Facing Unjust Termination? Seeking Advice on Blocked Access and Salary Issues During Lockdown

Hi, I am Bhuwnesh, working in an IT firm in Noida (U.P). I joined the company on the 30th of October 2018 as a Cloud Operation Specialist.

Work from Home Initiation

My work from home was initiated on the 20th of March 2020. On the same evening, my Team Lead mentioned in the chat that I am free from all services/tasks/work without any reason. From that day onward, no work was assigned to me, my attendance was marked as absent, and my salary was deducted, even though I logged in routinely during office hours. I reached out to HR and the VP of Operations, but they did not take any action and continued to mark me as absent. My attendance has been marked absent since the beginning of April.

Access Blocked and Termination Concerns

My official and professional ID, along with all access, has been blocked by the company without providing any reason. They only stated that they would discuss the matter once the lockdown ends. It is evident that they intend to terminate me from the company. Could someone please assist me and suggest what steps I can take to prevent my termination?

Hi Bhuwnesh, the first step from your end is to express your concern in writing, stating that you would like to know why these actions have been taken without informing you of the reason. Then, you can add your points on how uncomfortable these actions make you feel and express your fear or concern due to the fact that you are not kept informed. This will start creating pressure on the management because they have not been transparent in justifying their actions, but you have been straightforward on record. As long as they don't provide a proper justification in writing as per the legal norms at work, it becomes difficult for them to terminate or discontinue your employment.

Thank you, Nelson, for your reply.

I rapidly contacted the company's HR and VP regarding everything, and initially, they replied that they would discuss once the lockdown ends. They barred all my official and professional IDs and marked my attendance as absent daily. Now, when I emailed them about this, they don't even reply to my emails.

Please suggest the appropriate action.