Facing Notice Pay Dispute and Delayed F&F Settlement: How Can I Legally Resolve This?

I worked as a Senior Executive in one of the Corporates in Hyderabad. Following are the Resignation & Termination clauses in my appointment letter:

i. If you desire to resign from service after confirmation, you will be required to serve a notice period of one (1) month or one month's basic pay in lieu thereof. However, the Company reserves the right to insist on you serving the notice period either fully or partially.

ii. You are not eligible to avail any leave during the notice period after submitting your resignation. Any type of absence will be treated as Loss of Pay.

iii. After confirmation, your employment could be terminated by assigning a notice of one month from either side or one month's basic pay in lieu thereof.

iv. In case you quit your employment or remain absent from duty without any notice before the expiry of the Notice Period, you shall not only forfeit your salary by way of liquidated damages, but the Company shall also be entitled to deduct or appropriate the amount of liquidated damages from or against any money found due to you by the Company on any account whatsoever.

I submitted my resignation on 16.02.2022, stating I would serve a one-month notice period as per my employment terms and hand over responsibilities. My reporting officer, who is also the Business Head, accepted the resignation and asked me to leave in 3 days, although there was no issue between us. He mentioned the same on my resignation letter, saying "Relieve him by 19.02.2022" (i.e., in 3 days). Accordingly, I completed the handover and no due formalities, submitted them to HR, and left the company on 19.02.2022. Nine days later, HR sent an email confirming my resignation is accepted, and the relieving date is 19.02.2022, and I shall pay 24 days' notice pay amount. I denied this and conveyed it to the reporting officer and commented to HR that it was not conveyed to me when the handover and no dues were submitted; otherwise, I would have served the full notice period. It was the reporting officer's decision that I have to be relieved in 3 days, and I respected that. No response from them. My reporting officer also sent an email to HR and requested to waive off my notice period and settle F&F. But HR is not listening and is asking me to pay the notice pay amount as per clause (i) above.

Kindly advise if they are entitled to demand the notice pay amount as per the above clause in this particular case. How can I demand my F&F and experience letter from them? I have sent multiple reminders. What are the clauses and acts through which I can demand from them legally? They are sticking to the same clause and asking for the notice pay amount whenever I send a reminder and explain to them that no mistake was done by me. Can I write to the labor commissioner legally?

Hi, Your organization does not seem to be very professional, in my opinion. Being relieved within 3 days seems to be their decision, even though you were prepared to serve the full notice period. Do you have any evidence to support the recommendation from your Reporting Officer that you could be relieved in 3 days? If you do, you should present it along with that proof to your HR. On your last working day, they are supposed to issue your FFS cheque or FFS commutation sheet. Why didn't this happen, and based on what assumption were you relieved without receiving any assurance on FFS?

It appears that it has been over a year since you were relieved. Were you following up with them hoping they would release it? Have you contacted the Labor Officer of your office's jurisdiction? You can present your case and try to resolve the situation.

You are not required to pay a notice period buyout when the company relieves you on their own. In fact, they are legally obliged to pay you the notice period amount for the remaining 27 days.

You can try to take this up with the labor commission's office, and mostly, they will help you. Alternatively, send a legal notice to the company asking them to pay you and stating that their action amounts to harassment.

But remember that you may need them to respond to your future queries, so end this politely if possible. If they have a compliance office, you can approach them instead and explain the situation since they will ultimately face the consequences as the first line in any court or labor office action.

I have the resignation copy signed by the reporting officer, which clearly states that I need to be relieved within three days. The no-dues copy and email follow-ups are also available with me. Three days ago, I wrote a letter to the Joint Commissioner of Labour (Company Jurisdiction) providing all evidence and also sent an email. I am currently awaiting a response.

Can I demand payment for 24 days from the company and seek compensation for the time, effort, and mental anguish they have caused me?

Can someone mention the clauses and acts through which I can legally demand my F&F and service certificate from them? It will be very helpful.