Left Job Without Notice During Probation: Could This Impact My Career Legally?

I have joined a company and worked for 4 months. I have a probationary period of 6 months. I got an offer from a different company and will be joining as a fresher at the new company. I left the job without giving the notice period to the old company. Will that affect my career as the old company is telling me that they will take legal action? Kindly help!

Under normal circumstances, the notice period will not apply during the probation period unless otherwise specified in the contract of employment. Moreover, no employee shall be compelled to work with an organization. Therefore, there is no legal issue.

However, if you have not disclosed the 4 or 5 months' service to the present organization and later they come to know that there was a concealment of facts, the present employer shall initiate action against you. In such a situation, it is always fair if during the interview you reveal that you are working with an organization and would like to leave it because the job that you are doing is not the one you expected, the work culture does not match your expectations, or due to other reasons. Anyway, the previous company will not proceed much legally because it will not be maintainable.

Hi Madhu, thanks for the information. However, I have signed the offer letter that mentions a 2-month notice period to be served during the probationary period. I am worried that they may take legal action. Moreover, it's not a contract or agreement; it's just an offer letter that includes all the necessary information. Kindly, please help me out.

Handling Employment Contracts and Notice Periods

Once the offer is accepted by you, it becomes a contract. If the contract specifically provides for a two-month notice period during probation, they can send letters threatening you to pay notice pay, etc. However, with this employment contract, they will likely proceed legally. They may harass you, especially if you are in an industry with an employers' association, such as that available in the IT industry.

You should handle it with confidence and defend yourself by stating that you left the company due to not liking the employment culture. I doubt that an employer would waste time going to court for a former employee when they have plenty of other tasks to focus on. Therefore, it's best to forget about it.