Stuck in a Notice Period Dilemma: How Can I Join My New Job on Time?

I have been working with a private sector bank for the last 2 years. I have recently been offered employment at NTPC, but I am unable to serve the notice period required by the bank, which is 3 months. According to the terms of my employment at the bank, there is a provision that states, "The bank alone, at its discretion, may opt to make/accept payment in lieu of the notice period, which will be calculated based on the monthly gross salary."

When I resigned on November 8, 2013, and requested a relieving date of November 29, 2013, I could only serve for 22 days. The bank has refused early relieving and instructed me to work until the completion of the 3-month notice period, which would be February 7, 2013.

I seek your advice on the next steps I should take to resolve this matter with the bank. If I do not join NTPC on December 6, 2013, the offer will expire. Your prompt response would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you and regards,

Shivank Arora

Advice on Joining NTPC with Notice Period Constraints

NTPC may not relax your joining date, and they may not insist on you producing a relieving letter either. Offer to the bank to pay back the shortfall in the notice period. It is advisable to consult a lawyer.

Regards,
Pon

If you could please suggest any further course of action with relevant legal provisions or recommend any lawyer in Delhi?

Notice Period and Employment Transition

When the notice period is according to the terms of employment, you cannot escape. You will have to abide by the terms and conditions of your appointment order. If you think that NTPC is a good company with a bright future for you, do not hesitate to pay the amount and get relieved.

The Bank, at its discretion, can waive the notice period and relieve you. For this purpose, you will have to meet the top management, explain the circumstances, and request them to grant relief. Some organizations will pay the notice period salary and appoint the person. I do not know whether it is possible with NTPC.

However, if you pursue legal action, you may not succeed, and your next company should not be aware of this issue as your future is with them. Sit and think calmly, and make a decision that will not adversely affect your future.

Legal Provisions for Employee Rights

Is there any provision in the law that can help me out? An organization cannot compel an employee to work. We are not bonded labor. Even if it's at their discretion, they cannot force any employee to serve them when the employee himself is unwilling to serve. This is a matter of the provision of personalized services, not of selling and delivering any goods.

I had a meeting with HR at NTPC; they said that you may join even without the relieving letter from the previous employer.

Today, my Group Head called me and burst out, saying, "You may go, but I will destroy your future now. You refer to bonded labor, now I shall make you feel the same as bonded labor. You will not get a job anywhere and will visit door to door for the sake of a job, but nobody will hire you."

In the above situation, if I continue in this organization, these people may do anything to harass me during the remaining duration of my notice period.

Furthermore, the offer from NTPC will lapse on December 6, 2013. After having served my full notice period and being harassed during the notice period, after February 7, 2013, I shall stand unemployed, as no job will be there in my hands then.

Please guide me on how to proceed further. Please also, if you can, call me on the following number: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons].

Regards,
Shivank Arora

It's always better to seek the guidance of an advocate who is well-experienced in such matters. Subject to this, without prejudice, I may suggest the following:

You mentioned that you resigned on 8.11.13. Have you obtained any acknowledgment from the authorized officer? If not, you have already lost valuable time. However, you should still obtain the acknowledgment by offering/enclosing/remitting a crossed cheque equivalent to the days short of the notice period. Request them to accept the resignation letter with immediate effect and the cheque in lieu of the shortage of the notice period. It is expected that they might not relieve you immediately or accept the cheque. If no response comes from them, then inform them through all methods - registered letter, speed post, hand-delivered letter, email - to the authorized officer and your immediate boss that you are not going to report for duty from [date] as you have already resigned and remitted the cheque in lieu of the notice period. Ensure that you hand over any property of the bank in your possession and obtain an acknowledgment. If they do not acknowledge, send it by registered post with acknowledgment. After that, you may join NTPC. By the way, did you inform the bank where you are going to join, including the location and address? All things considered, seek the advice of an advocate. All the best.

Regards.

Thank you for your suggestions. I would like to further state the following facts:

I submitted my resignation on 8 November 2013 through email, and I also forwarded the email to my personal ID. All communications so far have been through email, with my personal ID being in BCC.

In one of the emails, I agreed to pay the compensatory amount in lieu of the short notice, but I have not yet provided them with any cheque.

Additionally, I formally submitted my resignation in the system, which was duly approved by my boss and HR. However, there seems to be a discrepancy as I had initially set my relieving date as 29 November 2013, but my boss changed it from the backend to 7 February 2013, which was also approved. Therefore, as per the system, my resignation has been accepted with a relieving date of 7 February 2013.

I have also received a resignation acceptance email from HR.

I have shared my joining documents with the bank, so they are aware of where I am joining. I have spoken with the HR at NTPC, and they assured me that a relieving letter will not be required in my case.

Questions and Concerns

1. Should I proceed with joining another organization without a relieving letter, considering NTPC does not require one in my situation?

2. What should I do if I receive a legal notice for breaching the Contract of Employment with my current organization?

3. What if I simply leave on 29 November 2013, and later my current organization serves a notice to NTPC as they are aware of my new employment?

4. What if, on 29 November 2013, no one at my location takes over the items I am supposed to hand back (laptop, ID card, etc.)?

Regards,

In my view and based on previous experience with someone, please address the issue of BONDED LABOR with the bank officials and settle any demanded payments. Any employee leaving the company should receive a no objection letter or any other relevant documentation from their previous employer. NTPC is a very reputable company, offering a bright future compared to the banking sector.

Therefore, I recommend resolving the matter smoothly without resorting to legal action.

Regards,
Sharma
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

I am surprised to read your notings "We are not bonded labour."

Till you got the offer from NTPC, the private sector bank in which you were employed was heaven. But once you have got the offer from NTPC, in your opinion, the bank treats its employees as bonded labour and you want to fight it out legally.

I see your viewpoint that the bank has not accepted an early relieving, but this cannot be sorted out legally and can only be resolved by a dialogue with the concerned officials in the bank. Remove the ill feeling you have against the bank and make attempts to resolve it amicably. As yet another member has stated, renew your promise to compensate the bank for the shortfall in the notice period. Seek the amount to be compensated from your side for it.

If the bank is not forthcoming, then list down the properties handed over to you by the bank with proper identification serial numbers (for laptops, mobile phones, etc.) and then meet your reporting boss on 29th November 2013 and hand over the same. If he seeks a marginal extension of time, say one week or so for relieving, speak to NTPC and obtain an extension if possible. If he does not receive the properties, send an email to him from your office email ID that you attempted to hand over the properties but the offer was rejected. Pack the properties safely, preferably inside a locker/cupboard, and hand over the keys to the concerned persons and then leave the office.

As you say NTPC is not insisting on a relieving letter, in my opinion, you can join NTPC without a relieving letter. But obtain the consent of NTPC, preferably by email, that you can join without a relieving letter. Thereafter, join NTPC.

Have evidence of having offered to pay the notice pay, handing over the company's properties to the bank officials until you are convinced that the bank is unlikely to pursue the matter any further.

Regards,
M.V. Kannan

I had earlier communicated to the HR department that I want my relieving date to be 29 November 2013 and shall stand relieved on the same date. The compensation amount in lieu of the notice period may be communicated to me so that I can pay the same.

Yesterday, I received a communication from HRD stating that it was unethical and unprofessional on my part to decide my relieving date unilaterally. They further mentioned that I should continue coming to the office after 29 Nov 13 as well and threatened me. If I join any other organization and do not report for duties after 29 Nov, they will make charges of double employment against me and take strict disciplinary action.

Guidance Needed on Early Relieving and Disciplinary Action

Please guide me on how a matter of early relieving becomes a matter of discipline against me. Furthermore, when I have clearly indicated to the current organization about my relieving on 29 Nov and joining another organization, how can they claim it to be double employment?

Power Dynamics Between Organizations and Employees

Does the organization, being more powerful than employees, have all the power to say anything, put any sort of charges against a leaving employee, and say anything, put any kind of charges?

Further to add, I received threatening calls from the group leaders stating that they will ruin my career and make my life miserable to the extent that I won't be able to secure any job. Is there no legal recourse available to protect the interests of the employees? Or does a clause like 'Organisation alone may, at its discretion, accept any payment in lieu of notice period' give absolute power to the organizations to harass their employees and act as if they are omnipotent?

It's a covenant that exists between you and the bank, and you are under obligation to serve the notice period. Although the contract terms are one-sided in favor of the bank, you accepted this condition and served the bank. Therefore, you are bound by it. When you are prepared to pay the compensation, you should do so, and it all depends on how the courts will accept your side of the arguments. There is no inbuilt remedy for you in this context. In my view, they have no right to spoil your career except to ask for the compensation, which is a matter for the courts to decide when you seek the intervention of the courts.

One more suggestion: if you meet all the reasonable legal requirements, you may first seek the intervention of a competent court to help you. This is, of course, a long-drawn process, and no one knows in which way it might lead. It's better to seek the advice of a learned advocate.

[Link to the source: https://www.citehr.com/162888-notice...nt-letter.html]

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Dear friends, This is a typical case wherein the contractual terms and the terms of appointment would speak for themselves. How can the aggrieved employer have the right to spoil the career of a leaving employee? Arguably, the employer would be entitled only to compensation when the notice period is not served, not the other option where the bank would be charged with malicious intentions. Not serving the notice period is a civil case, whereas threats from the bank constitute a criminal offense. The attached case law addresses certain relevant issues, although it may not directly answer Mr. Arora's concerns.

Views of learned members are welcome.

Hi, You mentioned being relieved after a 20-day notice period. Was this early relieving based on your request or the employer's choice? In any case, since you agreed to a 10-day shortfall recovery, they are supposed to release the Full and Final Settlement (FFS) after recovering the shortfall in the notice period. Now that they have informed you that they will settle your full and final settlement in 45 days, why can't you wait and see? However, you can ask for a full and final settlement statement for your reference, which all employers usually issue on the day of relieving. Also, request them to release a proper relieving order for you.

Holding of salary is not legal. However, it has become common among many corporations to hold the salary upon receipt of a resignation letter. This practice is due to the unethical behavior of some employees who abscond without notice after receiving their salary.

Thank you.