Employee Transfer Dilemma: How Should We Handle a Request for More Time Due to Family Issues?

Dear Sir,

I am working in a Public Limited Company. Our HR department referred a matter of an employee for advice. The employee has been working in our organization for the last 3 years. According to his reporting manager, he is not performing his work properly. Therefore, we suggested the HR department issue a transfer order. Accordingly, the HR department has issued a transfer order (based on the draft provided by the legal department) and directed him to join the transferred location within 7 days from the date of the order.

Now, after 10 days have passed since the joining period (initial 7 days), we have received a request letter from the employee. He is willing to join at the transferred location but due to some family issues (such as the hospitalization of his father and mother), he is requesting 2 to 3 months to relocate. In the meantime, we have sent him a Show Cause Notice through RPAD for not reporting at the transferred location, but he has not acknowledged the SCN.

Kindly advise us on the further course of action to be taken on our part.

Regards,

Mayur P. Kulkarni

Hi, You claim that the employee failed to report at the transferred location and had requested a 2-3 month time frame to join. However, he had neither reported at the new location nor at the parent location, which needs to be construed as unauthorized absence.

Even though the employee has valid reasons and requires some time to report at the transferred location, he should have reported at the current location or applied for leave with valid reasons.

Now that the Show Cause Notice (SCN) has bounced back with remarks "Not accepted," keep the same in his personal file without opening the Returned Post Acknowledgment Due (RPAD).

Referring to the above SCN, you may serve a second letter stating that the employee is not reporting after the transfer order was issued and the SCN was sent to his address as per the file, which bounced back. You can send it through RPAD and also via email. Just add a statement that "if you fail to report to the office on or before ____ the Management will proceed with termination of employment without any further notice." Provide a sufficient time frame and do not rush to close the file. Send the letter to present and permanent addresses as per the employee file. If you have a legal department, they will know the disciplinary process.

I hope your Appointment Order includes a location-to-location transfer clause based on business requirements.

Dear Mayur P Kulkarni,

My replies to your query are as follows:

Transfer Order and Employee Performance

a) You have written, "As per his reporting manager, he is not doing his work properly. Therefore, we have suggested the HR department issue a Transfer order."

Comments: If the employee was not performing properly, it merits an investigation into why he was not working effectively. Changing the work location of the employee may alter his mindset or attitude, but this is just an assumption.

Issuance of Transfer Order

b) Accordingly, the HR department has issued a Transfer Order (based on the draft provided by the legal department) and directed him to join the transferred location within 7 days from the date of the order.

Comments: Setting aside the merits of the transfer, did you check whether a period of seven days was sufficient for him to join at a new location? What is the distance between his existing location and the new location? How was he supposed to travel? What help would your organization provide for his accommodation?

Employee's Request for Extension

c) Now, after the lapse of 10 days of the joining period, i.e., 7 days, we have received a request letter from the employee stating that he is ready to join at the transferred location but due to some family issues (such as the hospitalization of his father and mother), he wants 2 to 3 months to join at the transferred location.

Comments: Regardless of the number of days for joining, the employee must join at the new location. The "orders" are for "obeying." The willingness of the employee does not count here. I doubt whether the employee understood the meaning of "order." Whether to accept the employee's request to extend the date of joining or not is an internal matter of your company. If the extension of the order is not granted, then the employee remains absent from work at the new location. For his absence, follow the regular procedure. As such, you have issued one Show Cause Notice. Issue the second one for remaining absent from work at the new location.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Dear Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan Sir and Mr. Dinesh Divekar Sir,

Thank you for sharing your opinion. Management has decided to grant the employee one month's time to relocate due to his family issues. Please provide a draft letter stating that we will allow him one month (instead of the initial 2/3 months) for relocation. It should be communicated clearly that failure to meet this timeline will result in Management initiating employment termination proceedings without further notice.

Regards,

Mayur P. Kulkarni

Hi, Providing a one-month time frame is okay, but you cannot mention that his services will be terminated without any further notice if he fails to report before the stipulated date. Please find below the template. You can modify it as per your requirements.

Draft

Date___

Dear Mr._____

Ref: Our Transfer order dated____ Your request letter dated_____

This is with further reference to the Transfer order dated___ issued to you and your request letter dated____.

We are in receipt of your request letter dated___ requesting time to report at the transferred location. Please note that you were transferred to _____ (location name) due to exigencies of business requirements. However, your request for delayed reporting at the transferred location is considered favorably by us, and you are hereby directed to report at _____ (location name) on or before. Please note that we will not entertain any further request for time.

If you fail to report at the new location on or before______, we will be constrained to proceed with disciplinary action.

Please plan your travel itinerary well in advance.

Please report to Mr._______ on or before_____

Acknowledge receipt of this letter.

Refer to _____ (earlier communication) wherein your services were transferred to _____ w.e.f. You failed to report on the said date and also refused to accept the communication by RPAD. After a lapse of _______ days, we are in receipt of your letter to consider deferment of the reporting date by 2 months.

After careful scrutiny of the case, the management has considered sympathetically accommodating your request not exceeding one month. Your revised date of reporting stands ________.

Dear Sir, In continuation of my earlier query, we have issued a letter to the employee granting him one month's time to join at the new location. However, after the lapse of one month, he has still not joined at the new location. Instead of joining, he sent us a doctor's certificate mentioning that he is suffering from fistula and needs medical treatment, therefore requesting 15 days of medical leave.

We have already issued another show cause notice to him for not reporting at the new location even after the lapse of one month.

Kindly advise on the further course of action to be taken at our end and provide a suitable draft letter that needs to be addressed to the employee in this context.

Regards,

Mayur P. Kulkarni

Steps to Address Employee Relocation Issues

Discuss the matter with the employee. The first step is to discuss the matter with the employee and understand his reasons for not joining the new location. It is important to be understanding and sympathetic to his situation, but also to be firm in your expectations.

Negotiate a mutually agreeable solution. Once you have a better understanding of the employee's situation, you can try to negotiate a mutually agreeable solution. This could involve giving him more time to join the new location or allowing him to work remotely for a period of time.

Issue a final warning. If the employee is still not willing to join the new location, you may need to issue a final warning. This should be in writing and should clearly state the consequences of not joining the new location.

Terminate the employee's employment. If the employee still refuses to join the new location, you may need to terminate his employment. This is a serious step, so it should only be taken as a last resort.

Additional Considerations

The employee's request for more time to join the new location should be reasonable. If he is asking for several months, this may not be acceptable. You should document all of your communications with the employee, including the transfer order, the request for more time, and the final warning. This will help you if you need to take further action. You should also consult with your legal department to make sure that you are taking the appropriate steps. I hope this helps!

Dear Sir,

In continuation of my earlier queries, despite giving the employee one month's time, he has not joined the transferred location. Instead, he has sent a request via email asking for 15 days of leave due to a fistula infection. He attached a prescription issued by an MD doctor. Accordingly, we have sympathetically considered his request, granted him 15 days of leave, and communicated this through a letter. However, he has still not reported to the transferred location after the stipulated date mentioned in our letter. Instead, he sent another email stating that his doctor suggested a blood test due to symptoms of dengue and requested an extension of his leave. It is important to note that he did not specify the duration of leave required in his email.

Kindly advise on the further course of action. Should we mark him as Leave Without Pay or grant him an extension to his earlier leave? If an extension is considered, how many more days of leave can we grant him?

Furthermore, do we insist on him providing doctor's certificates and reports regarding the fistula infection and the blood test report for dengue, if conducted?

Kindly provide guidance on the next steps.

Regards,

Mayur P. Kulkarni

Keeping in view the principle of natural justice, and as the employee has submitted a medical certificate duly certified by a specialist physician (MBBS, MD), it is not advisable to initiate disciplinary action against him. Therefore, it would be better if you allow him to avail an extension of leave.

If you find the reasons provided by him are not plausible, you can ask him to appear before a doctor authorized by you for a medical examination and receive feedback from the doctor.