Stuck in Notice Period: How Can I Secure My New Bank Job Offer Without Losing It?

Dear All, I have been working at TCS for the past 2.5 years, and my current project recently concluded. I was transferred to a new project on June 3, 2013. However, I received a job offer at a bank starting on July 1, 2013. Since I am not yet trained in my new role, I would like to pay my notice period and transition to the bank job. Unfortunately, my project manager is not allowing me to pay and insists that I serve the full 3-month notice period. Serving the full notice period would result in me losing the bank job offer. I have raised this issue with HR, and they are making efforts to facilitate my early release, but their decision is still uncertain. I am currently idle in the office, feeling anxious about the risk of losing the bank job. This situation is causing significant mental pressure.

Please assist me in resolving this matter.

Regards, Sara

If the terms of your employment (appointment letter) have a provision for a three-month notice, it will be voluntary on the part of the employer to accept the notice pay. You should have mentioned to the new employer that you need three months' time to join. Now, you can request the bank for an additional one month's time and can request the TCS manager that since you insist, you will manage to engage one more month with TCS.

Regards,
Shailesh Parikh
Vadodara, Gujarat
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Surely, I will ask the bank for additional days. However, I really don't know whether they will accept. I don't have any work in my current project since I joined the team one month ago. I also don't have system access or floor access in the building. I am sitting idly for 9 hours in the office without doing anything. I am ready to tender my notice because of the above reasons. I can't sit without having any work in the office in front of my co-workers.

Please help me resolve this issue.

Thanks,
Sara

Compliance with the 'Relieving Process'

Compliance with the 'Relieving Process' of an organization where you work must be kept in mind while accepting a new job. This will be my message to all youngsters working in any organization, big or small.

Two points to be remembered are:
(i) Your company can pursue legal action against you, and
(ii) You cannot think only of your benefits and growth in life; your company must always come first. If you follow this approach, you will always be successful in life.

Just projecting your problem on CiteHR and expecting others to provide solutions does not carry the requisite wisdom. Some may console you, while others may suggest approaches that are already known to you; you are gaining nothing. There may even be people to misguide you, who wangled out of similar situations themselves.

I shall advise you to make your own decisions, keeping the above realities in view. This is to enable you to live on your strengths, which you do have in plenty, but which you are denying to utilize.

I am always sincere to my company. Sometimes, situations may arise due to family circumstances. Since I don't have any work, I approached to pay my notice period. However, most of the time, organizations fail to understand their employees' situations.

Thank you,

Sara

When you leave your current organization, what will happen? They will ask for notice pay after a few months. If you are ready to pay the notice pay, then what's the problem? At the time of joining a new organization, inform them about the situation so that you do not have to face this problem in the future. Remember, all systems are designed to benefit employees, so make sure to use the system provided.

Thank you,
Regards,
Ashish

I have a few confusions that need clarity before giving any suggestion.

1. You mentioned that you got a bank job, for which you must have cleared a few exams, if I am not wrong. Therefore, you were aware of getting a job in advance.

2. The bank must have given you a time limit to join, which will not be less than a month. If so, you would have resigned earlier and given some notice instead of 3 months.

3. What is your Termination Clause/Notice Period Clause as per the Appointment Letter? Please let the forum know so that appropriate answers can be given accordingly.

4. You mentioned that you were supposed to join the bank on July 1, 2013, which means it was a fortnight ago and you have not joined to date. This indirectly indicates that the bank is willing to wait further.

5. You have not mentioned whether TCS has accepted your resignation or not.

Please clarify the above points so that I can suggest further steps.

If you need a 'finger', ask for a 'hand', and after negotiations, you will get the 'finger'. If you ask for the finger in the first place, then you will get nothing but empty speeches. Unfortunately, this is how the 'company management' works.

If you abscond and refuse to pay or serve for the period, then they would definitely settle for payment of 3 months. Management likes to see that the settlement is done from their side. If you try to settle from your side by suggesting to pay for 3 months' pay amount, it would not be accepted.

Morally, I do not appreciate Ashish's (Ashvan.2927) view, but practically, I completely agree with his response. If you are planning to resign from the job, be prepared to face these adversities and act accordingly, whether you feel it's right or wrong. Just throughout the process, keep your head cool and don't take this as a 'fight' against the employer. Consider it as a 'negotiation'.

Best Regards,
Amod.

Yes, I am aware but not sure about whether I will get the job because the bank will not announce their result immediately. I attended the interview in May, but I received the offer letter in July.

Yes, the bank has given me a one-month notice period. So, I resigned from my job on July 1st immediately after receiving the offer letter.

As per the appointment letter, I have to serve for three months, or I can pay my notice period, but for that, my production manager has to approve it.

No, the bank has given me time until August 1st.

TCS has accepted my resignation but is not allowing me to pay my notice period. If I serve my three months' notice period, then I will lose both my TCS job and the bank job. I am the sole breadwinner in my family. Next month, I am going to have my first baby. If I get the bank job, it will be useful for my whole family, and I can pay off my loans.

Hi Amod, if I were a single person, I could do whatever I want. In TCS, everyone knows my situation, and the HR team is trying their best to relieve me. Every day, they see that I am simply sitting in my chair the whole day without work and facing mental pressure. However, the manager is not ready to understand my situation and is not approving my request to pay the notice period.

Thanks,

Sara

What do you mean by saying that "NEXT MONTH I AM GOING TO HAVE MY FIRST BABY"? If that is the case, you should have been on maternity leave by now. Even if they relieve you, how can you join on August 1st, 2013? No organization will allow a person to join within 6 weeks of delivering a child. Generally, no new projects will be assigned when a female employee is in the advanced stage of pregnancy, and as long as your salary is not reduced, you cannot complain about it. Probably, there are more facts in this case than what you have highlighted so far.

You can't argue that you do not want to serve the notice period because you do not have work. It goes against your manager if he can't keep you occupied with work. Considering that you are going to have a baby next month (you are a lady, right? Sorry, I am writing this with a guess taken from your name), you can ask for early relieving based on a medical condition. Since you are ready to pay the notice period, your manager cannot deny this. This request would then go directly to HR, and your manager would not have any say in it.

Anyway, maybe an irrelevant question, but would you get maternity leave in the new bank job, so soon after joining?

Regards,
Amod.

Ok, I got misled with your ID. Talk to your people patiently. You will get help. TCS generally helps, and I do not think you should have any problem. You are now on 22nd July, and you want to be relieved by 31st July. You can raise a ticket and mark it urgent, and you would get a response within two days. Don't panic.

I agree with Mr. T. Sivasankaran that TCS, being a very reputed company, will not do any harm to their employees. As advised by Mr. Sivasankaran, talk to your HR and also send a letter of reminder with an urgent note; you will surely get a positive response. If, by any chance, you are not getting any help, then stop going to your office from August 1, 2013, and join the bank. The company cannot do any harm to you as you have given them enough time and are ready to pay the notice period. At the most, even if they file a suit against you, they can only recover the notice pay, which you are willing to pay.

Be positive and have patience; everything will be good. Your baby will bring his/her fortune, which will be very lucky for you, and all your problems will be resolved. So, concentrate on your work and avoid undue tension. Be assured that the seniors will certainly help you further if you require.

I think you should hopefully be relieved by the company as your HR is already trying to help you.

Considerations for Early Relieving

One important thing to consider is that supporting your early relieving is the fact that you recently completed a company project and were transferred to work on a new project that is currently in the initial stage. This means they could easily employ another employee/candidate in your place.

However, if the project is in a critical, mid, or final stage, then it will be harder to find a replacement for you. So, I would say you have a better chance of getting relieved earlier.

Company Policy on Notice Period

Also, companies have a policy that allows an employee to pay the salary amount to the company in case they are unwilling to serve the notice period. Similarly, the company must pay the salary if they choose to relieve an employee without giving any notice.

So, do not worry. Hopefully, you will be relieved by the company earlier. But in case of any problem, you can choose to pay the amount of salary to compensate for early relieving.

Regards,
Couvery