Navigating Employee Resignation: Can We Terminate for Absconding Without a Notice Buyout Policy?

I am a part of a software firm MNC headquartered in Maharashtra that has a notice period of 3 months. One of our employees resigned on the basis of personal reasons and mentioned his last day to be 10 days later. On the 14th day, he sent an email saying he cannot continue and left. He also mentioned that he did not have any pending handovers and company properties and asked to do his FNF by taking salary in lieu of the remaining notice.

We have sent him a show-cause notice two times, and he replied back saying that he has already resigned and wants us to relieve him. He stated that we are harassing him by forcing him to join back when he is ready to pay the notice pay. We do not have a notice buyout policy.

Questions Regarding Employee Termination

I want to terminate this employee to set an example but have a few questions:

1. What can he do legally in this case?
2. Can we terminate him on grounds of unauthorized absenteeism?

You have already issued him the two show-cause notices. Now, all you need to do is issue him a letter declaring that his name will be removed from the company rolls. However, his release will be due until he clears all his dues. Please mention the dates of the other letters issued to him and the fact that he didn't respond. Offer him 2-3 working days to revert upon receipt of the letter.

Hope that helps.

Regards

You have already issued him the two show-cause notices. Now all you need to do is issue him a letter declaring that his name will be removed from the company rolls. However, his release will be due until he clears all his dues. Please mention the dates of the other letters issued to him and the fact that he didn't respond. Offer him 2-3 working days to revert on the receipt of the letter.

However, he had actually replied to both the notices. Can we term it as if he didn't respond in the letter? And can he go legally against us for this false statement?

Thanks, (Cite Contribution)

My apologies, I missed the point that he had responded. Please mention that he needs to complete the formalities. Is there any reason why you cannot allow a buy-out?

Since he has already offered it from his side, you have little to hold on to. He has already declared the handover of company properties and all his duties. Hence, you are not left with any choices; please relieve him. Considering the notice pay might cut your losses.

You are combining two issues: unauthorized absence and resignation. Both need to be viewed independently. The submission of a letter of resignation does not give an employee a license to abscond. The terms and conditions of the employer-employee relationship are outlined in the appointment letter and are obligatory for both sides.

Recommendation for Handling Unauthorized Absence

I recommend conducting a domestic inquiry and then terminating the employee. Sending two show-cause notices is not sufficient for termination. If the absconding employee fails to appear before the inquiry, then your management can make an ex parte decision to terminate the employee.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

Understanding the Implications of Extended Notice Periods

Hello Vikram, (Cite Contribution) & Dinesh have given you valid and practical suggestions on how to handle the situation you mentioned. However, I would like to highlight the other side of the coin—so to say. Many IT companies, including yours as you mentioned, have enhanced the notice period from the typical one-month period to three months in the recent past—just to control attrition [at least that's the perception]. But I am not sure how many actually think of such a step becoming counter-productive—like it did in your case.

Realistically, does it really take three months for any company to complete the knowledge transfer or find a replacement? Except in senior and/or critical roles/levels, I don't think it should. If it indeed does, then there's something wrong with the setup in that company.

Does the company really expect the employee to give his/her best during those three months? Basic human psychology says he/she won't have the same level of commitment during the notice period. It would be this particular aspect that makes the individual counter-productive for the function and the organizational psyche as a whole.

Food for thought, I guess.

Regards,
TS

I differ a little bit on this matter. Have you conveyed your acceptance of the resignation to the employee and informed him of the relieving date, whereas the employee has given you his resignation and his last working day, thereby making his intentions clear? If not, then his resignation is sufficient, and thereafter, no action on the part of the management is called for. The notice period or notice pay in lieu of the notice period is sufficient.

I ask a question: if management dispenses with the services of an employee while giving notice pay, but the employee asks for service and not for pay (just for the sake of experience or a certificate), would you allow him?

When he is ready to pay the notice pay, there remains no question to answer. Thereafter, any action will not stand the scrutiny of the law. I understand there will be no misconduct in the Standing Orders or terms of appointment if any person left his job in the manner as explained above. When this is so, what is the purpose of a domestic enquiry?

Employee relations with the employer are to work for payment, and with resignation/termination, it stands broken. Thereafter, no relation remains, and no one can force the other to work, even for money. Your action to terminate to set an example is not positive thinking and will just create litigation for both parties.

Kindly don't take my opinion otherwise.

Thanks,

V. K. Gupta

Since the employee has resigned for personal reasons and indicated that their last day will be in 10 days, no action can be taken against the individual under unauthorized absence. If there are any handing over formalities remaining, then the course of action would have been different. The only option now is to wait until the completion of the notice period, accept the resignation, and settle the final dues before relieving the employee. There is no need for a domestic inquiry in this case. If the individual urgently requires a relieving order, they can approach the ACL/DCL for guidance. Sufficient proof is lacking for the termination of employment by the management. In fact, the individual has rightfully ended their employment by submitting their resignation.

Regards,
Eswararao Ivaturi.

It is not clear what action was taken on the resignation. Immediately upon receipt of the resignation letter, he should have been served a reply letter, either accepting or not accepting the resignation. Non-replying after receiving the resignation letter also amounts to acceptance of its contents. In the letter, he mentioned being relieved after 10 days. Hence, there is no question of absence arising if it was not indicated to him to serve a notice period. Moreover, as already pointed out by Mr. Tajsateesh, no useful purpose would be served when his mind is not on continuing. The issue of a show-cause notice and a domestic enquiry would arise when there was no communication from the employee.

Regards,
M. Venkatraghavan

Confusion Regarding Resignation and Notice Period

I am confused by Mr. Dinesh's reply a bit. First of all, Vikram was not clear whether he has replied to the resignation letter by the employee concerned. Whether he accepted it or not is not known. Dinesh, is it not possible for an employee to resign at all? Should he always abide by what his employer says? Is it not natural justice that he should take care of his welfare too?

Why can there not be a discussion of the notice period at all? That too when it is 3 months, which for me looks too long in any organization. Unless the organization initiates a discussion on these counts, how can they conduct a domestic inquiry, and how is this for natural justice? I do agree that a 10-day notice is too little, but the employee has offered notice pay. An employer cannot keep quiet on this first and then cry foul!

I am not able to put together the mistakes from the employee in this case! (Of course, I am trying to understand it only from the posts on this website.)

Dear Mr. Divakar Shetty and Mr. VK Gupta,

In my previous post, I stated in the very first sentence that resignation and abandonment of duties should not be conflated. Let employee separations occur in accordance with the policy. However, if the resigned employee simply abandons their duties, that constitutes misconduct and warrants investigation through a domestic inquiry followed by appropriate action as deemed suitable.

The Importance of Conducting Inquiries

Any termination without conducting an inquiry is legally unsound. While it may be challenging in practice, during my time in HR, I also did not conduct inquiries in every case. However, in the end, it posed a significant risk.

The advantage of an inquiry is that it creates documentary evidence. People may come and go, but tangible evidence remains. There is turnover even within the HR department. Who will recall past events? With proper documentation, handling any cases becomes more manageable.

Thanks,
Dinesh V Divekar

Firstly, we do not know if the 3-month notice period is justified as the tenure of service of the resigning employee is not mentioned. Secondly, we do not know if the company accepted the resignation or raised its objection to the 10-day short notice or if the company did not react to the resignation letter.

So as per my understanding:

Case A - You Accepted Resignation:

If you accepted the resignation by the employee, which stated he would be serving a notice period of 10 days, there is now no way that you can deny it and conduct an inquiry against the resigned employee.

Case B - You Objected to the Clause of 10 Days Short Notice:

If you have anything in written reply to the clause, great. The way you proceeded is fair. The person, however, mentioned he's resigning for a personal reason. Did you try to figure out the personal reason?

You mentioned that you sent him 2 show cause notices and he replied to both of them. In the next post, you asked (Cite Contribution) if you can issue another notice by ignoring his replies and assuming he never did, which is lawfully wrong. What were your notices to him and what did he reply to them?

Case C - You Didn't Act on His Resignation:

I think again here you are at fault. If a person has handed over his resignation and has stated he would be serving a notice period of 10 days, why didn't you react to it? Again, let me tell you, he just didn't remain absent after the completion of the notice period as was mentioned in his resignation letter; he came thereafter for 4 more days. On the 14th day, he messaged/mailed/informed you that he can't continue any further and will not come next day onwards to duty and is willing to have a notice period buyout. So he's not at 100% fault as he's mentioned that he would be unable to continue any further.

What is His Designation?

Why Do You Require Him to Stick Around and Complete the Whole Notice Period When He's Done All Handover or If There's Nothing to Handover?

I agree with the fact that rules are rules. But There's No Point Forcing Someone to Work for the Stipulated Amount of Time When the Person Is Not Interested. Even if he agrees by force or whatever, you may have him physically present at your office, but he may not be able to contribute as he's being forced into the service.

As an HR, one needs to realize what will be in the benefit of the company. The company will have to pay 2 months' pay to the person only for his physical presence even if he's practically not contributing much. Don't you think that's a loss?

Don't overfocus on the terms of employment. Don't micromanage. Have a broader look. Broaden and widen your frame of consideration.

Points to Consider When an Employee Resigns

1. Immediate discussion with the employee and their reporting manager is required for retaining the employee.
2. Respond to the employee within a day or two to confirm their relieving date based on the discussion held.
3. Obtain acceptance from the employee and reporting manager regarding the relieving date.
4. Inform the employee about the terms of employment separation that were outlined in the appointment letter.
5. Initiate the clearance process 2 or 3 days before their relieving date.

If the above set of processes is followed by HR, such situations can be handled extremely well within the company's policy and procedures.

Regards,
Bipin Acharya

I would like to further clarify that upon receipt of a resignation, it is our duty to inform the employee that their resignation has been accepted, and they will be relieved on a specified date. Once the resignation is accepted, the employee cannot withdraw it. However, before acceptance, they have the right to withdraw their resignation.

In my opinion, resignation is an amicable solution for separation, whereas termination is a forced solution for separation. An amicable solution is always better because courts also suggest compromise. Therefore, our first duty is to decide the fate of the resignation, and all other actions are required thereafter.

Regards,
V K Gupta

You can terminate; resigning is fine, but the employee has to serve the notice period. Ready to buy back the notice period is not an answer. The buyback of the notice period is optional, and the company may or may not accept it.

Regards,
Prashanth

Please understand one thing: if one tries to follow the rules very strictly, especially when dealing with humans, all you'd get is a bunch of employees who are not motivated to work but just come to the workplace to mark their presence and get their pay.

Increasingly, we need to realize that as an HR professional of the firm, the responsibility lies on the shoulders of HR to project the message to the entire team that we are here to listen to you, understand your problems, and try to solve them in a fair manner.

In this case, the person gave resignation stating his last working day would be so and so and he wants to avail the facility of notice buyout. If it didn't suit the company's policy, it would have been fairer if the HR communicated to the person within 2-3 days of the submission of resignation. There's no point in communicating this when he's so demoralized that he can't breathe in your premises.

As an HR professional, I believe one needs to introspect the situation in a fair manner and take into consideration both the employee's as well as the management's perspective and then make a fair decision. Don't impose things; rather, discuss and communicate possibilities. Don't misuse power; rather, empower the employees. The organization would otherwise collapse very badly.

Just a piece of suggestion and food for thought. Nothing personal. Hope it has not hurt anyone's sentiment. Apologies if it did.

Regards

I believe termination is too harsh a course of action for this issue. What example are you trying to set? That you must serve your notice period? When there is clear communication from the employee, how can you force action on him?

Before checking the legal validity of your employee's actions, the basic question to be asked here is, "Does your company really require him for the entire 3 months?" If the answer is YES, then finding options to retain him for the entire period on the grounds of KT, Project Budgeting (billing), Business Criticality, etc., makes sense and holds some value.

If you want to resolve this on legal grounds, your employee too will have points (I assume he must have done all this after taking legal or expert opinion --> responding to show-cause notices and communicating clearly during his resignation and later) in favor of him. This will eventually go nowhere.

In this case, I guess, the employee doesn't hold any value with respect to the Project as well as KT; otherwise, his resignation would have been rejected on the grounds of the last working day. Hence, personally, I suggest going away with it in an open and lenient way. As the employee is ready to pay for his pending notice period, it is a win-win situation for both parties. Rather than holding an unproductive employee (not blaming the employee here, but it is human nature during the notice period), it is good to release him. The more you are adamant and tough, the more he will react and spoil the atmosphere inside the Organization, be it directly or through his associates. Being lenient here will definitely help in stopping the spoil-show and negative propaganda inside the Organization.

Regards,
Kishore

Employee Separation: A Crucial HR Function

Employee separation is one of the very important and crucial functions/processes of the HR Department. This process, if not handled efficiently, can lead to various legal complications.

Absconding: An Unprofessional Termination

Absconding is one of the most unethical, unexpected, and unprofessional ways to terminate an employment contract. In this scenario, an employee decides not to go to work one day and does not care to hand over his responsibilities. If an employee decides to abscond (or run away), it becomes very important to understand his motives and intentions. Employees can abscond in any of the following circumstances/situations:

• After stealing confidential information, documents, or databases from the company.
• If the individual's intention is to commit a crime.
• If there is work pressure and stress, and the individual is unable to cope with it (as it happens in call centers, BPOs, and other high-stress industries).
• If the employee has committed any crime outside the office and after working hours (such as murder, involvement in terrorist activities, theft, or any other civil crime).
• When priorities are different. An employee may ask for leave due to some urgency at home (or might be trying to escape from work responsibilities), and at the same time, his team needs him in the office, and his leaves are not approved.
• If he has received an exceptionally good opportunity that requires immediate joining, and he feels that the separation process in his company is too complicated. He assumes a few things and does not really try to face the challenge.
• Lastly, it is a personality issue. Employees who abscond have different personalities. They are low in confidence and too weak to face the reality and challenges of life. They feel that running away from the problem is as good as solving it. They are cowards who avoid taking problems head-on.

I don't understand on what grounds you are thinking of absconding him when he has tendered his resignation specifying the Last Working Day (LWD) and probably you/his reporting manager had accepted it (hopefully). He had completed all handover formalities before leaving the workplace on the declared LWD. Either you or his boss has accepted it. (Normally, this was to be accepted on LWD, and keeping silent at the time of handing over and accepting it can be treated as your acceptance of what he was doing.)

He has offered you to deduct notice pay from his Full and Final (FnF) settlement and is responding to all your letters/notices.

Please also note that while you are thinking about this issue, he must also be thinking about it because he is in trouble and can lose his job in the absence of a No Dues Certificate (NDC) or relieving letter. He may go legal and file a case against you (losing a job matters a lot in anybody's life). Please check with your company whether they are ready to spend money on legal proceedings or not.

You must take your HOD's as well as his HOD's inputs. I am 100% sure they will also suggest you relieve him.

In my view, he has not committed any crime. You should not waste your productive time on this issue and relieve him as soon as possible.

Don't harass him. 'Jiyo aur Jine Do' (Live and Let Live).

Thanks & Regards,

Manish Shrimali

Ranchi

At the very outset, employment is at-will, and you cannot force or harass a person. Ensure the resignation of the employee is accepted, and verify if the last working date has been provided to both the employee and relevant parties. Check if the leave policies include clauses regarding leaves during the notice period or the option to buy out the notice period. Verify if the employee is bound by a service agreement or bond that can be encashed. Confirm that all organization assets have been returned or are still in possession of the employee.

Since the employee has resigned and it has been duly accepted, you cannot convert it to termination solely for setting an example, as it may lead to legal issues. You can inform the employee via email that their relieving and service letter will not be issued if there are pending tasks or if proper handover has not been completed by them. Remember, employees are ambassadors of your organization, and how you treat them reflects on your company. Therefore, it is essential to be fair and firm in your dealings.

Thank you.