Was My Termination Fair? Seeking Advice on Notice Period Pay After Integrity Issue

Hi, I joined an IT company in Bangalore on 8 June 2015. I had to travel onsite for 30 days, and as per company policy, I had to submit the bills for the travel. I submitted the bills, but by mistake, I had a duplicate claim only for the flight ticket. The duplicate claim got approved by the Vice President of the company, as my manager had resigned from the company. The claim got reimbursed in the month of December 2015. Due to audits, I was informed by the finance team to return the amount. I returned the amount to the company in March 2016. Meanwhile, I was deputed to a local customer of the company for an assignment. After two months, in May 2016, I received an intimation from HR that I had been terminated from the job due to an integrity issue. I didn't accept the termination as I took the incident as a mistake, but HR didn't accept it. Eventually, I was terminated. I was told to submit a resignation, and this process just took two days to complete. Throughout this whole case, the company representatives didn't inform the customer where I was deputed. I would like to know whether the company should pay the notice period amount to me because, as per the offer letter, it mentions that the company needs to give a notice of 1 month and should also pay the notice period pay in case of termination.

Termination for Misconduct and Notice Pay

Keeping aside the legality of termination, which can be discussed separately, I would like to say that this is a termination for misconduct. Therefore, why should the employer pay notice pay? It is acceptable if the employer considers the number of employees to be high and decides to let go of the last few employees hired, resulting in your dismissal. In this case, there was an integrity issue, and you faced consequences for that misconduct. Hence, no notice pay needs to be provided to you.

Resignation and Notice Pay

Moving on to the second issue, legally, the company did not terminate your employment; instead, you terminated the contract by resigning. Consequently, the company now requests one month's notice pay for early relieving. Without any evidence to support the claim that the company forced your resignation, it is challenging to prove such allegations.

Procedural Lapses in Termination

Regarding the next issue, the company's management did not adhere to the necessary procedures before terminating you for misconduct. Proper protocol should have included issuing a show cause notice or a charge sheet, allowing you to defend yourself against the accusations. However, the company terminated you without granting you the opportunity to present your defense, which is considered illegal. The company should have followed the principles of natural justice before implementing such a severe penalty, such as discharge or dismissal from service. The company might argue that they did not terminate you, but you voluntarily resigned.

Conclusion

In conclusion, having resigned, you forfeit the right to claim any notice pay from the company. Additionally, by resigning, you inadvertently limit your ability to pursue legal action against the company for violating employee rights and failing to follow proper procedures for disciplinary actions.

Regards, Madhu.T.K

I am surprised that the company terminated your employment for making a claim of duplicate airfares, which you explained was a mistake, especially if you paid the money back the moment it was notified to you. Companies do accept that sometimes there may be a mistake. So, I don't think we have been told the actual story.

Integrity Issues and Duplicate Claims

Submitting a duplicate claim is an integrity issue. You cannot simply say it was a mistake and expect to get away with it. However, the full disciplinary procedure, including a show cause process, has not been followed. The company's procedures may also be inadequate in detecting double claims.

Most well-run finance departments have systems in place to identify duplicate claims. This internal procedural failure primarily rests with the employee. The finance personnel who approved the duplicate claim must explain the checks they performed that failed to detect the duplication, especially when an audit could uncover it.

In my view, if dismissal is a result of misconduct, notice pay does not become due. A humble apology followed by a refund could have been a more appropriate response. The employee acknowledges it was their mistake but attempts to defend the indefensible. One cannot justify submitting duplicate claims.

For frequent travelers, it is advisable to maintain a record of travel, claim submissions, and payment receipts.

Regards

I agree with what has been advised to you. You have had many months to return the money to the company for the duplicate airfare, but you did not. The law does not excuse "mistakes." A man was killed by the robber by mistake, the doctor gave the wrong medicine by mistake, the surgeon removed the womb of the wrong female patient who was to have her tonsils removed, not her womb, and the woman whose womb was to be removed had her tonsils removed. These are all genuine mistakes but inexcusable. Yes, the company should have conducted a due inquiry before termination, but they did not. For that technicality, you may take legal action against them for "wrongful dismissal," not because you made a mistake that you think is excusable.

Madhu. T.K very well analyzed and answered your query. It is better to close the issue, obtain the service certificate, and then join somewhere else before it becomes known across the industry.

Claiming a duplicate/double amount of airfare can easily come under professional misconduct, which can lead to termination of service provided that you have been issued a charge sheet, a domestic enquiry is held, and proper legal procedures have been followed. In that case, you may not receive any notice pay.

If you have tendered your resignation and cannot prove that it was a forced resignation, then you are not entitled to any notice pay.

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There are a lot of opinions, and I am confused about the next step. With respect to the case, the HR told me (during 29 May 2016) that since the case is related to the integrity of the company, they would like me to move out of the company. They also told me to submit my resignation so that it appears as a normal resignation. They mentioned that in the case of termination, I may face difficulties in getting a new job due to the background check process.

If they want to terminate you, then they have to issue a charge sheet, conduct a domestic enquiry, and then terminate you, giving you full opportunity to defend yourself relying on the principle of natural justice. Such allegations have to be proven against you before terminating you. This process is time-consuming and legally expensive for the company.

If you resign, it becomes much easier for the company.

Now the choice is yours.

Integrity Issue and Resignation Consequences

I don't think any more discussion is needed in this case. It is clear that there was an integrity issue, and instead of conducting an inquiry and terminating you, the company asked you to resign and leave. There is no need for the employer to pay notice pay since you resigned, but at the same time, the company is not demanding notice pay from you, which you would have had to provide if you had resigned of your own will.

There is no need for any bargaining because the reason for the termination of the employment contract is very clear: an integrity issue. If you argue that the company did not follow the principles of natural justice by not offering you an opportunity to be heard, the company's argument would be that even if you were given a chance to defend the charges, you would fail because there is proof, which cannot be objected to. If so, the termination would become a dismissal from service, which would spoil your career. If you had been working in any managerial capacity, you would not even require a show-cause notice to terminate your employment.

Being an employee who has resigned, you have no right to demand notice pay, but an employer can deduct the notice pay from the full and final settlement amount. It would be appropriate if you could at least save that amount from the dues payable by the company.

Now it is up to you to decide whether to demand notice pay or to get relieved as early as possible.

Regards, Madhu.T.K