How to Handle a Job Dispute When There's No Signed Contract or Offer Letter?

Hello Everyone,

I have a query. Kindly share your valuable suggestions and opinions after reading the case.

Case Overview

There is a friend of mine who worked in an IT company for almost one year. He didn't receive an offer letter, joining letter, or appointment letter from that company, nor did he sign any contract with them.

Leave and Subsequent Issues

After one year, he took a long leave (5 months) due to some personal work. The company suggested taking those leaves as they mentioned that taking leaves in between the months would hamper their work.

He handed over the Knowledge Transfer (KT) to the respective team member along with all IDs and passwords before leaving, and he also informed the authorities.

After 2-3 months, he faced some financial problems and joined another IT company for part-time work. He informed the first company about this. However, they sent a notice claiming that, as per an agreement he never signed, he did not serve the notice period. They also stated that due to his joining another IT company, they lost some clients resulting in a loss of 6 lakh. However, since he never signed a contract or received any official letter from the company, there is no proof that he worked for them.

Kindly provide your valuable opinions on how he can handle this matter.

Thanks

What documentation does he have in support of the above? That he was allowed to go on a 5-month leave. That he was allowed to work for someone else. That he was actually relieved (as opposed to absconded).

Hi Saswata Banerjee, He received a notice claiming that he has not served the notice and informed the organization late about his joining in another company. They are demanding 6 lakh, as they claim that due to this, they have a loss of 6 lakh. But in reality, they don't have any signed document in which both parties agree on the terms and conditions related to his employment in the company. The company did not issue any offer letter, appointment letter to any of its candidates, nor a confirmation email of their joining. Based on my observation, there will be no claim, as they do not have any proof that he worked in that company.

They have face-to-face meetings as well, and he also apologized for his mistake as he was not informed by the company at the time of joining about the teams and conditions. He can't join any other similar company.

I am sure they have evidence he worked there, as they would have paid his salary. What documentation does he have that he left with a proper handover and they agreed to him taking 5 months leave? Can you share a copy of the notice?

Yes, they agreed to a 5-month leave, and they provide the salary in cash only.

You don't understand my question perhaps, Mr. Dinkle. How did they agree? Was there an email, letter, or was it all oral? What did the notice actually say?

When he informed them he was joining another company, how did he do that? Was it again oral or through mail?

Based on what you have said above, I would suggest that he can ignore the notice or simply write back that he never worked for them. Alternatively, I would recommend taking the notice to a lawyer and asking for advice on what should be done.

Dear, you are saying that he worked for almost one year in that company and confidently stating that there is no proof of his employment there. I am surprised to see this statement.

I think he was receiving his remuneration through bank transfer, which is self-explanatory for the relationship between the employee and employer. On the other hand, if the employee denies any relationship with the employer, he may ask for the salary to be paid back for the last year. He may just give you notice that:

"We agree that you don't have any relation with my company. You are hereby informed to revert the payment which you had received as salary in your account details, which are given below." He may provide all the details of the payment in a letter. What will you do?

There would be a biometric attendance system in the company, and all your attendance for the said period will be with the company. So, saying there is no relationship with the company is not appropriate.

There would be CCTV where you would have been captured at several moments, so it's also proof of your relationship with the company.

There would be a lot of formats where you would have signed as a company representative, which is proof of your relationship with the company.

If you were a member of EPF, then your contributions for that period would have been deposited by the company, which indicates your relationship with the company.

You might have been a member of ESIC. Similar to EPF, your relationship with the company is proven here as well.

So, it's better to resolve the matter diplomatically and request the company to consider your financial conditions rather than other.

Hi O.B. Gautam, some of the points you have mentioned are true; we will consider those points as well. He tried to resolve the matter and discussed it with the CEO, but the CEO is not willing to resolve it. He has already apologized for his mistake.

If his employer has not given any appointment letter and if he has not signed any contract, his employer cannot do anything legally or take any legal action against him.