How Should HR Handle an Arrogant Employee Refusing to Follow Work-from-Home Rules?

Hello, I am an HR representative of my company. We are a micro-industry under MSME, having a strength of 19 employees right now. Due to the lockdown, we are not receiving payments even from prestigious customers. We are trying our best to give salaries to our employees, considering minimum wages as a priority. One part of my organization is working from home, while the other consists of manufacturing technicians and helpers who cannot work due to the Covid situation.

Employee Discipline Issue

In this critical time, we are facing a tough problem with one of my employees who is the most arrogant and undisciplined. He has received numerous warnings for punctuality, reporting, and drinking in the workplace with other employees. He could easily work from home but has not completed the assigned work, attended any video conferencing, or meeting calls in the past 55 days. Now that our office has reopened, we asked him to report to the office, but he has not responded. After calling him on the second day, he mentioned he couldn't come for one day, but he has not shown up since. Therefore, we have sent him a termination letter, asking him to collect his final paycheck as per company policy and return the company laptop and other items provided for work.

Employee's Response and Next Steps

He has not responded to emails but left a message on WhatsApp to HR asking to transfer his full amount as per government rules for Covid-19. Once he receives the money, he will return the company laptop and data, stating that he has important ongoing project data. It is clearly stated in his appointment letter that he must surrender the data and company property for the full and final process. He neither wants to work nor return anything.

Please advise on how to proceed as an HR professional.

Please check out the terms and conditions of employment. Send him a detailed email addressing his absences, lack of work, and failure to report to the office even after the office has begun its normal work hours. Now that you have terminated his employment, ensure that all necessary paperwork is completed regarding the grounds for termination. Prepare his cheque and ask him to collect it promptly. Inform him that retaining the company laptop and data constitutes a violation of the law, which could escalate into a police case, and that any threats made by him will be reported. Provide him with a deadline, and if he fails to comply, report the matter to the civil police. Seek legal advice concurrently.

Before taking direct action (termination) against this employee, as an employer, you need to conduct a domestic enquiry in this regard.

Since the company did send the termination letter to the concerned employee, I do not think there is any relevance of a domestic inquiry into the matter. The employer may proceed with issuing a letter via RPAD (an email could also be sent to him, with a scanned copy as an attachment), advising him to return the company property immediately. Failing to do so, the company shall initiate legal proceedings in the appropriate court. You can even consider publishing the letter in a leading daily. He will definitely return the company property.