Unexpected Salary Deduction After Notice Period Change: What Legal Steps Can I Take?

"I initially requested my HR to reduce my notice period from 45 days to 68 days, which was eventually granted after considerable effort. I also inquired about the possibility of a buyout, to which HR responded negatively. Subsequently, I received an email confirmation from HR indicating a 68-day notice period, with no mention of any salary deduction. However, on my last day, I discovered a deduction of 22 days' worth of salary in my final settlement. When I inquired about this deduction with HR, they directed me to 'check the policy.' Could you please advise me on the appropriate legal steps to take in order to seek reimbursement for this deduction? Are there any viable options available?"

Hi, could you verify the separation clause in your appointment order? What was the notice period specified in your appointment order? If you have a 90-day or 30-month notice period, the employer has the right to deduct 22 days of your pay that you did not serve. Technically, you only served 68 days out of 90. So moving forward legally is pointless.

Regards,
Gowtham

Notice Period Policy

The notice period is the time when an outgoing employee hands over their current duties and completes the operational part of their assignment for which they were responsible prior to submitting their resignation. Therefore, it is normally expected that an employee works for the entire period of the applicable notice period. When a request for an early release or waiver of the notice period has been agreed to by the company, the employee’s leave (PL only) may be adjusted against their notice period to the extent of their leave balance. If this is inadequate, an amount equivalent to the balance of the notice period will be recovered during the final settlement. The adjustment of leave against the notice period is at the discretion of the company, and the employee cannot claim it as a right or an entitlement. All such adjustments of leaves will be on calendar days.

Please let me know if there is still hope to get back my money?

Hi Praveen, The number of notice periods that an employee must serve is not specified in Policy No. 6 that you shared; only "the entire period of the applicable notice period" is referenced. Please review the appointment order to see if your firm made any mention of it in any other policy number. If not, surely you can claim your deductions.

Regards, Gowtham

Unfair treatment by HR regarding notice period

The organization has been unfair and unethical, and HR has been mean. It appears that they considered your request to reduce the notice period to 45 days but only agreed to 68 days. After agreeing to 68 days, on the last day, they indicated a salary deduction for 22 days, making it clear that the notice period in your case is 90 days only.

Legal considerations for notice period issues

For any legal remedy, do you have anything in writing to the effect that they are agreeing to 68 days as the notice period to be served? Otherwise, they can defend their stand by stating that you wanted a buy-out option, and they agreed to it as was possible.