Facing Legal Threats After Resignation: How to Handle Accusations and Protect Your Career?

I work in a small IT firm. I used to be the prime employee, as told by the employer. I resigned one month ago and was serving my notice period. On the date of my release, I made a mistake. I was copying the source codes (not for any commercial purpose) of an application that was written by me onto my personal pen drive and got caught. However, I did not take any of the company's data or anything else earlier during my employment. Now they are accusing me of theft and have sent a termination letter, though they accepted the resignation letter with a company stamp and sent a copy of it to me via email one month ago. They are threatening me with legal actions and potentially ruining my career. I don't have any criminal record and no previous record of misconduct with this company. I don't own any business and am not associated with any other organization except the current company.

So, what should I do now? What actions can they take against me? I am about to join a big MNC within one week. How can I overcome problems with background checking and verification? How can I avoid future problems regarding this? Please help ASAP.

It was a major lapse on your part to have copied some company data onto the pen drive. Generally, those who are under a notice period are kept under surveillance. You could have taken cognizance of this precaution that IT companies take.

Now there is only one way to come out of this predicament, and that is to beg your pardon. Since you work in a "small" IT company, hopefully, the Managing Director knows everybody well, including you. You have mentioned that you were a "prime" employee. Let us see whether your "primeness" comes in handy to resolve this predicament.

Before your termination, the company should have conducted a domestic inquiry. The company can terminate only if your misconduct is proven. However, at this stage, what matters is your smooth exit and obtaining an unblemished experience certificate. Therefore, you may set aside the legal aspects of your case and focus on beseeching your employer.

Thanks,