Can a Company Issue a Show Cause Notice to an Employee Who Resigned and Left Abruptly?

abhilashasen
Dear All,

I need your help ASAP. I want to know whether a company can send a show cause notice to an employee who has submitted his resignation letter and has been briefed about the procedure for relieving.

In this case, the employee was warned for absenteeism and for taking unauthorized leave. Secondly, this employee resigned on the grounds of receiving a good offer. His notice period, as per his appointment letter, is 3 months. On being briefed again by the HR department about the relieving process, the employee, without intimation, walked out of the premises and did not report to work the next day. Knowledge transfer, documentation, and sign off for the deliverables assigned have not been completed.

In this case, can a company send this employee a show cause notice? What can be the legal implications? Can anyone send me a format for such a show cause notice?

Please reply at the earliest.

Kind Regards, Abhilasha Sen
swastik73
Dear Abhilasha,

You can always take disciplinary action against an employee who is on the payroll of the company. The offense could have been theft, sexual harassment, etc. In the case of chronic absenteeism and other misdemeanors, the main reason for disciplinary proceedings is corrective action and not punitive action. Therefore, showing cause in this case will not serve the purpose unless you plan to terminate his services (but his offense must be really serious to warrant termination).

Following things can be done:

1) Deducting pay for unauthorized absence (the number of days he was absent without proper sanction) and short notice from money due.
2) Holding the relieve letter until he serves his notice period.

Regards, SC
octavious
Hi,

Yes, you can proceed against the employee, provided the post he/she was handling should have involved handling IPR and goodwill of the company during the course of employment. There should also be valid proof that would be able to state that the employee has enough data or information which can be put to use and can harm the company either by the employee himself or by any other person.

If the employee can't prove the above-mentioned criteria, then providing a show-cause notice would backfire on the employer and could at times make them liable to pay compensation for mental torture.

I would suggest that as an HR person, it's better to have a one-on-one meeting with the person and have an open-heart discussion. I would prefer that the discussion would serve its maximum if conducted outside the office under a casual environment.

Thank you,
Octavious
Dinesh Divekar
Dear Abhilasha,

How were the conditions of employment communicated to the employees? Was it through the appointment letter itself or was there any other form of communication? Has the employee signed this communication?

You can send a show cause notice to the last known address of the employee. In the letter, please mention the following:
a) Date of employment
b) Current designation
c) Conditions of employment (conditions of separation)
d) Items in the custody of the employee
e) Formalities required during separation

Do you have standing orders well in place? If yes, then you can mention the relevant clause of the standing orders as well.

Do you know where the employee found employment next? If yes, then send the photocopy of this letter or a second copy of this letter to his/her new company as well. If possible, communicate with the new company's HR manager. Inform him that the concerned employee did not complete the proper clearance. This can act as a deterrent.

Thanks,
Dinesh V Divekar
Mahr
Dear Abhilasha Sen,

Please refer to the earlier post regarding the topic in question. There are numerous samples available on the same topic.

Thank you.
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