Navigating Exit Challenges: Can My Old Company Cause Issues with My Exit Date or EPF?

Hi, after my MBA, I joined a company during the Covid period, and it was work from home. I worked for 4.5 months, but the culture was not good. Training was not provided properly, and the expectations were to work for 13-14 hours. Additionally, I had to use my personal laptop. Therefore, I decided to quit when I received a new offer. I didn't want to serve the notice period but was willing to pay the Notice Pay as mentioned in the contract. However, they were not communicating clearly, and neither HR was supportive nor ready to provide a relieving letter, which caused me trouble. Hence, I stopped working 5 days after submitting my resignation. The new company requested me to wait for 2 months post the resignation date to join them.

Now, almost 2 months have passed, and they have credited 12k each month, even though I did not work for the full 2 months. Upon informing them, they agreed to reverse the payment. They now suggest completing the exit formality and settling the notice pay accordingly, as the new company does not require a relieving letter (I have informed them about this). Besides the 12k, do I still need to pay the notice pay amount? Can the old company manipulate the date of exit or cause any EPF-related issues?

I am hesitant to pay them as they wasted 2 months, which I was prepared for from the beginning. Your advice regarding this challenging situation would be greatly appreciated.

Dear Colleague,

In short, you have served the required notice period of 2 months. However, you mentioned that you had not worked, but the salary was credited. Practically, there is no question of notice pay in this case as the employer has not yet relieved you, but you completed the 2 months' time. If your conscience is not allowing anything wrong, you can ask them to reverse the salary paid. Moreover, there is no question of notice pay to the company by you.

You may ask for a relieving letter and an experience letter from the company with a positive approach to secure them for your future employments. If you want to ignore this short service, then make a bold decision and proceed with the next offer. Be clear in informing the next employer that you may or may not come with a relieving letter and transparently explain the situation to them.

Regarding PF (Provident Fund), normally, the previous employer will mention the date of exit correctly. If not done, you can log in and mention your exit in the portal. Ask your next employer to mention the date of entry suitably, and through them, you may transfer the accumulations via the online portal.