Handling Resignations: Should Employees Keep Their Email and Laptop Until Their Last Day?

Dear Team,

This is Ramananand, working as an HR in a company. One of the salespersons who works remotely in another state has tendered his resignation, saying he would serve the required notice period of 2 months. However, his behavior was rude, so the organization, as a precautionary measure, blocked his official mail ID and also took back the laptop since the organization felt he might misuse the asset. He would be serving the notice period which was agreed upon; however, now he is asking why the email ID was blocked and the laptop taken before the completion of the notice period.

Is it mandatory for the official mail ID and laptop to be with the employee until his Last Working Day (LWD)?

The organization just wants him to follow up with the pending payments, which might not require the laptop for communication.

Can the organization deduct any amount from his Full and Final (F&F) settlement?

In case he is not able to get any payments during his notice period, can the organization deduct any amount as such from his Full and Final (F&F) settlement? Please let me know what the organization and the HR stand should be on this. It would be a great help.

You have written, "Is it mandatory that the official mail ID and laptop need to be with the employee till his LWD? The organization just wants him to follow up with the pending payments, which might not require the laptop for communication."

Reply: Allotment of email and company's assets is at the discretion of the company's administration. Therefore, withdrawal of the allotment has no bearing on the separation of the employee or the notice period. These things need not be linked.

You have also inquired, "My other question is in case if he is not able to get any payments during his notice period, then can the organization deduct any amount as such from his F&F?"

Reply: To address your query, we need to understand the terms and conditions of employment outlined in the appointment letter. Is there any clause in the appointment letter stating that the disbursement of the salary to the employee is linked to the account receivable? Have you clearly defined the percentage of deduction of the salary if the salesperson fails to recover the dues from the customer? If yes, proceed; otherwise, it would be illegal to withhold salary due to his failure to recover the dues.

Immediate action needed to be taken:

a) You have blocked the official email ID of the salesperson, requiring him to use his personal email ID involuntarily to interact with customers. This situation could raise doubts or confusion among the customers. Therefore, promptly create another official ID with a Gmail account. Instruct him to operate through this account and officially notify him of this change. Inform the customers with whom he deals about the new email ID.

b) Issue a warning letter to the salesperson, stipulating that he must complete the recovery before his Last Working Day (LWD). If he fails to do so, issue a show cause notice a week before the LWD. If the explanation is unsatisfactory, conduct a domestic inquiry and inform him that his resignation is being held in abeyance pending the completion of the inquiry. He can utilize the extended period granted for the inquiry for recovery purposes. While communicating about the inquiry, mention that his salary disbursement is temporarily halted until the inquiry is concluded. Although withholding salary is unlawful, this strategy aims to provide more time for the recovery process. The inquiry can be conducted through platforms like Skype or Zoom. Have the Enquiry Officer adjourn the inquiry temporarily, and set a new date for continuation. This approach can prolong the inquiry process.

I hope the above suggestions prove effective.

Thank you,

Regards, Dinesh Divekar

I am in total agreement with Mr. Dinesh regarding the blockade of the email ID and the recovery of the company laptop from the employee serving the notice period upon the acceptance of his resignation. However, linking the pending dues to the company with his relief seems a bit far-fetched and not a good HR practice, apart from the issue of its legality.

Once the sale is effected subject to the notice period of payment, a legal relationship of debtor and creditor is created between the company and the buyer. If the debtor fails in repayment, only the creditor has to initiate legal action for the recovery of dues and cannot proceed against the employee who was authorized to effect the sale unless he exceeded his limits, particularly by extending his already accepted notice period.

What about payment for his extended notice period?

Thank you so much for such an in-depth detail. We actually do not want him to badmouth existing customers and new ones; that's the reason why his ID was blocked and the laptop taken. So that was correct, thanks.

We are only planning to get the payment from the pending clients for next month's of his notice. Even if he does not get the payments, then also the management has decided to let him go (without deducting any salary for not getting the payment) since there is no clause in the offer letter on the same, but the effort is definitely to push him to that, and the management also is equally trying to speak to the client for recovery.

Once again, thank you so much for all the advice.

Regards, Ramananand

Understanding Employee Behavior Through Exit Interviews

From an HR perspective, I suggest trying to understand such employees through exit interviews. As I understand, that employee behaved rudely. Why? Yet, the employee agreed to serve the notice period, meaning he knows he has to serve the notice period as it's part of the services agreement. The employer closes his email ID and takes back the laptop. This shows that the bond of trust is lost; a sensitive matter. The employer wants him to do the recovery of pending payments because he has sold the company's products or services. If this salesperson, God forbid, died, would the company be able to ask for such recovery?

Company Policies and Recovery Channels

The company must have its channel to recover payments from clients and must have an appropriate escalation system to deal with clients and their communication. I suggest there should be strong policies to address such issues and a proper procedure to recruit, train, induct, and exit employees. "Employees leave bad bosses, bad management, and not the organization."

Ram, your contributions to answering our questions are very much appreciated. However, what is the purpose of the inquiry? I also do not believe it is appropriate to deduct payments from the salary of an employee to cover customer defaults. I agree that the company should explore, if not already in place, legal means to recover outstanding debts from customers.