COVID Crisis and Employee Resignation: How Should We Handle Notice Period Policies?

An employee has resigned and cannot serve the notice period or buyout because her whole family is in a COVID crisis. As a parent organization and being responsible to the client where the employee was deployed, how do I manage the policy?

Dear WaspHR,

The facts of the case are not so clear. You could have given a proper background of the case and then raised the query.

Sentence-wise comments

An employee has resigned and cannot serve the notice period or buyout because her whole family is in a COVID crisis.

Reply: The link between the COVID infection of the family members of the resigning employee and her notice period is not understood. To cater to the needs of the family members, she can take leave. If there is no balance, then she can take Leave Without Pay (LWP). Generally, the duration of the notice period is 60 days, whereas the COVID-19 infection lasts for two weeks.

Managing the policy during the COVID crisis

But as a parent organization and being responsible to the client where the employee was deployed, how do I manage the policy?

Reply: Which policy do you need to manage? What exactly is the issue? Has the employee asked for a waiver of the notice period?

We are at the peak of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. You or your management could have shown foresight on how to handle the eventuality if the staff members or their families are infected with this viral disease. What planning have you done to manage the sudden absence on account of infection? Please provide detailed information.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Please check whether your contract with the third party/client contains a Force Majeure clause.

You should be empathetic towards the concerned employee and let go of any such compensations during the pandemic. Generally, these compensatory clauses are built in so that no individual takes undue advantage, e.g., leaving the job without intimation, leaving the job at a crucial time, etc. However, the present situation is not the same and does not warrant any penalties.

Regards,
Mayank Lad

Handling Sudden Employee Demise

You need to follow the systems or policies of your establishment in the matter of the sudden demise of an employee. This case has to be considered in the same fashion as you are well aware of the situation of the employee (unable to serve the notice period or buyout). You can adjust the receivables of the employee against the buyout but take an approval note from top management while doing so.

New Deployment Strategy

Deploy a new person at the place of your client where the employee was posted. Your officials need to discuss with the client for the new deployment of personnel, as the old person is not in a position to continue work and has gone on long leave.