Trusted My Boss and Joined Without an Offer Letter – Now My 17L Settlement Is Stuck, What Can I Do?

Hi, I joined a private company without any offer letter because I trusted the boss. During my resignation, I received my offer letter and relieving letter from the same company. However, my full and final settlement (FNF) is still pending, which amounts to almost 17 lakhs (sales incentive). Even HR is not ready to share the FNF document after I resigned. What should I do?

Dear Joshua,

I think that the information you shared about your employment with the organization is not sufficient.

F&F Settlement Components

The F&F Settlement comprises several heads of payment, which are statutory as well as contractual, depending on the nature of employment, job position held, and the specific terms of the contract of employment in this regard. In case of refusal or delay at the instance of the employer or any other kind of dispute, remedial measures also differ accordingly. Therefore, answers to the following queries are very pertinent to suggest further action:

Employment Details

In what capacity did you serve, whether as a workman, executive with supervisory responsibilities, or as a manager?

Recruitment Source

What was the source of recruitment - by way of advertisement, through some recruitment agency, or by way of direct appointment on your suo moto application?

Appointment Letter

Were you given any appointment letter in advance or soon after your joining? If so, were service conditions like the period of probation, notice before resignation, or payment in lieu thereof mentioned therein?

Duration of Service

How long did you serve the organization?

Social Security Enrollment

Were you enrolled in statutory social security schemes like EPF, ESI?

Salary and Incentives

What were your last-drawn monthly salary details with componential break up and the details of the sales incentive scheme and its dues to you under the scheme?

Mode of Payment

What was the mode of payment of salary and other items like incentive - direct payment in cash or through the bank by ECS?

Disciplinary Actions

Were any disciplinary actions or recovery of amounts pending against you at the time of your resignation?

Resignation Process

Did you submit a formal resignation either in writing or by e-mail?

Notice Period

Did you serve the notice period, if any, already mentioned or informed later by the offer letter given to you at the time of your relieving?

Written Requests

Have you submitted any written requests in this regard so far?

Hi sir, I didn't receive any offer letter from the company until I sent my resignation email in May 2022. I joined the company on 1st May 2019 based on the verbal confirmation from the CEO. I got the offer letter along with my relieving letter while leaving the company. The joining date was mentioned as 1st December 2019. My role was Manager-Presales and Technical Support. As per the agreement, I get a 1% sales incentive which comes through my effort during billing. (For a PO of 1L, I'll get Rs 1000). Normally, the salary and incentive were given in the bank account through NEFT. No notice period was mentioned while joining. But after resignation, HR forced me to serve a 3-month notice period. I have been chasing them for the last 8 months to clear my pending incentives even after leaving the company, but unfortunately, there has been no response. My boss had another company under partnership from which he got fired. There was an agreement between the partners that he cannot recruit anyone from the past company to the new company for the next 1 or 2 years. That's why he didn't give me any offer letter and mentioned the date of joining as December 2019 rather than May 2019. There was no PF or EPF. I have email communications for all the above statements with HR. The last PO I received was costing around 17L. Since the project didn't start, the billing didn't happen. It started after I left the organization. Technically, they should have mentioned those in my FNF. Purposely, they didn't give me any FNF letter when I left the organization. How can I tackle this situation? Please guide.

Regards, Joshua Sebastian
Mob: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy-Reasons]
Email: [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Filing a Civil Suit for Recovery

You have to institute a civil suit only for recovery as the money due, as per your statement, is very high.

I understand your concern. Let me give a few steps to be followed in the instant case.

Reconfirm the Agreement Terms

To begin, you should reconfirm whether the terms of the agreement do, in fact, contain the incentive that you are contending was not paid out. If the incentive is listed in the agreement, then you should proceed to gather material evidence to substantiate that the sales in question are a direct result of your efforts.

Gather Evidence and Prepare for Legal Action

If you are able to gather sufficient evidence to support your claim, the next step would be to have logical reasoning and proof ready to present to a jury if necessary. This could include demonstrating how the incentive was intentionally evaded by the other party.

Consider Legal Action

If all of the above criteria are met, then it may be appropriate to pursue a civil suit for breach of settlement. However, if you are unable to confirm the terms of the agreement or unable to gather sufficient evidence to support your claim, then it may be best to take this as a lesson and move forward with your career.

Avoid Verbal Agreements in the Future

Do not go by any verbal confirmation in the future; do not accept a postdated appointment letter either.