Can My IT Company Force Me to Serve a Full 3-Month Notice When I Want to Buy Out?

I work for a big services IT company in Bangalore, which has a 3-month notice period. I resigned two weeks ago and want to buy out two months of the notice period. The HR is telling me there is no buyout option and I have to serve the entire 3-month notice period.

Agreement Clause on Notice Period

Here's the paragraph from the agreement:

"Your employment with the Company shall be terminable, without reasons, by either party giving one-month notice during the probationary period and three months' notice on confirmation. The Company reserves the right to pay or recover salary in lieu of the notice period. Further, the Company may at its discretion relieve you from such date as it may deem fit even prior to the expiry of the notice period. However, if the Company desires you to continue the employment during the notice period, you shall do so. Notice period and termination of employment contract shall be governed by the applicable internal policies of the Company as updated from time to time."

Question on Notice Period Buyout

Can they force me to work for the entire 3 months on notice when I want to buy out 2 months and serve one month? Please help!

Notice Period Buyout and Employer Discretion

The buy-out option of the prescribed notice period, either in full or in part, by the employee is always subject to the discretion of the employer. The notice clause of the establishment cited also confirms this. So the employee has to comply with this by serving the full notice period as insisted if they want to avoid problems like termination on account of abscondence and the like.

Planning for a Smooth Job Transition

Whenever the resignation is for switching jobs, careful planning is always required to make the separation smooth and peaceful.

Buy-out Option in Employment Agreements

Though the buy-out option exists and is enforceable at the employer's discretion, it implies that, for some reason, the employer indirectly insists that the employee complete the entire notice period of 3 months (90 days) as per the employment agreement.

In my opinion, when a buy-out option exists in any organization, it should be a win-win situation. This means that out of the total 90 days, the employee should work for 45 days and then request the employer to accept the buy-out option for the remaining unserved notice period of 45 days. Subsequently, the employer (HR) should find a replacement within the next 45 days to avoid any problems for both existing and prospective employees.

The employer should only collect the BASIC pay of the employee.