How Can I Navigate a Job Change with a Bond and a 3-Month Notice Period?

I am working in a mid-level IT consulting firm and had signed a bond with the company for 1 year, which will end in November 2014. The company has a policy of a 3-month notice period.

However, I have a very good opportunity in an MNC and want to change jobs anyhow. I am worried that if I pay the company the bond amount, will they release me immediately, or will they also demand the notice period?

I can't wait for the 3-month period to join the new firm, or else I may lose the opportunity.

Please guide me in case they ask me to serve a 3-month notice and pay the bond amount both.

Thanks and Regards

If you want to change, no policy can stop you if you pay the notice amount.

With regards,
Mrityunjay

If you wish to make a change during the employment agreement period, you only need to pay the bond amount without serving any notice period. However, please refer to the terms and conditions in your bond paper that you have signed. You should proceed with the new firm.

Regards,

Please go through the terms & conditions of the bond carefully, which you have signed with the company. Normally, the bond and notice period are not linked as both are independent. In normal conditions, once you complete the bond period, they should suitably place you in the organization by giving you a letter of appointment with new terms and conditions, which may include a notice period of one month or three months, as the case may be.

In my opinion, the company should set you free once you agree to pay the bond amount mentioned in the bond agreement without insisting you work for three months or pay in lieu thereof. You can talk to the HRD head and explain the circumstances. I hope he will be convinced.

If the above doesn't materialize, take a risk and abandon the present job by putting in an application that due to family circumstances, you are not in a position to continue to work in the company.

Don't leave the opportunity you are getting in the MNC, which comes very seldom in life. My experience is that no management has ever been able to successfully recover the bond amount as the bond itself is always ONE-SIDED where you cannot leave the organization but the management has the inherent right to show you the doors anytime.

Regards,
BS Kalsi

I thank you for your valuable responses. From these replies, I have gained some clarity on how to handle the situation. However, I am wondering if it would be possible to recover all relieving documents without making any payment and to what extent this situation can become complicated.

Thanks and Regards.

I have finally submitted my resignation, and my company has informed me that I must pay a bond and serve a notice period of 3 months. Alternatively, I can pay the bond amount plus 3 months' salary to be relieved immediately.

I am currently in a difficult situation and unable to leave as I am worried about missing out on a potential opportunity with a multinational corporation.

I would appreciate any advice on what steps I can take at this point.

Regards,
Pawan Valecha

This is illogical on the part of the company. I do not want to get into the technicalities of whether the bond is valid or not, as it depends on the cost incurred by the company on you and other factors.

Bond and Notice Period Clause

What sounds bizarre is the company asking you to pay money and also serve 3 months. The clause should be either the bond amount or a 3-month notice. The company can demand only one of these (I am saying this, as I don't know how much the company has spent on your training or on-site assignments). To my knowledge, there can be no notice period clause during the service agreement period.

Legal Considerations

As a boarder has mentioned, an agreement should offer a remedy to both parties in case of default by either of them. One-sided agreements are illegal.

Dear Sivaramakrishnan,

The company has not provided me with any paid training. Although HR keeps telling me that these are company policies that must be followed, they have not yet cleared my 2 months of salary. They have informed me that the remaining salary will be cleared in the Full and Final Settlement (FNF). I have learned from former employees that the company takes a long time to clear the FNF as well. I am experiencing difficult conditions at my workplace. Please advise me on how to handle this situation, as I am also facing financial challenges within my family.

Regards,

[QUOTE=promaster88;2155787]
I have the same problem, please suggest me. I am working at UAE Exchange & Financial Services Ltd., and I had signed a bond with the company for 1 year, which will end in April 2015. The company has a policy of a 1-month notice period.

However, I have a very good opportunity at Shree Finance and want to change jobs at any cost. I am worried that if I pay the bond amount to the company, will they release me immediately? They are demanding ten thousand rupees for me to leave the job.

I have submitted my resignation to the company and provided a 1-month notice period, which ends on 25th August. They are not interested in the notice period; instead, they want ten thousand rupees.

Please guide me in case they refuse if I don't want to pay.

Thanks and Regards.

I am working at UAE Exchange & Financial Services Ltd. and had signed a bond with the company for one year, which is set to end in April 2015. The company has a policy of a one-month notice period. However, I have come across a very good opportunity at Shree Finance and am keen on changing jobs. I am concerned about whether the company will release me immediately if I pay the bond amount. They are asking for ten thousand rupees for me to leave the job.

I have submitted my resignation to the company and given a one-month notice period, which will end on 25th August. They seem uninterested in the notice period and are insisting on the ten thousand rupees.

Please advise me on what to do if they inform me that they do not wish to accept payment.

Thank you and Regards

Understanding Bond and Notice Period Obligations

No company can insist its employee pay a bond amount and also serve a notice period simultaneously. When you take up a new job with an MNC, they conduct a background verification. Your current company may not provide a good reference to the MNC and could even label you as an absconder. This could create problems with the new employer as well. Therefore, it is important to inform the new employer about the situation beforehand.