Stuck in Limbo: How Can an Employee Handle a Notice Period Extension and Legal Battle?

Employee Investigation and Notice Period Extension

A senior-level employee was serving a three-month notice period when, just 10 days before the last working day, the company's legal team initiated an investigation against them. The legal team issued a suspension notice stating suspension pending an inquiry. During the investigation, it was alleged that one of the employee's team members used the company's laptop to do screen design for another company. The legal team attempted to implicate the employee by suggesting that the team member acted on the manager's request. However, they were unable to prove that both the employee and the team member used the company's laptop for other work.

Meanwhile, the legal team could not conclude their investigation, leading the company to extend the employee's last working day by an additional 13 days. At the end of this period, the company pressured the employee to accept a Show Cause notice, which was irrelevant to the investigation's context. Consequently, the employee refused the Show Cause notice and returned all company assets, including the ID card.

The employee consulted a lawyer, who advised that the company cannot extend the last working day once separation is accepted. The employee plans to explore other opportunities. However, the company's HR and legal departments are not relieving the employee.

Next Steps and Legal Considerations

What are the next steps? Can the employee go to the media and send a proper legal notice? Any other suggestions are welcome.

Regards

Do not go to the media. Go to the labor department and ask for relief. They are not relieving this person after severance; hence, they are threatening him with lawsuits if he does not continue to work. This is extortion under Section 383 of the Indian Penal Code. You can file a police complaint and also mark a copy to the labor department. You can leave after your notice period; they can take no action if we presume what you said above is true.

Being a senior person, you may not get the covet from the labor department, since your position does not come under the definition of labor as per ID act. Better consult a good lawyer who will guide you and issue relevant notice to them based on the evidence you have.

I am not very clear on this. If they have given you a suspension, that means you are not working. Still, they want to extend your work period with them. They have issued you a show cause notice that you have not accepted. They can always show that you refused to accept it. They are refusing to relieve you.

I assume you want to join the next company, and the relieving letter and a good background check are needed. Taking a legal stand is not going to really help if you want a clean release. Instead, you should sit with the management and prove to them that you have not done anything wrong and that the allegation is false. Just saying they could not prove it is not going to help you.