Employee's Desperate Plea: Is This Workplace Harassment or a Criminal Offense?

Employee's Desperate Email and Workplace Harassment

An employee was not granted a half-day leave and subsequently sent an email from his personal email ID to various government addresses like @maharashtra.gov.in, @nic.in, min.home@maharashtra.gov.in, gov.in, with the subject line, "These will be my last words before I end this pathetic life." The reason cited was the repeated denial of leave, with managers allegedly stating that he is their slave and chained to the workplace until he is dead, unable to move without their orders.

1. Is this a case of harassment in the workplace?

2. Can this situation be classified as a criminal offense for the murder of an employee and be pursued against the corporate company?

3. What action can the government take in this matter, considering the employee has given his dying statement? For your information, the employee's body has not been found to date, and no FIR has been registered for a missing body yet.

4. Can the employee's parents sue the company and the MNC client together?

5. How might the Indian constitution view this matter? Whether the issue is between the Indian company and the MNC client, does this case also fall under Indian labor laws? Is there any action the Indian government can take against the company?

Please suggest at the earliest.

Regards,
Manpreet
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

I have a doubt whether this scenario is made up or an actual incident. Sorry, no offense intended. If this is a true and actual incident, then I am really surprised you decided to discuss this life-threatening issue here in a blog. I suggest you approach a lawyer/NGO and seek immediate guidance rather than waiting for people to react to your queries.

If this is a made-up situation, there are many cases in courts where an employee, under terrible stress, unfortunately takes extreme steps. There is a judiciary and a system process in place. To answer your questions according to me:

1. Yes
2. Court to decide
3. Responsibility lies with the Police Department to be answerable on behalf of the country/state.
4. Yes, it's within their rights
5. Yes, of course, but for it to be effective, I feel it needs to be initiated and publicized with the help of an NGO and media.

Regards,
Ukmitra

Thank you for the updated reply. That is the reason I avoided disclosing the actual email, but further actions are awaited from the employee's parents. The police were present at the corporate office for three days, conducting an inquiry. Nevertheless, it has been over a week, and he is untraceable. I hope he is safe.

Again, thank you for guiding the approach; we will ensure it is justified.

Dear Colleague,

What you have written is one side of the coin. Yes, there are instances in MNCs where people are sometimes ill-treated. However, in respect of HR behavior, there is no tailor-made solution. Each act of an employee or a superior officer, in a given situation, always has a past history. We, as a third party, are never aware of this.

Leave Policy and Employee Rights

The first provision with regards to leave is that it is not a matter of right. Leave can only be sanctioned if there is no exigency. Furthermore, what was exchanged by way of words between the employee and his superior officer is not known. If such emails are entertained as a dying statement, it will be very difficult for employers to run the business.

Investigation and Legal Recourse

The police department is the best to investigate if the concerned employee is not traceable. If an FIR is not being lodged, the concerned party can approach the court of law to issue directions to the police department to lodge an FIR. However, if upon investigation it is found that the employee played mischief to cause duress on the employer, he will also be tried by the law enforcers. This will be very detrimental, in the future, from a career point of view.

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Legal Implications of Workplace Harassment Leading to Suicide

Death (suicide) due to harassment by superior officers regarding leave can lead to a murder case. The employee's heirs can claim compensation. The official who harassed the employee may be jailed after the case registration. It is a serious case against the official and the company under vicarious liability.

Regards,
D. Gurumurthy
HR & IR Consultant
Hyderabad.

Though you have not disclosed the true facts or contents of the email and complete matter, in such a situation, I would not be able to give you a clear view on the issue. However, I still want to clarify certain questions which you have raised in your query:

1. The first question of yours is "yes," it may amount to harassment in the workplace. The kind of language mentioned in the email as written by the employee prima facie suggests that he was being harassed and not allowed to leave on several occasions. Though I can understand that leave is not a matter of right, it should normally be allowed to an employee when he applies for the same, unless some urgency or difficulty is present. Leave provisions are prescribed by legislation to ease fatigue or mental stress from day-to-day work and to support the employee's family in times of need. This is the basic ideology behind leave provisions implemented by the government. Moreover, the language and other contents of the email suggest or infer this effect; it is a matter for investigation by the policy authorities.

2. In case the employee commits suicide or dies immediately after leaving your office, it may be a case of abetment to suicide punishable under Section 306 of IPC, which is non-bailable and non-compoundable. The statement written by the employee in such a situation may be treated as a dying declaration under the Evidence Act and hold good as a piece of evidence in corroboration with other facts.

3. An FIR may be registered after verifying the contents and prima facie facts of the case by police authorities against the manager, company, and the person who has direct control over the company's affairs at the time of the incident. The incident will be treated as a criminal offense, as mentioned above. However, it is a matter for investigation by the police authorities.

Regards,