Stuck in Limbo: Can I Take Legal Action for Delayed Onboarding and Seek Compensation?

I received an offer letter for a new position with a new employer. I handed in my resignation to my previous employer and served out my notice period.

After my last day at my previous company, the new company informed me that they needed to postpone my onboarding for a week due to the Coronavirus lockdown. The lockdown was extended beyond that week, so I requested a virtual onboarding; however, that did not occur. It's been months, and yet they have not provided a Date of Joining. When questioned, they replied saying that they can't give a specific joining date and I will have to wait—but nobody knows how long the wait will be.

Legal Action Against the Employer

Can I proceed legally against the employer after I get another job?

Company Liability for Compensation

Is the company liable for compensation as per the law?

Note: I have accepted the offer letter with the Date of Joining mentioned in it.

Dear friend, I understand your predicament. You have given up your old job, but the new one did not come. When one is neither here nor there, it is really frustrating.

Understanding the Offer Letter

Notwithstanding the frustration, the verbatim of the offer letter needs to be understood. Has anything been mentioned on revocation of the offer letter? What are the liabilities of the employer for delaying the offer?

Legal Perspective

Under the provisions of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, an "Appointment Letter" becomes a contract, but an "Offer Letter" may or may not be. This is because of the clarity that is established in the former but may not be in the latter.

Seeking New Opportunities

Anyway, without waiting for the same opportunity any longer, you may start looking for a fresh opportunity. The delay in taking you on board signifies the poor financial condition of that company. Therefore, it may not make much sense to join such a company.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Your predicament is understandable: you neither have the old job nor the new one. As rightly pointed out by Dinesh Sir, you need to bide your time and sincerely wish and pray for the lockdown to end.

Legal Principle of Force Majeure

Regarding your chances in any litigation on the matter, there is a legal principle called "Force Majeure," meaning an act of God or circumstances beyond the control of the party. You would also agree that the new employer is not responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, and the situation is beyond anyone's control. Assuming your acceptance of the offer of appointment as a binding contract, the aforementioned legal principle would come to your rescue and could hinder you from obtaining substantial relief from the courts.

Hi, I had a similar problem. My joining was postponed by 3.5 months during Covid. What would be the chances of a verdict in my favor if the following are the COMPLETE wordings in the initial offer letter:

Offer of Employment

Congratulations on getting shortlisted for an offer with XXX.

We are pleased to offer you to join [B][\/B]* as [B][\/B] effective [B][\/B]*.

You will be on probation for a period of one year from the date of joining. Upon successful completion of the same, you will be confirmed in the grade of ***. Details of the Compensation Structure are attached herewith in Annexure. The Appointment letter will be issued to you after joining.

You will be required to report on [B][\/B]*.

Please confirm to us in writing your acceptance of this offer immediately upon receipt of this letter.

If you have accepted the terms offered to you, there is a binding contract between the two parties. The company, having committed to employ you from the date mentioned in the agreement, has breached the contract, which could warrant legal action. However, they have now extended the date of joining.

Now, this depends on whether you have tacitly accepted the revised offer or have rejected it. If you have rejected it, you can seek compensation. The compensation cannot be the salary for this period but will be an amount minus the required expenses for attending duty, such as transport charges and other expenses.

This was a past incident during the initiation of COVID. I just received communication from HR that they were deferring the joining date due to offices being closed down because of COVID, just less than two weeks before the proposed joining date. There was no confirmation sought from our end. Later, after more than three months, they asked us to join. I worked there for a while, but I am not currently with them.

In this case, is it possible to litigate and ask for compensation for that delayed period, as it not only affected our income but also led to the loss of a corresponding period of experience? Moreover, the last-minute communication also didn't give us a chance to look for other opportunities.