Is It Fair to Be Forced Out Early and Pay the Notice Period? Seeking Advice!

I was working in a big outsourcing and software company here in Bangalore, and I was asked to leave well before my relieving date post-resignation. Although I had requested them to let me serve for more than one and a half times the notice period, they forced me to leave early and pay the notice period amount or serve the complete notice period. Is this justified on their part? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I now have to pay a substantial amount to them!

Just want to add one more detail to the above post of myself:

Options Given by the Company

The company had only given me two options: (1) Either serve the complete notice period of 3 months, or (2) leave as soon as possible and pay the notice period amount as well!

- DistressedEmployee

Notice Period Obligations and Compensation

Since you have offered to serve the company during the notice period, you are not required to pay money in lieu of the notice period if the company relieves you earlier. In fact, the company has to pay you a salary for the notice period if they relieve you earlier, against your choice. Since you have offered to work during the notice period and not sought an early release, they cannot demand monetary compensation for a notice period shortfall.

Regards,

What if I want to leave early but the company won't let me serve the time period I had requested? Let's say the notice period is 3 months, and I wanted to serve for 1.5 to 2 months out of it. Does the company still have the right to ask me to pay the notice period amount and leave as soon as possible?

Thanks for the reply.

Once you have resigned voluntarily, the company has every right to decide your relieving date. Even if they ask you to be relieved earlier, the company can still recover the notice period dues from you.

Understanding Notice Period Obligations

You need to work for 90 days. If you get a job in 60 days and want to quit, you need to pay a 1-month salary. This is the law. However, you can always request your employer to relieve you early without making the payment. If the company agrees to relieve you after 60 days, they are not bound to pay you any money. They are just doing it to facilitate your joining your new employer at the earliest.

Resignation Due to Health Reasons

If the resignation is due to health reasons, then again, the company is relieving you in 60 days on compassionate grounds.

Regards

Similar types of incidents happened to me. After submitting my resignation and expressing my willingness to serve the notice period, I was relieved immediately within three days. I have an appointment letter clearly stating the notice pay from either side.

Furthermore, the company also denied paying the LTA and Bonus, which are part of my CTC as per my appointment letter. Can anyone guide me on how I can recover this amount, as it is a significant sum? Many of my colleagues have also had the same experience. The company has come up with a new tactic of attracting talented individuals by promising good pay, only to backtrack on these amounts after two years.

For two years, these talented individuals faithfully served the company until they discovered the reality, prompting them to leave.

Each company has its own policy for, inter alia, the acceptance of employees' resignations; some waive off the full notice period, some waive off part of the notice period, some adjust leave due for the period short of notice, and some adjust leave due in lieu of the notice period. You have to view your situation in the light of the above. The employer is not bound to accept your version for the acceptance of resignation.

Regards,
S.K. Johri

My comment comes late on this thread when others have already put in their comments.

Clarification of Query

First, it would have been good if you had put your query properly with the relevant information clearly stated.

Resignation and Notice Period

Well, now the facts are that you resigned and refused to serve the notice period. You offered to serve 2 months instead of 3 months. Since you are not willing to comply with the terms of your contract, the company is legally entitled to relieve you immediately and ask you to pay the notice pay. It does not then matter that you were willing to serve half the period and that you want them to pay for that half. You can't have both sides of the cake. If you are not willing to complete the terms you had agreed to when joining the employment, you are on a sticky wicket.

Consequences of Not Serving Notice Period

Also, remember that since you have not served your notice period, the company can mention that in your relieving letter and also give negative feedback in case of any future background check.