How Should You Handle Being Unfairly Barred from Work During Your Notice Period?

Incident at the Office Entrance

A friend of mine working in an IT company was stopped at the office entrance and asked to return the laptop and go back home. She refused to do so and demanded reasons from the IT administrator, who was acting on the instructions of a Senior Manager.

As no reasons were forthcoming, she dialed the boss only to be told very rudely to act as instructed and not argue, as she was already serving her notice period until 20th November 2016. Since the office atmosphere was unfriendly, she returned home and wrote an email to the boss. The boss called and apologized for his rude behavior over the phone and requested her not to attend the office during the notice period but did not provide reasons for such a rash decision.

Escalation and Apology

Not happy with the treatment, she wrote an email in this regard. After several email exchanges, the boss became frustrated and started abusing the employee but still did not offer reasons. As this abusive email from the boss was marked CC to a senior boss, he stepped in, spoke to her over the phone, and apologized profusely for the entire episode. This is when she was told that the boss suspected she was joining a competitor and hence wanted her to leave.

She was surprised and confused because she had no such plans and made it clear to the senior boss. The senior boss accepted this fact and asked her to return to the office to serve her notice period with dignity. Her office email, which was deactivated last week, was promised to be reactivated today, but this has not happened so far.

Legal Considerations

There is no Confidentiality Agreement signed by her, and in any case, she is not joining any competitor. If the boss continues harassing her, what should she do to regain respect in the office? Is this a civil or criminal case? Does tort law apply?

All is well that ends well. The issue is not worth pursuing any legal remedies; it will be more of a mental burden on you. After all, the management has taken care of the errant boss and has redeemed the situation.

Many thanks for the insight, Venu. I too have advised her the same. But the real pain of living through the situation is known only to her. It is just that she is hurt, and what adds to the gloom is that all this has happened just two days after she became a PMP certified professional. Time will pass, and things will be alright. I will ask her to find a new job and move on.

Many thanks once again.

Frankly, what does it actually matter?

She is serving the notice period. She is not planning to continue working there. I assume her boss has not assigned any work to her. Let her just speak to the higher authority in the company, get a written confirmation that she does not need to report to work for the rest of the notice period but needs to be available on call, and that her full and final settlement will include salary till the end of the notice period. That's all. Nothing more is required.

Many thanks for the advice, Banerjee. One of the directors has called her for an "in-camera" meeting next week. I think they may propose something.

I think they may propose something similar to what you had suggested.

In any case, she is going to maintain that she is no longer interested in working at that company. I think everyone will second her decision because there is no point in working for companies where HR policies are non-existent.

Many thanks once again for the insight, Banerjee.

I do not think this has anything to do with HR policies. The problem is with a specific manager and your friend’s prior actions and behavior that resulted in the manager thinking she is going to work for a rival and is passing on sensitive information to them during her notice period.

That does not give him the right to be abusive, and you will notice that the senior managers have taken note and corrective action on that part. However, the rest of the actions are very much within the rights of a company to take—asking someone not to report to work during the notice period (commonly called gardening leave), disabling official email and access to directory services, and restricting access to sensitive information that can be forwarded or taken away.

What you have not said, but is obvious to me, is that your friend has said things to people or done something that makes people in the company (and definitely her immediate co-workers and seniors) think that she is going to the competition. Many times employees confide in their "friends" in the workplace and think the top management does not know what is happening, but that is rarely the case.

It does not matter whether you have an agreement not to join a competitor (which is illegal and not enforceable—discussed many times on the forum). The company and the manager have the right to ensure that a certain unreliable employee does not have access to sensitive data.

Addressing Workplace Misconduct and Restoring Employee Dignity

Thank you for considering the issue further. Major decisions like these cannot be based on individual opinions and hearsay. When the company has realized this, apologized profusely, and called her to resume work, it shows that they have erred. This is not a simple error but a breach of trust by the employer that has resulted in defamation of the employee.

Is it possible for the company management to send an open email to all employees apologizing for the mistreatment of one of their colleagues to restore her image? It is not possible. They may warn and chide the manager "in camera," but nothing in the open. When there is no material evidence to prove hurting the company or its interests (mere feeling is not enough), the only way to lay off an employee (if it is found necessary for whatever reasons) is through HR or one-to-one discussion citing reasons. "Indignity" cannot be accepted under any circumstances unless it is a case of theft or thuggery.

Regards

Unfortunately, it is the situation in our country and society that the best way to ensure obedience among the employees is to instill a sense of insecurity. The easiest option is to inflict indignity by overawing them. The postings in this forum reveal that even the so-called are not averse to resorting to such means.