Is Our Backdated Termination Letter Legal and Are We Obligated to Do More?

Dear Team, we issued a warning letter to one of our associates on April 27, 2017, due to inappropriate behavior. A week later, we received a request from the client to terminate him as there had been no improvement in behavior. By that time, it was confirmed that his Last Working Day (LWD) in the organization was April 18, and he did not return to work after that day.

As it was a termination case, they advised us to process 15 days' salary as compensation as per the appointment letter. Now, he has filed a complaint in the labor court, and we have received a notice from them. My question is whether the letter we issued is legally permissible, and after providing compensation, do we need to fulfill any pending obligations to him?

Regards, Rajesh T R

Dear All, In your letter, you have not clearly mentioned the reason for terminating the employees. How long was he in service, whether he is a permanent employee or not, and what is the gravity of misconduct that led to this? Article 14 states that no person should be condemned unheard. Equal opportunity must be provided to the employee to explain his stance.

Any action initiated by HR must follow procedures such as a show-cause notice, departmental inquiry, etc. If a proper opportunity is not given to address his grievance, he may approach an appropriate forum, and the management might have to pay the amount awarded by the law-enforcing authorities.

Regards, A. Venkattaraman [Phone Number Removed For Privacy-Reasons]

Handling Employee Misconduct and Absence

You have an employee who was given a warning for bad behavior. Furthermore, it turns out that he has not reported to work since mid-April 2017. That amounts to abandonment of employment or unauthorized absence from duty. Both of these are misconduct. Therefore, you can hold a departmental inquiry against the employee and terminate him without notice on the above grounds. If the information you have provided is true and complete, the employee will not really have any grounds for complaint against you. Make sure that the inquiry is conducted in the manner provided and an opportunity is given to the employee to explain his position.