Is It Fair for a Company to Withhold Salary for Days Worked Without Notice Period? Seeking Advice

I joined a private limited (pvt. ltd.) company on May 12, 2023, after receiving the offer letter. There was a probation period of 90 days. After joining, I requested an appointment letter, and HR informed me that I would receive it after the completion of the 90-day probation period, which is usually provided within 15 days of joining. I received my May 2023 salary. On June 20, 2023, the company's founder asked me to resign, stating that otherwise, the company would terminate me, which he believed would negatively impact my career. Consequently, I resigned and was relieved of my duties on the same day after handing over the assets (laptop) and the work (source code) I had completed thus far. HR did not request that I serve a notice period, nor did they mention that they would not pay me for the 20 days worked in June or provide an experience/relieving certificate. I waited until the salary date of the subsequent month, July 5, 2023, but did not receive any payment. When I contacted HR, they explained that as a startup, they needed to manage their funds and could not pay my salary.

Is serving a notice period necessary to receive payment for the days worked before resignation?

Please advise on where I may be mistaken and what additional evidence or documentation may be required to ensure payment for the 20 days of salary owed to me.

Hi, It is not a fair employment practice. Appointment Order should be issued on the day of joining. There is no concept of issuing it after the probationary period.

Based on the advice of the employer, you submitted your resignation, which means you should have provided one month's notice or one month's pay in lieu of the same. However, they are denying the 20 days' salary and the relieving letter as well.

You can make a written request to the employer or escalate the matter to the Labor Officer in your office's jurisdiction for resolution.

Hi Lakshmi, I was not asked to serve a notice period since I was a costlier resource for them, and they felt that I was not delivering work at the speed they wanted. Serving a notice period would lead to spending more money, so they didn't ask me to serve a notice period. Otherwise, I was ready to serve a notice period. However, the payment for the notice period is different from the payment for the days I worked before resigning. What should I do—serve the notice period to get paid?

Hi, Whether the employer likes or dislikes is immaterial. If they don't want your services, they should pay you the proper salary as per the separation clause.

Please write a letter to the employer through registered post with acknowledgment due, requesting the notice period salary, balance of 20 days' salary, and a relieving letter. Frame the letter properly stating, "Based on your instruction, I have submitted my resignation letter dated ____, and you had relieved me on ____. However, even after the lapse of ___ days from my relieving, I haven't received the full and final settlement, which includes my June 2023 salary and my notice period salary. Also, I'm yet to receive my relieving letter as of date. I hereby request you to release the above as I am unemployed now due to your sudden relieving from employment without notice and facing financial issues."

Ok, thanks. I will send the above letter to the employer. Also, are there any legal or law-abiding documentation links related to the above scenario that I can send to the employer along with the letter? This will help the employer quickly release the salary rather than resorting to any legal steps.

Hi, Yes, if you have the Appointment Order, you can keep a copy. But you claim you haven't received it?

Proof of Employer's Instruction to Resign

Do you have any proof that the employer told you to submit a resignation? Tomorrow, the employer will claim that the resignation was your decision, and they didn't instruct you to resign.

Notice Period and Salary Payment

Whether or not you need to serve a notice period to get paid your salary for the days you worked before resigning depends on the terms of your employment contract. If your contract has a notice period clause, you will need to serve the notice period to be paid your full salary. However, if your contract does not have a notice period clause, you are entitled to be paid your full salary for the days you worked, even if you resigned without notice.

In your case, it seems that your contract did not have a notice period clause. Therefore, you are entitled to be paid your full salary for the 20 days of June that you worked, even though you resigned without notice. The fact that the founder of the company asked you to resign does not change this. You are still entitled to be paid for the work you did.

Legal Action for Unpaid Salary

The HR department's refusal to pay you your salary is illegal. You can file a complaint with the labor department in your state. You can also take the company to court to recover your salary.

Proof Required for Salary Recovery

As for the proof/evidence you need to get paid your salary, you will need to provide the following:

1. Your employment contract
2. Your resignation letter
3. Proof that you worked for the company during the month of June (e.g., timesheets, pay stubs)
4. A copy of the complaint you filed with the labor department or the court documents from your lawsuit

With this evidence, you should be able to successfully recover your salary from the company.

I don't have any proof that I was told to resign since it was verbal communication. The employer could terminate me if I had not resigned, which would be negative for my career. The only proof is the employees who heard this, but I am not sure they will give testimony of the same. If the employer claims that they didn't tell me to resign, then they must be ready to provide an experience and relieving letter and/or 20 days' salary. Can we prove in any other way that I was asked to resign?

Steps for a Fair Association and Parting Ways

What are the steps to be taken by the employee and employer one by one to engage in a fair association and part ways so that neither of the parties feels betrayed or cheats each other? How can we ensure that the employee and employer take their respective steps after a certain event or time duration (e.g., issuing an appointment letter upon joining)?

Appointment Letter and Notice Period

In the offer letter, a one-month notice clause is mentioned, but if they do not provide me with an appointment letter, is there any law that states giving an appointment letter is necessary or that a one-month notice is not required to serve if an appointment letter is not given? Under the circumstances, I resigned as I trusted them to provide me with a salary for 20 days and an experience/relieving letter. I did not challenge them to terminate me.

Proofs I Have

1. Your employment contract - Offer letter
2. Your resignation letter - Email
3. Proof that you worked for the company during the month of June (e.g., timesheets, pay stubs) - WhatsApp In/Out messages in attendance group.
4. A copy of the complaint you filed with the labor department or the court documents from your lawsuit - I will do once I have all the answers with me.