Can a Company Force Resignation Without Notice? Seeking Urgent HR Advice for My Brother's Situation

Hello everyone,

I am Archana, working as an HR Executive in a stockbroking company.

I just want your advice on the matter mentioned below.

My brother is working as a regional head of sales in a stockbroking company. Due to non-performance, his company marked him as resigned without giving him any notice period. Although it's mentioned in his appointment letter that management can terminate his services after giving him a 1-month notice period and management will pay him for his notice period (Basic + HRA).

The company marked him as resigned on the 25th of last month, resulting in his April month's salary and his entire incentive being withheld by the management, who refused to pay his incentive at any cost.

Now the management is asking him to submit his resignation voluntarily; after that, they will sign his full and final settlement and clearance form; otherwise, they will issue a Termination letter against him, which could spoil his entire career.

Can a company do this without receiving a resignation from the employee's side?

As an HR person, I just want to know if this is right from the company's perspective.

In this situation, what should he do?

As a sister and an HR professional, I want to help him with this problem.

Please advise me on how I can assist him.

It's urgent.

Please help me.

Regards,

Archana

Hi all,

I am working as an HR professional in an animation company. In my office, an employee resigned on April 25th, and he is serving a notice period of 1 month. Therefore, he will be with us until May 25th. According to our company rules, if a person works after 11 pm, we provide compensatory time off. The employee in question also worked until 11:45 pm on April 30th. Can I give compensatory time off to him? However, it is important to note that he is not supposed to take leave during the notice period. If I grant compensatory time off, will it be beneficial?

As all of you are experienced, I am looking for a prompt reply.

Thanks in advance,
Sindhu

Hi,

Good day to you!

Maybe your brother did something wrong; otherwise, it would not have happened like that. Perhaps management has already issued a warning letter or advisory letter to him, which is why they are asking for his resignation.

Hi,

On the basis of nonperformance, a company should issue a warning letter, but they didn't issue the same, as I already mentioned in my previous message. There is no warning letter, no notice period issued by the company's side. Please suggest what my brother should do in this situation. Is it right that the company has withheld his salary and incentive? Is there any legal way to resolve this issue?

Waiting for a positive response.

Regards, Archana

Dear Archana,

In that case, the employee can complain about the same to the Labour Welfare Association or take the matter to court if the company is acting in such a manner. Without a valid reason, no company can terminate an employee.

Hi Archana,

Firstly, as an HR person, keep in mind that no company can terminate an employee on the basis of his non-performance. An employee can be terminated only on the grounds of integrity issues. In your brother's issue, the company wants to get rid of your brother as he is not performing well. They cannot terminate him, which is against the law. So, they are threatening him that they would terminate him if he does not give the resignation letter.

So, if your brother is attending the office regularly, nobody can terminate him. The superiors are just threatening him to take the resignation letter. Ask your brother either to give a notice period or else he can resign. If he resigns without a notice period, he is not entitled to certain benefits. If there is any undue pressure despite giving the notice period, you can approach the labor commissioner directly.

Any doubts, please do write.

Regards,
Sujan

Hi,

Your brother is facing issues like many others face in their career. These are examples of BAD and UNETHICAL HR practices. If the HR guy in that company tells the management, "What we are doing is unlawful and unethical, and I will not do it," the situation will be different. In many cases, HR professionals do not use their own brains and start dancing to the tunes of management. Be it legal or illegal, they are hand in glove with the management always.

For your brother, ask him to look for a new job immediately. He should ask the company to pay him the notice salary as well. Paying the salary is not management stuff; it is the duty of HR to relieve a person smoothly and clear all his dues.

I hope it helps.

Dear Archana,

As you mentioned earlier that your brother is the Regional Head of Sales, he cannot seek relief from the Regional Labour Commissioner or Labour Court as he does not fall under the "Worker" definition. He should request his management to promptly settle his One Month Notice and other outstanding dues and consider resigning, even though it may be considered unethical or a poor HR practice.

Since he is not classified as a "workman," they have the option to terminate his employment. In the event of termination, they are obligated to provide one month's notice. Your brother can only seek redress through the Civil Court, a time-consuming process. Immediate relief from the High Court is not possible as the Stock Broking company is a private entity.

Considering the above circumstances, it is best to let him make the decision.

Thanks & Regards

Dear Archana,

First, be clear with your brother: did he sign any agreement with the company? If so, please read that agreement carefully. Under any clause, the employer would have mentioned the procedure for termination. Is your brother a confirmed employee, or is he serving his probation period? If he is serving his probation, then the employer has every right to terminate an employee on the grounds of non-performance.

Hi,

I hope you have received some good suggestions. If you are not yet satisfied, please send me a scanned copy of the appointment letter. I assure you that if I find any possibility to address this issue, I will definitely help you out.

To the best of my knowledge, there may be a few ways this situation could unfold:

1. If the company maintains documentation standards (required for ISO Audits), it may not be feasible to challenge the company as they have likely included clauses favoring the company.
2. If proper protocols are not followed, there may be numerous challenges for the employer to address.

I would like to review the rules, regulations, and terms and conditions of employment.

Best Regards,
Deepak Dwivedi

Hi Archana,

First, I would like to tell you that a company can terminate any employee if it has valid reasons, be it integrity, non-performance, or any other reason. Now, the only question left is what should be the right way.

There are two ways to handle this situation:
1. Forced Resignation
2. Termination

In the first case, the company asks the employee to submit their resignation and they are relieved as per usual process, with proper relieving formalities. In the second case, the employee can be simply terminated with a termination letter. However, a termination letter can negatively impact the employee's career.

In both cases, the employer must provide either the notice period mentioned in the appointment letter or payment in lieu of the notice period. The company can proceed with the relieving formalities only after receiving the resignation letter. Incentives cannot be withheld as they are the right of the employee. There should be no outstanding dues from either the employee or the employer.

Regards,
Archana D.

Hi Archana,

I suggest going smoothly with the employer instead of raising anti-slogans. Ask your brother to talk it out with the management and smoothly resign from the job to get the F&F. The world is big, and your brother can get another job. The relieving letter will be helpful for him to secure another job in the market. If he is stamped or known in the market for having approached the Labour court, his future will be in jeopardy.

He may be a non-performer according to the standards of this company. Who knows, he could be the best employee in his next company? Please ask him to sort out all his issues with the current employer and smoothly resolve all conflicts.

If you need any other help, please let me know.

Email: sgkgopalkrishna@gmail.com

Sr. Manager HR
New Delhi

Hi Sindhu,

Can you send me some "Termination letter formats, Appraisal and Performance hike formats, and Suspension letter formats?

Imran

Dear Ms. Archana,

No company intentionally displaces a person from his job. Every company needs manpower to run the organization. There could be justifiable reasons for an organization to resort to this drastic measure. Your brother, holding a senior position, doesn't come under the purview of 'workman' as he is a management staff. If his appointment letter clearly states that his services can be terminated by giving him one month's salary, the company would be fair in its stand.

Regards,
N. Somaraj
Manager - HR

Hi,

Can you provide me some suggestions on how to conduct an "Organization Culture Survey" and how to analyze it?

Waiting for your reply.

With Regards,
Prajakta :-P

Hello everyone,

I am Archana, working as an HR Executive in a stockbroking company. I just want your advice on the matter mentioned below.

My brother is working as a regional head of sales in a stockbroking company. Due to non-performance, his company labeled him as resigned without giving him any notice period. Although it's mentioned in his appointment letter that the management can terminate his services after giving him a 1-month notice period and will pay him for his notice period (Basic+HRA).

The company marked him as resigned on the 25th of last month. Because of this, his salary for April and his entire incentive have been withheld by the management, and they refused to pay his incentive at any cost.

Now the management is asking him to submit his resignation, after which they will sign his full and final settlement and clearance form. Otherwise, they will issue a termination letter against him, which could potentially ruin his entire career.

Can a company do this without receiving a resignation from the employee's side? As an HR person, I want to know if this is right from the company's perspective. In this situation, what should he do?

As a sister and an HR professional, I want to help him with this problem. Please advise me on how I can assist him. It's urgent.

Please help me.

Regards,
Archana