Worried About Legal Threats After Resignation: How Should I Handle This Situation?

Issue with Salary and Resignation

I had worked as an HR for a Pharma company, and the management stopped paying after two months of my joining. All of a sudden, all the employees started calling for salaries, where I also faced the same issue. I spoke to management, but they dragged it out for two months with false promises. Without my notice, they blocked my CUG SIM and the company Gmail. However, I recovered my emails and wrote to them about the unethical and cheap tricks of management. I marked cc to all the employees, stating that if the management fails to pay, we can seek labor court.

Finally, one day, our MD called me for my settlement and made me sign, along with a thumb impression, on a resignation letter and gave me a non-active account cheque. The content of the letter which I signed is not on bond paper; it was just printed on white paper, not even on the company's letterhead.

"I undertake that I shall not use any material or information of the company whatsoever it may be in the future. If found, I will be liable for legal action, and the company can take action to recover any loss caused directly or indirectly.

I also undertake that I have never done anything that might damage or cause hardship to the company or its activities. If found so, I would permit the company to initiate disciplinary action that deems fit for such an act of mine (post my resignation).

Concerns About the Resignation Letter

Please suggest if there will be any problem for me with this letter. I am worried since our MD is cunning in such cases. I have written emails regarding salaries, but nothing has changed. Post-resignation, there has been no communication through emails. I have come across a few employees who told me he holds a lot of grudges against you and is planning something over the letter, blaming you for the company's losses.

I thought he would pay me in cash, but after the formalities, he gave me a cheque from an account under recovery of 5 crores where the bank charged the company to repay soon. I feel there is no chance for him to make false statements about me as all I want is my salary, and he decided not to pay, starting to threaten me.

Being a simple housewife, I am a little worried about this issue. Please suggest on this.

Regards

Take proper legal advice before signing anything of this nature. The language used in the note is wide and open-ended, giving scope for litigation.

Tomorrow, if you file a case against a bounced cheque, they will use this clause of direct or indirect damage to the company, which is already running at a loss.

Yes, but his intention is not correct as he knowingly gave the cheque. Anyhow, I don't have a plan of taking any action with the cheque. I am thinking from another angle. Is there any chance for him to litigate against me?

Concern Over Unlicensed Drug Manufacture and Marketing

There are no proper licenses in the company regarding drug manufacture and marketing. I have recently become aware of this and am concerned about a letter, as a person with a cunning nature could misuse it. I want to retract the letter by submitting my resignation in a normal manner and moving on without looking back. Is this possible? I have a copy of the letter. I feel like seeking someone's help and resolving the issue by speaking directly to him. This all occurred in October 2015. How long are such letters valid once an employee leaves the company?

Regards

Dear Priya, This is a case of cheating and fraud. The company is trying to blackmail you. You can take legal action by filing an FIR. A police diary is necessary for section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.

Collect all material evidence possible against the company. Reviewing the records will assist you in proving your innocence.

An undertaking given under pressure, fear, and force by the company will not serve as a valid defense for them.

Do not hesitate or fear. Do not allow them to overpower you. If the individual is cunning and powerful, proceed to the district court in person within your jurisdiction. Being a woman and an employee, your position will be given weight in the court of law.

Thanks & Regards,

The undertaking, which you have reportedly signed or made to sign, is of no legal significance; it is just a placebo.

By the way, having been forced to sign the resignation letter, are you still in service with the company? If you are not in service, there is no scope for any disciplinary action.

What happened to the cheque? Could you encash it?