How Should We Handle an Employee Who Won't Return Company Property Without Salary Payment?

One of my employees was placed as an Executive in Marketing and resigned from the job on the 9th of March 2013 due to personal problems and other issues. We have not paid his salary because he did not answer our calls and did not perform well. The salary is usually paid on the 7th of every month.

Additionally, we provided him with a laptop, data card, and other items which he has not returned because he claims he has not received his salary. He insists on receiving his salary before returning the items.

Filing an FIR

Currently, my boss is requesting to file an FIR. Could you please inform me about the process for this? Do we need to send three registered posts to him for submitting the same?

Thank you.

Regards,

Dear Mr. Ashok,

You can take a "Disciplinary Action" against this employee. He is acting in a faux pas manner, and he is not aware of the dire consequences. There are a few questions which I'd like to know from your end:

- Has this employee been given an appointment letter?
- What is the Notice Period clause in it?
- Do you have copies of letters approved by the Management/HR, duly signed by both parties, stating that he has been allocated a laptop, data card, etc.? If not, even an email could suffice.
- What is his length of service?
- You mentioned that he resigned on 9th March; did he serve his notice period?
- Who approved his resignation?
- Have any emails been sent? Or has there been any attempt to send a show cause notice despite reminders to him?

Above and beyond my understanding, he has resigned but has he served the notice period? He disappeared with office property - how many times has your employer attempted to contact this person?

There are many missing links in your post; please provide clarity to help us understand the situation better and assist our site members. Thank you!

Thank you for your response. I would like to provide clarification on your question below.

We issued the appointment letter with a 30-day notice period. I possess a duplicate copy of the appointment letter, and we lack evidence of providing the laptop, etc. However, he mentioned in an email that he would submit all items upon receiving his salary, as stated in his resignation email.

He did not complete the notice period, and we have not received any formal acknowledgment of his resignation. Despite this, we instructed him to return the items. We have sent numerous emails reminding him to do so.

Please advise on how to proceed.

Thank you.

It is not out of sight that you've done the best of things in following up with the candidate. This means one of the lacking points is that you have not prepared the readiness of any company property handed to him (so, this was quite obvious). Let's say his salary is $10,000-$12,000, but the laptop costs $30,000, making it easier for anyone not to return it even if you don't pay the salary.

Now, send him a Show Cause Notice (for not submitting the company's possessions) through RPAD that should clearly state the taking of "Disciplinary Action" for being irresponsible in not attending the employer's calls and holding the belongings. Give him a deadline by which he should respond at the earliest. Lastly, clarify that he will have to face appalling consequences, such as legal notices, FIR, conciliation, for pilfering the Laptop, Datacard, and other materials that belong solely to the company and not serving the desired notice.

Consult the above procedure with your management. They would be best to decide after you present your thoughts to them on the matter.

Later, ensure the following is taken care of:

- Laptops or any materials are assigned to people based on levels to avoid such situations that waste the employer's time and damage the company's reputation.
- When furnishing any items of value to employees, ensure proper documentation.
- As HR, establish a firm rule regarding notice periods. If any employee decides to leave the company (depending on their level/position), initiate the handover procedures as early as possible to prevent such circumstances that may cause disarray for the employer.

Look forward to your response on the steps taken after discussing the matter with your management.

Regards.

In addition to what Ms. Sharmila mentioned, I would like to add the following:

Establishing a Gadget Issuance Policy

Please establish a clear policy regarding the issuance of laptops, data cards, mobile phones, and other gadgets. The policy should clearly outline:

- Who (designation & cadre) is eligible to receive these gadgets.
- The procedure for issuance.
- The expected lifetime of the gadgets.
- The process for returning them.
- The protocol for replacing gadgets upon expiration.
- The procedure for returning gadgets upon retirement, resignation, termination, etc.
- The protocol for handling damaged gadgets.
- The recovery process.
- The procedure for the disposal of returned gadgets.

Once your policies are well-defined, you won't need to worry excessively about such issues.

Regards,

Dear All,

Greetings of the day. One of my employees was placed as an Executive in Marketing and resigned from the job on the 9th of March 2013 due to personal problems and other issues. We have not paid his salary because he did not answer our calls and his performance was not satisfactory. The salary is usually paid on the 7th of every month.

Additionally, we provided him with a laptop, data card, and other items which he has not returned because he claims he has not received his salary. He insists on receiving his salary before returning the items.

Guidance on Filing an FIR

Now my boss is suggesting filing an FIR. I request you to guide me on the process. Is there a requirement to send three registered posts to him to submit the items?

Though you have received replies to your query, I am unable to think in one way. Either the information is not fully shared, or I am failing to understand.

Further Information Required

Whichever it is, kindly provide further information on the following as I am highly confused:

1. You mentioned he's a Marketing Executive who resigned on 9th March 2013.
2. He resigned for personal reasons.
3. He is not answering your calls. (Why are you calling him?)
4. He is not returning the laptop and other assets provided because you have not processed his salary.
5. Your salary processing day is the 7th of the month. (What point are you trying to make?)
6. Did he mention his last working day when he resigned on 9th March?
7. Is there a notice buyout scheme in your HR policy or appointment letter?
8. What is the tenure of the person's employment?
9. What is his monthly salary, and what dues are remaining?
10. Was he paid his salary for February?
11. Your boss suggested filing an FIR, but the necessity of this can only be analyzed with answers to the above questions. Have you communicated in writing for the return of the assets?

Initiate by sending warning letters and give a time period. Mention in the warning letter to hand over the assets by a specific date. Process the salary within a week after the handover. If he fails to comply, then legal actions can be taken.

Thank you.

I would be very grateful if someone could provide me with the required format for returning organization property such as laptops, SIM cards, mobile phones, uniforms, shoes, and visiting cards. I look forward to your assistance.

Thank you.

Please give him or anyone a graceful exit. Pay his dues and take back the assets. Tell your boss not to get hyper and file an FIR against any employee.

You seem to be confused. Let me clarify the following:

You mentioned that he resigned due to a personal problem, yet you also stated that his performance is not good. Additionally, he was not provided with a laptop, only a data card. It is unclear what type of data card it is—whether it is job-related or an attendance card.

Your boss instructed you to file an FIR but did not specify the grounds for doing so. Please ask him for clarification on the basis for filing the FIR against him.

While it is important to respect authority, it does not mean blindly following orders. It is essential to communicate with your boss to avoid misunderstandings that could lead to trouble in the future.

If you decide to go to the police to file the FIR, they will require specific grounds for issuing it. Typically, FIRs are filed by the Police Department for offenses such as theft, murder, rape, dowry, cheating, or other criminal reasons. However, in this situation, it is unclear how you can justify filing an FIR against this individual.

May God bless you and your boss.

It appears your boss is just making an issue out of nothing. You don't have a valid issue to file an FIR, and even if you go to the police station, the police will ask you to pay the salary and get back your things. I feel your boss is either not business-oriented or is a new person. Think of everything on compassionate grounds. You are well aware that the person has resigned due to some personal problem, and one thing is sure – the problem must be really serious. Maybe due to his problems, he could not attend your phone calls.

No doubt he has done wrong by not submitting the official items, but dear, why had you not paid the salary on the due date? It means your company is not a regular paymaster. It appears your company does not follow any procedures to safeguard its interests, forget about the interests of employees.

In this case, tell your boss that filing a case against this person may cost more than the dues of that employee, and then you will have to hire an advocate who will charge you handsomely. Finally, what will happen is the court will ask you to pay the salary of that employee. The court may take some serious views on your systems and can even impose a fine on the company for not paying salaries to workers on time.

So, if you wish to open a Pandora's box, just think of the consequences and take action. The best way out is instead of undergoing all this and putting the employee who is already in distress, just call him to the office to collect the dues and return the material and have a good night's sleep. For the future, just learn to do things professionally.

There are a few things in your first post initiating this discussion that contain inappropriate words, giving a wrong meaning to a reader.

1. You should have adopted some systems by which your office will have some documentation for whatever office materials one is taking out. I'm aware that even small items such as a pen drive or a floppy disk onwards are documented through a "Pass out," duly authorized by a designated officer and/or entered in a register. Security passes, and the receiver acknowledges having taken them out of the office. If so, these records should be handy to establish that a laptop, data card, etc., were issued to him. If nothing is available, it would be difficult to prove that these company properties were actually issued to him for company purposes and return to the company when done or on exit, whichever is earlier. He might as well argue as if they are issued permanently for his use and not meant to be returned. Where are the terms and conditions governing such transactions?

2. It's almost nearing one month since he resigned, and the one month's notice period is coming to a close. By 9th April, you have to decide about his resignation/relief. If you are not relieving him of his resignation, it would be construed that he is still on the roll and 'dies non' would arise. It also would be deemed that his resignation is accepted since you have not sent non-acceptance or acceptance of his resignation so far. No inquiry is initiated. You'll have no right to detain where no inquiry is ordered.

3. As some pointed out, unless you have a very strong case of theft of company property, it is very difficult to enforce an FIR, as the fact is that 'laptop, data card, mobile,' etc., were actually provided by your company to perform certain duties correctly. Not returning them is a different issue which can be easily linked to non-payment of salary and non-acceptance of the resignation letter, yet to be relieved. He may as well argue he continues to be your employee as his resignation has not yet been accepted.

4. Similarly, the delay in payment of salary itself could be adduced as a reason for resignation.

So filing an FIR could be a last resort, and a domestic inquiry cannot go side by side parallelly on the same charges.

If no other serious charges are with you against him, better settle it amicably on a 'give and take' basis.

Regards,
Kumar S.

Most of the members have expressed all relevant and important information regarding this issue. From my part, I am attaching a Handing Over Taking Over Form for your future reference. Let me know if you require any advice on policy development.

Regards,
Tofael