Facing Unpaid Leave: Can I Resign and Still Get My Notice Pay? Seeking Advice

Hi all, my company has sent me on leave without pay for an undisclosed period. During this time, I will not be receiving any salary. When I offered to resign and expressed my willingness to fulfill the notice period, the company HR refused to consider this. He simply stated that if I were to resign today, I would be relieved on the same day without any notice period salary, and no earned leave encashment would be provided.

I would appreciate your advice on this matter as it has deeply affected me and my family during these challenging times. Please advise.

Thank you.

Company's High-Handed Action

While we sympathize with you, the company's action appears to be high-handed and is surely devastating to you and your family. Sending anyone on long leave without pay is a misnomer and is neither here nor there. When a company sends someone on leave, it is necessary that it pays; the employee has to subsist, and the family has to survive. The government does this very regularly, and the employees are paid. Their leave is protected.

No Earned Leave Encashment

As for no earned leave encashment in case you resign, this rule is present in many organizations. So, you should first encash leave, look for suitable employment elsewhere, and upon finding it, you may submit your resignation.

Sorry, I am at a loss to understand the facts narrated in the post. Leave implies, in the first place, a formal request by the employee through a written leave application mentioning the kind of leave credited and the specific period of leave. If it is a long leave without pay, it means the employee does not have any leave credited to the extent of the time applied for. Such an arrangement is possible if the purpose of the leave is genuine and urgent, and the employer is very considerate. However, the statement "My company has sent me on leave without pay for an undisclosed time" indicates that the poster was asked to go on compulsory leave, not at his request. As far as I know, if the employee is covered by any establishment-specific Labor Law, encashment of E.L at the time of termination of employment, including resignation, is statutorily permissible. The contrary practice mentioned by Mr. KK!HR is possible only concerning other employees, depending on the leave rules applicable to such a higher cadre.

Therefore, more inputs are required from the poster, such as his capacity of employment, the circumstances leading to his compulsory leave on loss of pay for an indefinite period, etc.

@Umakanthan Sir,

I have leaves in my credit (both CL, SL, and EL). Neither have I asked to go on leave myself. This is a forced leave that I have been sent on by the company. They are also not giving any timeframe in which they intend to call me back on active employment. Please suggest what options I have to recover my notice pay salary as well as EL encashment.