Employee Notice Period Dilemma: How to Handle a Dispute Over Policy Changes?

Dear Seniors,

Need guidance on the employee notice period rules, mentioning a few details below:

Case Overview

The employee has completed over 1.5 years with the organization. His initial appointment letter stated the notice period as 1 month. After 6 months, the policy was revised, and the clause of the notice period was changed to 3 months (90 days) due to recent project schedule timeline/completion duration. The changes were communicated to the employee at that time. Now, the employee wants to resign but argues that he is not prepared to serve a 3-month notice period. When discussing the negotiation of the notice period against a buyout rule, the employee is not willing to agree to that point either. What would be another way out of this situation?

Thank you.

Hi, When the notice period was revised from 1 month to 3 months, was the acceptance of the change obtained in writing from the employee? If not, the employee will still be bound by the 1-month notice period.

Hi, this is a clear case of absconding. My suggestion would be to write a formal email giving him the above two choices, i.e., buy out or serve the notice, to document your process. Your next step will depend upon his response. You should defer or hold his F&F/experience/relieving letter if he doesn't respond.

Thank you for the guidance; all points are noted. The employee has shown his acceptance of the revised clause. However, he now states that he was not aware that a buyout was only a means of negotiation during the notice period and not a way to reduce the number of notice period days.