Feeling Trapped by a Forced Employment Bond After a Mistake – Can I Find a Way Out?

I have been working at Company A for the past four years. During my time there, I created a fake relieving letter from Company A and subsequently joined Company B. Unfortunately, Company B discovered this deceitful act and terminated my employment. They retained the fake letter and had me write an apology on white paper, acknowledging my wrongdoing. Additionally, they made me sign an agreement on the company letterhead, obliging me to stay with them for three years. The agreement stipulated that if I were to breach its terms, they would pursue legal action against me.

One year has passed since these events, leaving two more years until the agreement term is complete. Despite this, I am now seeking to resign from my position. I have attempted to negotiate with Company B, but they are unwilling to entertain any buyout offers. Their insistence is solely on pursuing legal action against me. I am wondering if there is a possibility to contest the legal case, considering that I have already completed one year of service with them.

I am struggling with the work pressure, exacerbated by the CEO's use of inappropriate language towards me, including derogatory remarks about my performance. This treatment has resulted in a severe impact on my mental health, plunging me into a state of deep depression.

Please advise on how to proceed in this challenging situation.

Dear member,

Yours is a case of desolation arising from a lapse of judgment.

While working with company A, you faked the experience certificate and tried to get employed in company B. However, when company B discovered the fakery, they terminated your services. You went back to company A. But considering your enfeeblement, they took undue advantage of it and laid a legal trap around you. The trap will remain for at least three years.

In fact, any other company with scrupulous administration would have terminated your services. But then company A was one step ahead in extracting "a pound of flesh" from an unscrupulous employee. Under such circumstances, you could have lied low for three years. But your patience has run out in just a year, and you have become restless to quit the company.

Well, gentleman, one must grow but not by straying from the path of virtuousness. You are paying a price for straying from this path. Therefore, the only thing that you need to do is to show patience for the next two years. Whatever it may be, take the work pressure. Make a resolve and tell yourself that it is time for you to become tenacious. Crooked may be the administration of your company, but still, they were generous in continuing your employment. What would have happened if your current company, i.e., company A, also would have terminated you? You would have been "neither fish nor fowl." Look at the favor done by company A and continue without grumbling.

You say that the work in your company is giving you stress. In that case, the option for you is to start liking your work. When one is told to do something that one likes most, he/she does not get stressed. Secondly, do an audit of the working style. Identify what percent of your time is spent on doing the rework. Curtail the time spent in rework, and it will improve your productivity. Learn some new skills so that your current employer starts depending on you more. Find out how you can become indispensable to your employer. This will improve your motivation, and stress will reduce.

Everyone commits a mistake. You have made a mistake, and you are learning a lesson from it. Take it positively and move on!

All the best!

Dinesh Divekar

From the narration of facts, it is not clear whether you are presently with Company A or B. Presuming that you are with B, the important point is that they terminated you for having forged an experience certificate from A, yet reappointed you to serve them for three years under a contract appointment. If that is the case, then they cannot threaten you with legal proceedings (specifically criminal proceedings) since the contract appointment was made with full knowledge of the facts and, in fact, had condoned it in the eyes of the law. There is a legal principle that states you cannot blow hot and cold at the same time. Your acceptance of your lapses, apology, and signing the contract appointment cannot legally bind you in the eyes of the law. By reappointing or continuing your employment, with full knowledge of everything, they have essentially condoned your previous lapses.

On the other hand, they may find it difficult to justify the three-year bond, which essentially amounts to forced employment.

You can consult a suitable advocate practicing mainly in criminal law and challenge them appropriately for blackmailing you.

Dear colleague,

Creating a fake relieving letter and joining another company based on it shows a criminal bent of mind. You should never have done this, and certainly not in the future.

The new company has obviously coerced you by extracting an acceptance/apology letter and forcing you to serve them for 3 years, of which you have completed one year. Now, you wish to quit but fear legal action.

From these facts, it appears that by reappointing you despite knowing about your wrongdoing and obtaining your admission/apology in writing, they can be said to have condoned it. Their manner of binding you with a 3-year service amounts to blackmailing, and you can consider taking legal action, if deemed fit, in consultation with a good criminal lawyer.

Regards,

Vinayak Nagarkar
HR and Employee Relations Consultant

Yes, sir, I have realized my mistake and suffered enough. Yes, I am still working in the same company where I created a fake relieving letter. It's been 1 year since this happened. I signed, thinking the company would not pressure me as I was a top performer. However, for the past few months, I have been unable to bear the stress and pressure. They are now blackmailing me, threatening to raise a legal case against me and ruin my career. They claim that I will not be able to secure any jobs in IT again if I leave. They are insisting that I stay with them for another 2 years, out of the original 3-year commitment, and are threatening legal action if I am not willing to comply.

I'm working in a company for 4 years. Last year, due to some reasons, I created a fake relieving letter from my company and joined a new company. However, I was caught in between, and the new company terminated me.

Rehiring Under Conditions

The old company, for which I created a fake relieving letter, has rehired me under certain conditions:

1. I signed an Employment Agreement to stay with them for 3 years on the company letterhead, without any stamps or notary. If I leave before the agreed term, they will take legal action against me for creating a fake relieving letter.

2. I also wrote an apology letter on white paper.

Current Situation and Concerns

After completing 1 year of the 3-year term, I now wish to leave the company due to work pressure and abusive behavior from the management. This situation has caused me depression, and I even attempted suicide. Despite my efforts to negotiate, they are unwilling to let me go. They have threatened to ruin my career by framing me in a forgery case involving the fake relieving letter, making it difficult for me to find employment with a criminal background.

I have attached copies of the apology letter and the agreement letter I signed.

Seeking Advice

If they file a case against me, I wonder if I have any chance to defend myself or if I am hopeless in this situation.

I would greatly appreciate any help or suggestions.

My email is [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons].

While the situation is not totally hopeless, suicide is not the solution to this problem. You have started consulting the right people; be optimistic, there is a solution to these problems.

From the sequence of events, it is clear that Company A cannot threaten you to keep you as their slave. However, for a breach of contract, they can claim back the gifts and incentives paid to you in the meantime. Although the agreement also provides for legal action for forging and creating fake documents, such action cannot be sustained as per criminal law. You can consult a good criminal lawyer for this purpose.

At any rate, you cannot continue in the present job and should look for alternatives.

Hello, the case is a clear example of collusion between the organization and the employee, by knowingly becoming parties to wrongdoing.

Unacceptable Actions

You should not have:

1. Forged your relieving letter from your previous experience; it is completely unacceptable.
2. Accepted an offer of employment from any employer unless you have informed them about your situation.
3. Become a party to a 'conditional offer' by your existing company without consulting an HR/Labor expert.

Practical Advice

Please talk to your current HR partner or reporting manager to discuss your circumstances and terms of leaving amicably. Try to convince them.

If not justified, accepted, or convinced, then please carry on your employment for 2 more years, as you have accepted as a part of your extended contract; there is no other option.

High-Time Advice for the Future

Do not resort to unprofessional practices like this; nobody gains anything out of it, and it merely causes more losses of resources, trust, and integrity in the professional world.

Thank you.

Preserving Evidence of Apology

1) At the very beginning, you could have preserved a copy of the apology letter signed by you and submitted it to the authority. This could have served as proof of you accepting your mistake positively.

Negotiating Commitment Terms

2) Before signing the agreement committing to work for 3 years, you should have been a better negotiator regarding the years of commitment, perhaps restricting it to one year. Additionally, a commitment from the employer was also required here, ensuring that after the time period, they would exit you positively with all the required formalities.

Legal Recourse with Documentation

3) If you had a copy of the letter as mentioned earlier, then a criminal case against the employer could have been possible for any advocate on the grounds that your principal employer has made you disqualified for all the privileges you were eligible for as an employee of the company, which they have mentioned in the agreement you signed.

It seems to me that the real problem is performance. Initially, you were able to achieve 5 closures in 6 months, but now you are unable to do so. It appears to me that the pressure and behavior of your manager are connected to our failure to deliver. The fact that you were already guilty of criminal activity makes them think you are in no position to resist their behavior.

Legal Action and Performance Bonds

The first point in the letter is that they have stated they can take legal action against you. This is the case with any performance bond in any company; it is not something new. Whether legal action is taken or not, and whether it is successful or not, depends on many circumstances. On the other side of the question is whether you have the money to pay for lawyers on your side.

Validity of the Employment Agreement

Legally, the bond/promise to work for 3 years is invalid in view of prior court decisions that state the only thing they can recover from you is the cost of training. As for criminal action for forgery, they have already agreed to take you back, so they cannot really file a criminal action now. The agreement is void in any case because it is intended to break the law.

Threat of Blacklisting

However, their threat of blacklisting you is very real, as they can put your name in the NASSCOM skill registry, and all large and mid-sized companies refer to the national skill registry to check the backgrounds of employees.

Deciding the Best Course of Action

The best course of action now depends on many different circumstances that we, not intimately connected with the details, are not able to decide for you.

Career Decisions and Legal Implications

If you feel your career is more important, then you should stay. However, if you want to change your lifestyle and leave your career, you can choose to exit.

They can't file a case against you for bonded labor, as it is not encouraged. If they do file a case, you can counter with claims that they forced you to work, blackmailed you, or used harsh and inappropriate language. They cannot produce a signed agreement in court for "bonded labor," as it is unlawful in India.

You can also file a case against them if they make a complaint about you. All the above points apply when you plan to exit your career.

If you haven't planned to switch to a new career or passion, kindly stay calm and continue with your current one.

Good Luck