How Should We Handle a Resigned Employee Avoiding Exit Procedures Due to Medical Issues?

Dear All, I would like to have your advice for this situation. One of our staff has resigned due to poor performance and behavioral issues. As part of the normal exit process, we asked the staff to prepare the handover summary and hand over all equipment, documents, etc., to the organization on the last working day and to collect the full and final settlement from the office after completion of all exit formalities. Closer to the last working date, I received an email from the staff stating that she is medically unfit to come to the office and is advised bed rest. The staff mentioned they would call and let us know when she can come to the office to hand over and take the final settlement. To date, the staff has not contacted me or the reporting manager and is also not responding to our phone calls. We have been sending emails/reminders to come to the office for the handover and to complete the exit procedures. We have received only one email which says to send my final statement to the bank and then I will submit the equipment. We replied that this is not possible according to the organization's standards, but have not received any reply since. What should our next step be? Thanks

I am not an expert on this topic, but I faced a similar situation in our office. What we did was send a notice to report to the office on a mutually agreed-upon date via registered post. If the employee agrees to report to finish the handover process, all is well and good. In case she does not, you can terminate her employment due to her being absconding and make a recovery of your equipment from her full and final settlement, as per company policy. Also, care must be taken to provide a comfortable working environment when she comes to the office to complete her handover, if she does. Please take an opinion from 2-3 seasoned professionals before taking any action.

What she is doing is an offense that can be covered under Criminal Breach of Trust under IPC. Also, if she tries to sell those equipments, the same is theft under IPC. So, ask your legal team to take action. Also, visit the site below.

Legal Formalities in Employee Exit Situations

It seems that the employee is engaging in a "Hide & Seek" game by not answering your calls but documenting all her points through emails. Under such circumstances, it would be advisable to publish classified ads in one national daily and one local daily, clearly stating:

- That she (name of the employee) has resigned from the services of the company on [put date here], which has been accepted by your management via Letter No. [insert number] dated [insert date]. She has been instructed to properly hand over equipment, etc., for the settlement of her Full & Final dues as per company policy.

- That she is not responding to your phone calls or meeting you in person but is sending emails with her own conditions for settlement that are not acceptable to the company.

- That she is requested to contact Mr. [name] at [company address] within 7 days from the date of publication, failing which the company will be forced to recover the cost of the "Equipment" from her final dues.

You may then proceed to settle her dues accordingly. The aforementioned publication would protect you in any legal forum.

Regards,
Soumitra Sengupta

You can proceed directly with a public show-cause notice in court. This will ensure that formalities are taken care of from your side. Also, raise a police complaint about the missing equipment.

Dear friends,

Thank you so much for your response and advice. I would certainly put forward your inputs.

The other learned members have provided advice from a legal perspective. My response is from a management science viewpoint. There is an important sentence in your post: "we have received only one email which says send my final statement to the bank and then I will submit the equipment."

Now, my question is why the employee felt the need to pledge the office equipment to receive the terminal benefits? Why is the employee in question not ready to trust you? Regardless of the reasons for the exit, are the employees being treated fairly?

While you may sue the employee for unauthorized retention of the company's property, and you could win the court case, the underlying issue of lost trust cannot be ignored. It might be a one-off case, but even if one employee views management suspiciously and resorts to trade-offs, this is a sign of lost credibility. The sooner you take steps to restore credibility, the better. Creating an environment of trust is a far larger issue than what you are currently addressing.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar