Unfair Termination Without Notice: Seeking Advice on Handling Sudden Job Loss

Dear Seniors,

I was working in a Singapore-based IT company located in Bangalore for 4 years (26-05-2008 to 30-11-2011) as Admin - Operations. However, all of a sudden, I received a "Termination Letter" by email at 5:30 pm on 29th Nov 2011 (I was in the office), stating that I have been terminated from the service due to "Downsizing." I worked diligently, often beyond regular hours, as there was a time difference with the HO in Singapore. Even on holidays, I used to work from home using my personal laptop and data card. Despite my commitment and punctuality, the management terminated me without showing any humanity.

There was no prior reminder, notice, or one-month salary provided. Among 10 employees, I was the most senior one, yet I was the only one terminated, which seems unfair considering that for downsizing, the principle of 'last come, first goes' should apply. However, this was not the case in my situation.

I kindly request your advice on the matter as I have already filed a case in LAB.

Thank you.

It is unfortunate, and I think your company has started layoffs. When the business is not running successfully, investors may not be in a position to retain staff just because they were sincere, hardworking, and contributed a lot to the firm. Certainly, this can be a very difficult situation for an employee who has been passionate about working with the company (definitely investors also would be losing wealth, business value, etc.), and at the same time, this is a harsh reality.

"Last come, first goes" manner cannot be questioned in any court of law as it is only a practice followed by some companies under certain circumstances and not always.

Normally, companies pay notice periods (as per employment terms and conditions) and pending benefits when the employer ends service. I think in your case also, this may happen if the company is not in a severe debt trap.

My suggestion is to try to get relieving and service papers from the company and better not to get into a legal battle with the firm. In addition to this, try to do some of the following steps (courtesy of siliconindia blogs):

1. First of all, relax...drink a lot of water, be with relatives, kids, or friends.

2. Accept the layoff as a reality and don't tell lies to cover it.

3. Repeatedly reinforce that your current job is not the end of your career.

4. Don't stop networking with colleagues, friends, and relatives.

5. Perform a SWOT analysis (just forget about appraisal by the company), do it with 100% accuracy.

6. Do a job market analysis (check career sites, company websites, social networking sites, etc.) and learn whether job opportunities are reporting for your profile. Also, you can check with reputed manpower consultants.

7. If you have reliable information that job opportunities are there, stick to your current profile and may stick to usual job search. If job opportunities are less, either plan for non-conventional job search (like checking company websites and blind shooting your resume, try to speak to company HR contacts randomly and inquire about opportunities, focus on alternate locations, etc.).

8. Learn the current trends, and additional skills for the job (if you are lacking some skills, try to acquire them quickly), build tons of confidence (think positive, avoid people who spread negativity, read success stories, practice yoga, and be spiritual).

9. Another option is to switch your profile [requires so much effort, perseverance, confidence, sometimes investment too because you may need to do a refresher or learn a tool, get a certification].

10. Enhance your resume (invest a good amount of quality time, be truthful), do it yourself or get free/paid assistance.

11. Try to perform self-interview sessions (record it with your digital camera or record audio and check it yourself, ask your friends to hear it and request them to evaluate).

12. Track your debt - Loan EMIs, Credit card payments, Insurance payments, and prioritize payments and also ensure an alternative source to fill the GAP.

13. Alternatively, if you are confident that you can start and run your own venture successfully, plan for that [the pain of layoff may make you ambitious to create jobs for many].

May God bless you and wishing you the very best!