computer and server, which are accessible to higher authorities within the company. Any accusations of deleting work are unfounded.

Intention to Maintain Positive Relations

Despite my intention to maintain a positive relationship with the organization after resigning and offer assistance with my expertise, the receipt of a warning letter suggests otherwise.

I hereby conclude our communication. Best wishes for your future endeavors.

Thank you.

Hello to All,

Well, after numerous suggestions and lengthy discussions, we can finally see many developments and interesting aspects in the case due to the direct response by the employee we are discussing here and the case related to him as presented by Loretta Rebello.

Reply No. 13, by Anonymous (Employee) directly to Loretta Rebello, says a lot and should be sufficient to draw a conclusion, in my opinion. Therefore, I request all of you to consider the points he has presented before further expressing your thoughts on this matter.

Secondly, I would like Loretta Rebello to respond first so that other members who have participated can assist both of you in reaching a satisfactory resolution.

Thank you.

It's good to read about your response. I also appreciate that you have now realized that there are two sides to a coin, and the other side may be more significant. This experience has helped you grow as an HR professional and understand the issues, being more sensitive to the employees who are the weaker party in confrontational situations. In a demand-supply scenario that favors the employer, giving them the liberty to pick, choose, and dismiss employees, an employee cannot even dream of choosing the terms and conditions of their employment, which are always set by the employer. They are bound/forced to follow them, whereas employers are notorious for flouting even the Acts and statutes of the State with impunity.

I appreciate your views and the lessons learned from this issue.

Warm regards.