Leaving Without a Notice Period: How Can I Legally Claim My Unpaid Salary?

I have submitted my resignation from my company after 45 days of joining. They did not have a notice period as I had not received the appointment letter. The appointment letter was not provided to me until the date of my resignation. However, they were insisting on me serving a 30-day notice period. Instead, I chose to leave the company by serving a 2-day notice period. They did not accept my resignation, and now they are refusing to pay me for the 19 days of work I completed.

Legal Action for Full and Final Settlement (FNF)

In this situation, what legal action can be taken against them for my Full and Final settlement (FNF)? Please provide guidance as the amount involved is more than Rs. 50,000.

It's a good lesson to learn: always make all points clear before joining any organization. Try to work your way through negotiating and explaining them. I am sure they will understand. All the best.

Also, it all depends on how long you have been working with them.

Understanding Employment Clauses and Settlements

If you are claiming that you left within 2 days because you did not have an appointment letter and hence the clause is not applicable to you, the company can claim the same. They can assert that you never worked for them and that is why they did not provide you with an appointment letter. In such a case, there is no question of doing a full and final settlement.

Please never assume clauses or actions without having full knowledge of the repercussions. The best way out here is to request the company to settle your dues and end on a happy note.

Regards

Understanding Notice Period Obligations

The standard notice period is 1 month or 30 days. This is commonly known and practiced. Further, the model standing orders also provide for the same. So whether you received your appointment letter or not, the company is justified in asking you to fulfill it. Serving a 2-day notice is insufficient and could be seen as absconding, leaving the company in a difficult position. Forget about getting paid for 19 days; they might consider legal action to recover the 30-day notice period. The first month's payment to you could be viewed as a loss for the company.

Handling Resignation and Legal Action

Companies are not running as charitable trusts; even if you have not completed the minimum probationary period or settling time, being an employee, it is not good practice to leave abruptly. You should explain your situation to the management and exit amicably without harboring any expectations. If there is a valid reason for your exit, explain it and request your dues from them. If the management does not consider your request or acknowledge the effort of your worked days, then initiate action against the management with the help of legal authorities.

Regards

Understanding the Implications of Leaving Without Notice

Since you mentioned that the amount is more than Rs. 50,000 for 19 days, it indicates you were receiving a salary of not less than Rs. 80,000 per month, suggesting you were hired for a higher position. It is surprising to assume that a higher-level personnel could join the company without an appointment letter and leave abruptly with a 2-day notice. As Mr. Banerjee rightly mentioned, the company probably made a mistake in hiring the wrong person, resulting in wasting the first month's salary.

Regarding your query, the company stated that during the probationary period, you assumed there was no notice period and hence left the company within 2 days.

Job Role Misalignment and Resignation

Thanks to all of you for your valuable replies. Actually, I was hired as a Senior Team Lead by the company, but they were giving me tasks as L3 support. They were not providing me with the role and responsibilities as per my designation, and they don't have sufficient projects. At the time of hiring, they stated that they were hiring for a new project which had started a month ago. However, when I joined, I found out that the project had been assigned to another team, and I was idle for a month. After that, they assigned me tasks as L3 Support in an older project.

I realized that my job was not secure there, which is why I decided to search for a new job. Luckily, I found one and then resigned from the company with a 2-day notice period. If a company can terminate without notice during the probationary period, why is it considered wrong for an employee to do the same?

Appointment Letter and Legal Concerns

Some companies provide an Appointment Letter after a month or more. Initially, they just give you an Offer Letter. Once you confirm the offer, you must commit to joining. Without joining, you cannot request an Appointment Letter. After joining, if you leave your old company and they provide you with an Appointment Letter to which you have objections, what can you do?

An employee alone cannot fight legally because, as you know, our court system is time-consuming. Sometimes, if a new company learns that the employee they hired is involved in a legal matter with a previous company, they may view it negatively and decide to let the employee go sooner or later.