Terminated for Punctuality Issues: Can You Still Get Your Final Paycheck?

My query is if any employee is terminated from a company with the reason as Irregularities in punctuality & negligence of duty from your side is he eligible to get FNF....as per the company hr \"its a clear case of termination based on integrity which doesn't allow us to pay your December's salary.

The employee is eligible for the Full and Final Settlement in this case. He has not done anything illegal; you are terminating him based on irregularities. He is eligible for FNF.

Regards,
Upasana

An employee on termination, regardless of the manner in which the termination was brought about, is entitled to a full and final settlement. He is entitled to his salary because he earned it by performing the work assigned to him. If any financial loss is caused by his conduct, then due procedure recognized under law needs to be followed to recover it.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai

Thanks to all for the response. I had raised this query as one of my family members is facing this issue.

Emails Received from HR Regarding FNF Concerns

Below are the emails received from HR when further negotiating the FNF concerns:

1) This is how an employee was terminated from the firm.

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Sent: Thursday, 27 December 2012 1:05 PM
Subject: Termination Of Services

Dear [Name],

This is to inform you that you were appointed as "Technical Associate" in the "Professional Services Department" with our company on 18th July, 2012. However, due to irregularities in punctuality and negligence of duty from your side, management has decided to cease your agreement of service with effect from 26th December, 2012. Your services are terminated with immediate effect.

Thanks & Regards,
HR Executive

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2) After waiting for almost 3 months and following up with HR on the phone, below is the reply.

Sent: Tuesday, 2 April 2013 12:41 PM
Subject: RE: Termination Of Services

Dear [Name],

I have gone through the mail below, and it's a clear case of termination based on integrity, which doesn't allow us to pay your December's salary.

Thanks & Regards,
Manager-Human Resource

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3) Now they said they might pay, but no fixed date has been provided. Already, it's been 3 months, and nothing has turned up from their end.

Sent: Friday, 5 April 2013 11:32 AM
Subject: RE: FNF

Dear [Name],

I am trying my best to release your salary. Let me confirm back to you, please.

Thanks & Regards,
Manager-Human Resource

My query was: Can you help in writing an email or suggest any other way of proceeding ahead with the same?

Regards,
Neha

Understanding Employee Termination and Dues

Irregularities in punctuality and negligence of duty don't mean the employee was absconded and was not employed. In simple words, from the date of joining until the date of termination, he/she was an employee and deserves all respective dues even after termination. However, irregularities in punctuality and negligence of duty are not acceptable at any cost and justify the action taken by the employer. The time he/she has worked for the organization will be compensated in the form of Full & Final settlement, and the employee will be able to receive the EPF deducted amount from the salary.

Queries and Communication

#1 The information and termination procedure due to irregularities in punctuality and negligence of duty is a deserving action that you and the employee also understand, I believe, and acknowledge the same.

#2 The statement given by the HR Manager is not acceptable on professional terms unless it is included under the terms of the employment letter and permits specification or reasoning. If the statement and reason presented by the HR Manager fall under the terms and conditions of employment, the employee will not be able to receive the salary except for the deducted EPF.

#3 Communications with HR/Employer and their reply clearly indicate that they will not deny payment. This may be because they realize they cannot go against statutory/employment terms, which they are bound to obey. However, they have a reason for delaying this matter.

Solution and Recommendations

The solution to this problem is that the employee must approach HR/Employer and request to receive his/her Full & Final settlement. By requesting humbly, the employee can receive the settlement timely; otherwise, delays in responses are to be expected due to the loss incurred by the unprofessional act of the employee.

Apart from this, I would like to emphasize that employees must understand the expectations and needs of employers and their work responsibilities. Negligence and such punishable acts can cause delays and can adversely affect one's career in many ways. Additionally, people must not jeopardize their career by engaging in unprofessional acts.

Regards,

Termination Based on Irregularity and Negligence

If the termination is based on irregularity in punctuality and negligence of duty, which is a clause of the terms and conditions of the employment agreement, then the termination is justified; otherwise, it is illegal.

If he had worked in December 2012 as stipulated in the Terms of Employment without violating any clauses, then he is entitled to the salary for December 2012.

Without disclosing the terms of employment and what the real issue was, you cannot expect a better reply.

There is no denying the fact that each and every employee is entitled to a full and final settlement upon termination of service. The amount will vary according to the parameters of the corporation, corporate, or company and the degree of the allegations leveled against the employee.

First of all, I would like to thank you all for the valuable advice you are sharing on this common platform. It has helped me a lot and given me the confidence to put my question in front of you. I am an HR manager in an IT company in Chandigarh.

Issue with Developers on Leave

My query is the same. Two of our developers have been on leave, giving false pretexts. We came to know from our sources that they have joined some XYZ company without resigning here. The most important fact is that they are working on a very important project. Our company has suffered a huge loss because of their immature behavior. Now, the company head does not want me to transfer their salaries. I have somehow managed to make them agree to receive only 15 days' worth of salary.

Please let me know if this decision is the right course of action.

Regards,
HR

The information provided by you is not sufficient to draw any conclusion. However, regarding communication, it is advisable that you communicate with the employer or HR using Registered Post AD only.

Regards,
Abubakar

Employment Clause and Employee Conduct Inquiry

Did you have any clause in the terms of appointment that the employees, during the course of their employment with your organization, shall not take up any other employment, whether part-time or full-time? Do you have evidence that the said employees were employed in another organization without resigning from your organization? If so, have you sent them any show-cause notice? When they were on leave on false grounds and when you were aware that at the same time they were working elsewhere, on what grounds have you paid them 15 days' salary? Please go through carefully the terms and conditions of the offer of employment to those two employees and then come back.

HR Manager's Dilemma in IT Company

First of all, I would like to thank you all for the valuable advice you are sharing on this common platform. It helped me a lot and gave me the sense to put my question in front of you. I am an HR manager in an IT company in Chandigarh. My query is foremost the same. Two of our developers have been on leave giving false pretexts. We came to know from our sources that they have joined some XYZ company. They did not resign here. And the most important fact is that they are working on a very important project.

Our company has suffered a huge loss because of their immature behavior. Now the company head does not want me to transfer their salaries. I somehow managed to make them agree on 15 days' salaries for them. Please let me know if the decision is right.

Regards,
HR

Professional Handling of Employee Misconduct

First of all, I would like to thank you all for the valuable advice you are sharing on this common platform. It has helped me a lot and given me the confidence to put my question in front of you. I am an HR manager in an IT company in Chandigarh. My query is the same. Two of our developers have been on leave giving false pretexts. We came to know from our sources that they have joined some XYZ company without resigning here. The most important fact is that they are working on a very important project.

Our company has suffered a huge loss because of their immature behavior. Now, the company head does not want me to transfer their salaries, but I somehow managed to make them agree on 15 days' salaries for them. Please let me know if the decision is right.

Steps to Address Employee Misconduct

In addition to what Mr. Kutty said, I would suggest you to please be professional and issue them a warning letter, which is a procedure that we adopt in these kinds of cases. A warning letter should ask them to return to work (the format can be obtained by using the search option), but never advise them to resign or do any favors for them.

Secondly, you are a responsible person for the HR department and a professional manager who has to maintain the system and set examples for others. Therefore, you should not defy the orders of your bosses or object, and you must not have convinced your boss to pay for 15 days' salary to the employees you are talking about.

Thirdly, if you do not have proof of their second employment, you must not claim it yourself or believe the sources too easily that they are employed elsewhere and have presented false reasons for their absence/leave to you (HR Dept./Employer). Instead, you can adopt the procedure to verify this information of their SECOND EMPLOYMENT. If you find this information correct, you have the right to take actions against the employees according to the respective terms and conditions of the appointment letter and can withhold the full salary until they report back to you or respond to the warning letter.

Immediate Actions and Legal Considerations

Issuing them a warning letter should be the first step that you need to take on an immediate basis. Subsequently, you need to withhold all their dues/salary until you get their response. If you receive no response from them, you can terminate them by following the procedure (issuing the termination letter by stating the reasons) and can seek legal help if needed. Your company is bearing a huge loss because of them, but you also have to remember that you need to prove before taking actions that these two employees are the reasons for the losses the company is facing and how?

Regards

I believe the situation is as follows: Your relative served in the company during the month of December. Subsequently, a family member joined a new company in January without providing the required notice period to the previous employer. Due to irregularities in attendance for several months, the company issued a termination letter, is that correct? Now, your relative is requesting the salary for the month of December. Please correct me if my understanding is incorrect.

Thank you,

Regards,
Ashish Thakkar

In simple words, I can say that if any person worked for a period (whatever it may be), it is binding on the employer to provide them with payment up to the final resignation or termination date. It is the employee's right. The employer has to give prior intimation to conduct according to the company's rules or be ready for termination. If an employee's behavior doesn't change, the employer can easily terminate them on this ground, but they have to pay until the last day of work.

Do all your communication by registered AD post and keep all these records for the future.

Regards,
Anjani Singh

Termination and Legal Implications

This termination appears to be illegal, and the HR Department has not advised the course of action correctly. A Technical Associate can fall under the definition of a workman under the ID Act, and this person can raise a dispute and demand reinstatement. Management will then realize their mistake and try to settle properly. I always advise simple termination rather than giving reasons. If Management provides reasons as given here, it amounts to disciplinary action, and a proper inquiry should have been conducted. Your relative can raise a dispute or send a legal notice claiming compensation for illegal termination, and the Company's advocates will give correct advice.

Proving Employment Elsewhere

Proving that the persons are working elsewhere is very tough. If you can prove it, then you can terminate and even state that you would not pay the salary. However, if a person has worked for a certain number of days, a final settlement form needs to be prepared showing the balance payable by the Company, and you can levy a fine for the same amount. You cannot have two punishments, and I would just levy a fine. The process will make the people resign on their own. Alternatively, if the employees have not reported for work and a certain amount is payable to them as full and final settlement, in this particular incident, I would ask them to claim legally. If they have gone and worked somewhere without informing the management, you need not feel bad for being tough.

In this case, the person is eligible for their FNF. If the employer does not provide payment, contact the labor court for assistance. They will help you with the payment.

Regards,
Vivek