Former Employee Threatens Legal Action and Contacts Clients: How Should We Respond?

Hello everyone,

Recently, one of our employees resigned without giving proper notice at a very crucial time for the business. He didn't bother to provide any reason for resigning and disregarded our requests to at least serve a one-month notice period, although he was required by the agreement to serve two months.

When calculating his full and final settlement, we adjusted the short notice period from his payout, credited his full and final settlement within 30 days to his account, and advised him on the withdrawal of his PF amount. Despite this, he began claiming his full salary and threatened to take the matter to the labor court. We informed him to proceed to court if he felt we had acted wrongly.

Upon realizing that his threats were ineffective, he sent an email to a significant client of ours, alleging that we had wrongfully withheld his full and final settlement and were not providing his experience and relieving letters.

Please advise if there is any legal clause that restricts former employees from contacting and involving clients in such a manner to exert pressure on the company for unreasonable demands.

Regards, Jyoti Jain

There are no such clauses that stop a former employee from contacting clients, etc. If he speaks or writes incorrect or false information, he can be sued for defamation. I am confident that the clients of the company will trust the organization more than a former employee. If you have concrete information, a cease and desist notice can be considered with proper legal advice.

Separation Clause in Appointment Letter

This is in addition to what Mr. Nathrao has said. When the employee joined the company, you must have issued him the appointment letter. Please provide the verbatim of the separation clause mentioned in the appointment letter. I ask for these details because most companies reserve the right to curtail the notice period.

Resignation and Notice Period

When the employee submitted his resignation letter, in your reply accepting the resignation, did you mention the requirement to complete the notice period? Did you mention what will happen if he does not fulfill the conditions of separation? For any foolproof action, written records are important, and "verbal requests" are no match for the records.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

[Phone Number Removed For Privacy-Reasons]

Thank you for your responses. Please see our contract clause for Termination:

Termination of Contract

11.1 The Company shall be entitled to terminate the services of the Employee after serving a notice of one week during the period of probation.

11.2 The Company may terminate this agreement at any time after the probationary period by giving two months' notice to the Employee or salary in lieu of the notice. The Company can terminate the contract at any time without giving any notice if the Employee:

11.2.1 Commits any material or persistent breach of any of the provisions contained.

11.2.2 Is guilty of any default, misconduct, or neglect in the discharge of his duties affecting the business of the Company.

11.3 The Employee shall be entitled to terminate his services with the Company after the completion of the contract period, after serving the Company a notice of two months.

The employee in question is blue-collared, and hence we had not allotted any email ID to him. Most communication used to happen verbally as he was assigned to a remote site where we did not have an office or HR present. We had multiple discussions with him regarding his notice period and had requested him to serve one month's notice at the least, but he had refused.

Please disregard the previous clause and refer to the following:

11. Termination of Contract

11.1 The Company shall be entitled to terminate the services of the Employee after serving a notice of 15 days during the period of probation and vice versa.

11.2 The Company may terminate this agreement at any time after the probationary period by giving two months' notice to the Employee or salary in lieu of the notice. The company can terminate the contract at any time without giving any notice if the Employee:

11.2.1 Commits any material or persistent breach of any of the provisions contained.

11.2.2 Is guilty of any default, misconduct, or neglect in the discharge of his duties affecting the business of the company.

11.3 The Employee shall be entitled to terminate his services with the Company after the completion of the probation period, after serving the Company a notice of two months.

If you need any further clarification or assistance, feel free to ask.