Feeling Stuck: How My Job Expectations Were Shattered and Led to Unemployment

I joined this role with enthusiasm and a sincere desire to make a positive contribution. However, the reality differed significantly from what I was initially told. Despite being informed of office hours from 10 to 12 hours, I often had to stay late into the night without receiving any tasks. They are comparing me with experienced developers and they told me to do work without connecting with developers. I even requested not to come on weekends when there were no tasks, but I was instructed to be present without work. When I asked for assignments, the manager would respond with a vague "Let me check," leaving me without clear responsibilities or guidance, which was demotivating.

Furthermore, there was a noticeable gap between what was communicated and what was practiced regarding female employees' working hours. Although we were advised that women shouldn't stay in the office past 8.30 pm, this guideline wasn't adhered to, and I frequently worked late into the night without any concern for my well-being or safety.

Despite putting in extra hours, I did not receive overtime pay. Additionally, I was given an unrealistic deadline of 2 days to prepare for a QA interview, with the threat of termination if I didn't pass. This lack of planning and the intense mental pressure eventually led me to resign without having another job lined up. I am currently unemployed due to these circumstances, and my experiences have clearly shown that this environment does not support my professional growth.

And they replied. However, we didn't receive any response from you on the amount you are supposed to pay to the company. This is to reiterate that you are supposed to pay the mentioned Recovery Amount of INR 100000.

Unfortunately, in the absence of cooperation from your end, we are bound to escalate this to our Compliance & Legal Team. Please connect with Mr. Delhi as soon as possible in order to avoid the escalation. We will wait till the end of the day, post which this incident will be escalated to the Compliance & Legal team, which will be followed by a legal procedure including a legal notice being sent to your address. All the communication and lack of cooperation from your end will be recorded and kept with the company for future reference and background verification purposes.

What you have done is right. You should not stay with this company. Now, it is your freedom to select your organization, the employer with whom you should work. Nobody can interfere in that. The threats that the company has made should be escalated to the concerned authorities. You should send a legal notice to the company stating that you have been harassed by being asked to work for more than 12 hours when the law states that no employee shall work for more than 10 hours a day, including overtime. When the normal working hours as per law are 8 hours per day or 48 hours a week, how can they say that you should work for 10 to 12 hours? That itself is illegal. Then how can they demand Rs 1 lakh as compensation from you? You should remember that there is no law which says that in order to leave an employer, the employee should pay compensation, whereas the employer is liable to pay it if they want to terminate an employee.

Therefore, the notice that the employer shall send will have the value of toilet paper only. The only thing to worry about is the remarks that these individuals may make when a background verification is conducted by a future employer. At the same time, it is a matter of concern only if you seek employment in private establishments because for public sector postings, these are not relevant and nobody cares about the feedback of a private establishment. Therefore, when you attend an interview, you should tell them the facts, the real reasons for leaving. You can frankly tell them that it was due to their work culture that you left that company.

I would say that you should respond to the mail/letter that they may send and make them understand that an employee is not a product available in the market with whom somebody can bargain. The only faith they have is the background verification. But as long as you are employable, no report from these agencies will harm you.