Navigating Employment Disputes: Legal Action, Resignation, and Salary Dues

The problem is I’m in bench from a year, they didn’t give me any kind of project to work on yet now and they gave me the worst rating this year.
Since I’m in bench, I don’t deserve that worst rating. There were no chances to portray my potential.
Now the HR in this company is forcing me to resign.
What should I do now? Can I take any legal action for keeping me idle from one year?
Without any project experience I can’t even find a new job.
Please help!!

Your HR/company cannot ask you to resign. In law, there is no scope of "ask to resign," and it amounts to illegal termination which you can challenge in court.

Even if you remain idle or not, you will be entitled to salary. Whether you want to remain idle and enjoy the salary or not is entirely your decision.

You cannot take any legal action against your company if they keep you idle provided that your salaries and other dues are properly paid.

Evaluating Your Situation: Lack of Projects and Poor Ratings

What went wrong that you were not given any project for one full year? Have you tried to find out and check the possibilities to rectify or modify any drawbacks? Instead, you kept silent and enjoyed sitting idle. Now, since you got the worst rating and your HR wants you to resign, you would like to go legal. Instead of finding faults and going legal, check the probabilities where you can be retained and get projects too.

Considering Legal Action: Is It Beneficial?

If a company wants to terminate any employee, there are means to do so. Even going legal, do you think it will be helpful in the longer run? Since you are already of the opinion that it could be difficult for you to find a job without project experience, you may win the case, but they might still keep you idle for another year and demote you without any salary hike.

Focusing on Career Development

It is advisable, instead of going against any company, to please concentrate on the career and retain your job with full projects. Be an asset to the company instead of a liability. Sorry to state harsh words, but most employees think from their point of view only and would never consider the amount of pain invested in each and every employee. Wish you all the best.

Your HR/company cannot ask you to resign. In law, there is no scope of "ask to resign," and it amounts to illegal termination, which you can challenge in court.

Even if you remain idle or not, you will be entitled to salary. Whether you want to remain idle and enjoy the salary or not is entirely your decision.

You cannot take any legal action against your company if they keep you idle, provided that your salaries and other dues are properly paid.

Payment Details

You have not mentioned anything about the payment. Are they making any amount of payment on a monthly basis for keeping you on the bench? Although you have not mentioned the type of industry you are in, from your narrative, I am presuming that you are on the bench of some IT company.

Additional Information Needed

You have also not mentioned any details of your offer/appointment order. Additionally, you have not specified the position for which you were hired. These details are important for providing you with an appropriate opinion. Please include these details as well.

If there was a notice period in your appointment letter, then you are supposed to serve the notice period or to pay in lieu thereof, but you did not serve the notice period (and assume that you did not even pay the notice pay to the company). Hence, I believe that your employer has adjusted the notice pay with your last month's salary. Prima facie, you are at fault. However, you may file a case too, but cannot say how fruitful it will be.

It is not advisable to go legal as it will take its due course of time for judgment. Hence, you should meet the ex-employer and sort out the problem amicably to get your experience or relieving letter.