Wrongfully Terminated Without a Chance to Defend: Can HR Do This? Seeking Advice from the Community

Dear All Learned & Experienced friends, I need your advice. I’ve been wrongfully and illegally terminated from my confirmed service without citing any reason and by victimizing me as I highlighted all non-compliant practices in which higher management were involved.

I'm designated as an Area Business Manager in an MNC but working like an RBM and responsible for the entire East Zone. I've informed HR about a falsified Stock Statement Report submitted by a representative who is a relative of higher management. That representative confessed the fact, resigned, and mentioned all higher management's names who drove him to do non-compliant activities. Within 10 days, the MD and HR came to my place and started interrogating me on false allegations against me. Then they sent a ticket to come down to HO without any mail invitation and agenda. I went, and they suggested I resign because trust was broken.

Whatever allegations they framed against me, I proved it in black and white with all documentary evidence. I didn't resign and came back. They immediately canceled my return ticket and locked my Outlook Express. The same evening, they sent a termination letter to my personal email ID. The matter of the letter is here: "Refer to the discussions you had today at Head Office, Gurgaon. Your services are being terminated with immediate effect. You were requested to hand over all company assets to your supervisor. You willfully and knowingly left the office without handing over company assets. When called and requested to return to the office to return assets, you again refused and are returning to Kolkata. We are therefore constrained to file an official complaint for the recovery of our company assets."

Can HR Send This Kind of Termination Letter?

Can HR send this kind of termination letter without any show cause, domestic inquiry, or opportunity to defend the allegations?

Request for Expert Advice

What should I do now? Please help me with your expert advice.

Regards.

Yes, it is totally unlawful conduct. You are not covered under the definition of a workman as per the Industrial Disputes Act. You may approach the Civil Court to seek justice in this case.

No organization can terminate any employee without giving them an opportunity to prove their conduct. The organization has to follow the service contract signed with you, in which, at the very least, a one-month notice period must be given before termination.

If your company sends you a full and final settlement through a cheque or any other mode, return it with proper correspondence, Registered A.D., and UPC. Make sure to keep a copy for yourself. Do not submit your resignation under any circumstances if you intend to pursue legal proceedings.

Regards,
Manish Bali
Head - IR/HR
Jindal Group

For any termination case, the company needs to provide a valid reason. Service can be terminated immediately based on misbehavior or any serious misconduct. However, the general process is as follows: first, the company must issue a charge sheet to the employee with clear charges and a specific, valid time frame to respond or defend against the allegations. Failure to respond within the specified time can lead to termination without prior intimation.

If your termination letter does not specify the valid and accurate reason for termination, you should reply to the email and request clarification. Once you receive the details in writing, it will be helpful for any further action you may take, such as filing a case in civil court or industrial dispute court.

Regards,
Tushar Swar

Dear Manish,

Thanks for the kind feedback. Now, I need further guidance on the following:

Termination Letter Details

"Refer to the discussions you had today at Head Office. Your services are being terminated with immediate effect. You were requested to hand over all company assets to your supervisor. You willfully and knowingly left the office without handing over company assets. When called and requested to return to the office to return assets, you again refused and are returning to your hometown. We are therefore constrained to file an official complaint for the recovery of our company assets." However, I was called to the Head Office without any agenda or information on anything related to any inquiry or allegation. It was informed to me as a business meeting.

The next day, I replied to the same email and denied accepting the termination without citing any reason. I wrote the following, "Request you to kindly take note of the fact that I do not accept this termination letter as it has not been issued in adherence to the relevant labor laws of India and it's not in accordance with the provisions laid down in the principle of natural justice. Therefore, keeping in view the procedural lapses made herein during the issuance of my termination letter, I hereby request you to kindly withdraw this letter of termination of services which has been issued wrongfully and illegally immediately, failing which I'll be compelled to take shelter of relevant regulatory as well as judicial bodies to seek justice from all ends. Moreover, I request you to kindly take note of the fact that I have not returned the company assets which are in my custody since the termination letter is itself null and void. Awaiting your kind cooperation and response in this regard."

One week later, HR replied, "An internal office note to this effect was circulated for termination of the relationship in compliance with the requirement of the Clause of Severance. It is the intention of communicating this decision that you've been flown to Head Office to meet your supervisor. The order passed by the management in effecting separation of relationship in a simplicitor manner is appropriate and based on the office note approved by management in this behalf two days earlier."

I expressed my intention to return IT assets and replied, "I'll hand over all said assets under protest and without prejudice to my rights and contentions." I expressed my grievances relating to illegal termination and requested a fair opportunity of defense.

I wrote to HR, "You have mentioned that I have been terminated as per the provisions of the Severance Clause of my appointment letter.

Severance Clause of My Appointment Letter

Para 1 - Your services can be terminated by the Company by giving you two months' notice or two months' salary in lieu of the notice period. Similarly, in the event of your resignation, you shall give two months' notice or salary in lieu of two months' notice period. You shall not be entitled to adjust your pending leave/salary in lieu with the notice period unless permitted by the Company. Unless otherwise directed by the Company, you will continue to discharge your duties during the entire notice period. Your resignation shall not be effective unless accepted.

Para 2 - If at any time, in the opinion of the Company, which is final in this matter, you are insolvent or found guilty of dishonesty, disobedience, disorderly behavior, negligence, indiscipline, absent from duty without prior permission, committing a breach of any of the terms, conditions, and stipulations contained in the appointment letter and on your part to be observed and performed, or in violation of one or more terms of the said letter, or any other conduct considered by the Company detrimental to its interests, your services are liable to be terminated forthwith, without any notice/salary in lieu of notice period, without prejudice to any other action, rights, or remedies available at law.

As per paragraph (1) of the Severance Clause of the referred appointment letter, it has been categorically mentioned that the Company is free to terminate me at any point in time subject to two months' prior notice.

As per paragraph (2) of the Severance Clause of such appointment letter, it has been mentioned that the Company is at liberty to terminate upon the establishment of the fact that there has been dishonesty, disobedience, disorderly behavior, negligence, indiscipline, absent from duty without prior permission, committing a breach of any of the terms, conditions, and stipulations, etc., at any point in time.

It is pertinent to mention here that neither any two months' prior notice was served upon me, nor any allegation as mentioned in paragraph no. (2) of the Severance Clause was levied, communicated, or established upon.

In case of allegations regarding dishonesty, disobedience, disorderly behavior, negligence, indiscipline, absent from duty without prior permission, committing a breach of any of the terms, conditions, and stipulations, if any, it is a settled point of law that such allegations ought to have been communicated to the person against whom they are made and such person should get a fair chance to defend himself.

I beg to state that no such allegations were ever communicated to me. Thus, we can conclude that there are no such allegations. I was illegally and arbitrarily terminated. Such termination has been a sheer violation of my fundamental rights.

I would also like to state that I have been forced by the Company to surrender my laptop, phone, and iPad, which were given to me by the Company containing all relevant documents during my service. I have returned them without any prejudice to and reserving my rights.

In these circumstances, you are hereby requested to inform me under which provision of the Severance Clause of my appointment I was terminated."

HR replied to this as follows:

"Please note that Severance Clause para 1 provides for termination by giving 2 months' notice or 2 months' salary in lieu of notice period. This clause is very specific. There is no requirement to give you 2 months' notice before termination of services, nor do you have any RIGHT to a hearing in any manner. You’re advised not to impute such types of allegations in your letter. Your notice pay will be released with full and final settlement."

Can HR send this kind of termination letter without any show cause, domestic inquiry, and opportunity to defend the allegations?

How can I challenge them in Civil Court? What should I do now? Please help me with your expert advice.

Regards,

Tarun

[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

If they terminated you based on clause no. 1, then they don't need to give any specific reason or evidence, but they are bound to pay you the notice period. Secondly, if they terminated you based on clause no. 2, then you can challenge them in civil court for asking for evidence of such offense raised by them. You may challenge them in civil court on both reasons.

Regards,

Thank you very much for your advice. Initially, they terminated me without citing any reason. Upon denying the termination, they mentioned the severance clause of my appointment letter after 10 days. Furthermore, when I requested a specific reason, they replied after 20 days that they will pay notice and adhere to paragraph 1 of the clause.

From the above incident, HR has recognized their mistake and is attempting to justify it with paragraph 1 of the severance clause. However, they never communicated with me earlier, and after repeated requests, they only informed me about the notice pay. Do you think this is adequate to challenge the Unlawful Termination and the coercive activities of the HR personnel in Civil Court? Please advise.

Accordingly, I am planning to take legal action against them.

Regards

You have a very strong case. It is very clear that HR has not handled your case properly; their file is very weak and cannot stand in any court. You may go forward and send them a letter through an advocate. If you want to continue with them, demand reinstatement with back wages. If you are not in the mood to fight longer, you may demand a 2-month notice from them as soon as possible.

You yourself know that your case has the potential to fight. HR made some mistakes in your case, and you may benefit from that. I think you should go ahead and sue them.

Thank you very much for boosting my confidence. I'm considering taking legal action against them. As I am not a workman, can I demand reinstatement with back wages in a civil court?

Why am I only entitled to a 2-month notice period? It is not my fault, and because of their mistake, I risk losing the credibility I have built over 17 years. I joined this organization 2 years ago after working for 17 years in a reputable MNC with a spotless and high-performing track record.

How can I make up for this loss with just a 2-month notice period? As you are aware, it is very challenging to secure a job at the age of 41 after such an incident. What should I seek from the court to alleviate this mental anguish and safeguard my future job prospects?

Regards,
Tarun

I have very little professional experience, and I am not the right person to comment on this discussion. I just want to make one point here: they are free to terminate you at any point in time subject to two months' notice/salary.

As per paragraph (1) of the Severance Clause in the referred appointment letter dated [date], it has been categorically mentioned that the Company is free to terminate you at any point in time subject to two months' prior notice.

So, they are following this. Maybe their reasons for termination are false, but they are following the standard. Even if you take them to court, they will get out of it easily.

You have a lot of experience, and in your professional tenure, you may have come across many termination cases. It's a professional practice, and we all have to follow it.

Here, you are just thinking emotionally and trying to satisfy your ego. My friend, don't take it personally or get emotional. Professional life has no space for emotions.

Lastly, I want to add, you have already proved yourself. Any company will hire you immediately. This two-month compensation is not a loss; it's a bonus with leaves to change your boss and company.

I am glad to see the support and suggestions of all my seniors to each other, finding myself very secure that I am a part of an association where many people are there to support and guide us.

Regards,
Arjit Neema

In this case, the company has neither given 2 months' notice nor paid 2 months' notice pay. You are absolutely right that sometimes we have to set aside our ego to survive. This is a strong case to fight for, and the company cannot easily escape from it. In these types of cases, decisions often favor employees.

Still, your suggestion may be valid. If this company compensates immediately, Tarun must prioritize his career. In my opinion, in these hostile conditions, he may not opt for reinstatement but instead seek full compensation. If he chooses to pursue legal action, he should sue them to receive all his dues. This action will also serve as a lesson for their HR department that employees cannot be terminated without proper cause. Making allegations is easy, but proving them is not as simple.

Thank you and regards,

I'm now 41, and it's very difficult to get another job easily, especially considering my current CTC of 16.55 Lakh. I have now filed a case in Civil Court and am demanding reinstatement as advised by my lawyer.

Understanding Civil Court Limitations

After going through various discussions on termination in this forum, I have learned that the Civil Court cannot order reinstatement, and only damages can be claimed. So, please suggest what my damage charges could be, taking into account my age, seniority, and job opportunities.

Salary Breakdown

My Basic - Rs. 52,220, HRA - Rs. 26,110, Supplementary Allowance - Rs. 26,110, Conveyance Allowance - Rs. 800, Children Edu - Rs. 200, Total per Month - Rs. 105,440 plus LTA - Rs. 52,220, Medical - Rs. 15,000. I worked in this organization from Dec 2011 till 7th Mar 2014.

Regards