Notice Period Confusion: Can a Company Enforce a 90-Day Notice Without Prior Agreement?

Notice Period Policy in a Private Organization

If a company does not mention the notice period in the employee offer letter or any such document during an employee's joining, can the company insist that an employee serve a 90-day notice period?

If the company offer letter states that the employee should serve for 1 year and can exit after 1 year without serving the notice period since there is no signed agreement about the 90 days, what should the employee do?

If HR had sent an email to their employees regarding a notice period extension after the completion of the employee's first year, should the employee consider that email and serve the 90-day notice period? Also, is the email legally acceptable?

Please let me know your thoughts on this matter.

Krishna, please read through your Appointment Letter clearly; a clause regarding the Notice Period should be included. If this clause is missing, did you raise a query with HR and receive an established answer regarding the Notice Period?

All the clauses agreed upon and signed at the time of your joining will be applicable, irrespective of their extraneous nature. It is crucial to carefully read through every single page and paragraph of the Appointment Letter on the day of your joining the organization.

All concerned employees should serve a 90-day notice period. If HR has officially communicated changes in terms of the Notice Period, it will be legally binding.

Practical advice: Please review your Appointment Letter again along with any recent communication from HR. Consider whether you can pay a salary in lieu of the unserved notice period. If you are unsure about serving a quarter-long notice period, you may explore the option of buying out your notice period either independently or through your new organization, ensuring peace of mind above all.

Thank you for your prompt response. I have reviewed my offer letter again, and it states that I am required to serve a minimum of 1 year, with no other clauses mentioned. However, we have received an email from HR stating that "Employees are requested to serve a 3-month notice period from now on." Despite this communication, there has been no acknowledgment of this email from any employee.

Can we consider this email as official and adhere to the 3-month notice period? Can HR enforce this new requirement without a signed agreement from both parties? I believe that unless there is a documented agreement, the mentioned changes may not be valid. I kindly ask for your clarification on this matter.

Official Communication from HR

Yes, any official communication from HR is to be taken as such and applies from the date mentioned in the communication. You are bound by the alterations in clauses of your employment terms and conditions.

Alterations in Employment Clauses

Clauses or alterations in clauses are generally communicated to employees from time to time and are internalized through HR systems over a period of time. Most of the time, signing papers is not required afresh as minor or major changes keep happening in an organization from time to time. In today's times, such changes are effected into HR systems, and all employees receive a link to acknowledge or agree to the change. If this has not happened in your case, then also, the Company HR reserves the right to alter clauses for you as it was communicated to you through a formal email.

Notice Period Obligation

You are bound to serve a 3-month notice period, or else, can consider a buy-out.

Normally, it will be one of the points in the appointment letter. If it is absent, then there will be a clause stating that you will be governed by all the rules and regulations of the company. If so, then you need to refer to the HR manual where details about the notice period would have been provided. Please ask for the HR & Admin manual to verify this.