How Can We Create a Policy to Handle Staff Leaving Without Notice?

We are having a challenge with staff running away from work without serving the 3-month notice. I was tasked to come up with a policy or something we can implement so that even if the staff leaves abruptly, we have measures in place to hold them accountable, such as monetary penalties or other forms of valuable collateral.

Addressing Employee Abandonment

If it is an isolated case of a single staff member abandoning their services suddenly, the problem may lie with that individual. On the contrary, if management asks HR to formulate a policy of negative covenants to prevent such occurrences, it implies that this has become a repeated practice of exit adopted by many employees in the organization. The management seems more interested in treating the symptoms as crudely as possible rather than diagnosing the issue and treating it properly to eliminate the chances of recurrence.

Impact of Working Conditions

If the working conditions are unfavorable or poor, existing employees will naturally seek better opportunities or greener pastures. In such situations, most employers apply negative tactics, making the exit process more torturous than simply terminating the contract of employment as per the exit clause. Consequently, people become frustrated and decide to abscond. If the notice clause for resignation is reasonable and its implementation is dignified, no prudent employee would resort to abandoning their job.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

Any formal employment contract with its legalistic structure cannot be converted into a bonded labor system to compel an unwilling employee to remain in service. If an employee absconds and remains incommunicado, the employer can terminate their services by way of dismissal after following the proper procedure. It is better to engage in some introspection to understand the underlying issues.

Change your policies, change your working conditions by serious introspection. If conditions are unfavorable, employees will look for better pastures no matter how tight a grip you try to keep on them.

First of all, ask yourself - why a 3-month notice period? Secondly, see what your competitors are paying and what their job conditions are like.

Solutions will emerge if the company also considers the working environment and the happiness quotient of its employees.

Understanding the Issue of Staff Absconding

Your concern is that staff are running away. This is a big problem, as staff are frequently choosing to leave the organization. This gives the impression that everything is not in the right position, or that the people you hire do not feel safe enough to work, or that the compensation package you are offering is not on par with what others are paying. The staff is a big asset to any company, and the company grows with their hard work.

Conducting a Comprehensive Study

You and your team have to conduct a comprehensive study on the issue of absconding from various angles on a case-by-case basis. By doing so, it is certain that the reason or reasons will emerge, and accordingly, you can present them to the management with solutions for consideration. One thing to note is that the fact that people leaving your organization are being absorbed gives an understanding of the brand value.

Strategies to Tackle the Issue

To tackle the issue, consider taking an 'Indemnity Bond' at the time of inducting staff into the role. Removing the alienating factors will help in retaining staff effectively. Make the workplace conditions akin to a playground to eliminate boredom.

Attrition is a universal phenomenon. Every company faces it, and in every company, some people leave on short notice and pay for the notice period not served, while others serve the notice period and then leave.

Harassment During Notice Period

The latest trend in many organizations has been to harass outgoing employees while they are serving their notice period. Such issues have been raised in this forum. Some companies engage in harassment after an employee leaves by not providing a relieving letter and/or by withholding unpaid salary, releasing it only after prolonged harassment. Some companies even make ex-employees persona non grata. However, in many companies, ex-employees are treated with due respect. I have worked in a couple of such companies where senior leadership used to treat ex-employees with respect.

Such atrocities by a company are also witnessed by other employees of the same company, and they leave as soon as an opportunity arises.

Introspection and Management Behavior

You have not mentioned the behavior of the management in these situations or how you have treated your people in the past. If you engage in serious introspection, you will find that the first guilty party is the CEO, followed by the HR Head and the Departmental Head.

If the majority of employees are behaving as you have described, serious introspection is necessary. Additionally, the policies and behavior of all managers need to be scrutinized with meticulous precision.

Warm Regards,
Bharat Gera
HR Consultant
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