Resigned Due to Health Issues? How to Handle Withheld Salary, Deposit, and Documents

I resigned from my job because of a medical issue and shared my reasons and conditions. However, the organization is withholding my last month's salary in lieu of the notice period not served. They are also holding my security deposit, relieving, and experience letter. I am not sure if they are going to cooperate in my PF withdrawal process. What can I do about them all - last month's salary, security deposit, experience letter, and PF.

Employee Rights and Employer Obligations

Without giving you a reasonable opportunity to defend your "alleged act of misconduct" and holding a proper inquiry into the "allegation" and "your defense" thereto, no employer can legitimately and lawfully withhold any employee's wages, salary, or full and final settlement. Exceptions occur when the employer or employer's agent acts arbitrarily, unfairly, improperly, and unjustly, disregarding the sovereignty of our motherland where we, the people of India, solemnly adopted and embraced a constitutional fabric expressing ourselves, inter alia, REPUBLIC (Rule of Law Shall Be Supreme).

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Pursue your right to subsist, survive, and thrive. The employer has the prerogative to initiate disciplinary action and resort to laws for the recovery of dues, if any.

Regards, Kritarth Team of Progressive and Enlightened Managers

Notice of Unilateral Termination of Contract

Notice of unilateral termination of the contract in the contract of employment is a condition to be strictly fulfilled by the employer and the employee concerned when either of them decides to do so. The logic behind such a contractual obligation is enabling the other in advance to seek an alternative or compensate the affected party in case of breach, if any. However, waiver of this condition is a matter of discretion insofar as the employer is concerned, whereas the employee cannot be expected to exercise such discretion in view of his statutory right to employment. This is the legal position.

Your Case: Resignation Without Notice

Coming to your case, though admittedly you resigned forthwith without serving the notice period or paying the notice salary, there is no mention about the extent of the notice period specified in the contract or the Service Regulations applicable. In case it is just one month, your employer could have withheld your last month's salary towards adjustment. Still, they chose to withhold the security deposit, and the experience certificate indicates that the length of the notice period should be more than one month. Besides, there is no mention about the medical issue or its seriousness warranting your immediate resignation and the effort you made to convince the employer for a waiver.

Better, try to make amends appropriately in view of your employment elsewhere.