I joined a company where they presented me with an offer letter, and my employment with them would be confirmed after 6 months of a probationary period. I signed a bond with them on non-disclosure of any of their company information outside.
After 7 days of working, I found that they do not have any employee appraisal management. HR clearly stated that I should not expect a raise after 6 months when I am confirmed as well as after 1 year. So I left the company. I let them know through mail and also personally met them.
They have now sent a legal notice demanding a 2-month notice period or 2 months' salary from me.
I want to ask, am I bound to pay and serve because of the offer letter?
From India, Calcutta
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After 7 days of working, I found that they do not have any employee appraisal management. HR clearly stated that I should not expect a raise after 6 months when I am confirmed as well as after 1 year. So I left the company. I let them know through mail and also personally met them.
They have now sent a legal notice demanding a 2-month notice period or 2 months' salary from me.
I want to ask, am I bound to pay and serve because of the offer letter?
From India, Calcutta
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Hi , if you are in the probationary period u no need to serve the notice period or pay any money to them dont worry relax. Regards, Mohan
From India, Visakhapatnam
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From India, Visakhapatnam
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Few companies follow the policy that on confirmation, a hike in pay will be given to an employee, and some do not follow the same practice. So getting a hike on confirmation is totally dependent upon the discretion of the management.
Now, coming to the other point you have mentioned; they said you should not demand a salary hike at the end of one year. That suggests they do not follow yearly appraisal systems, which is why they told you that.
As far as the notice part is concerned, if they have sent you a legal notice, then they must have done so with reference to your terms and conditions as mentioned in the appointment letter, which I am sure you must have signed. If it states that during the probation period, you have to give a 2-month notice period, they have a valid clause to file a suit against you.
I will advise you to get these issues sorted out without any legal implications on you.
Regards
From India, Mumbai
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14Now, coming to the other point you have mentioned; they said you should not demand a salary hike at the end of one year. That suggests they do not follow yearly appraisal systems, which is why they told you that.
As far as the notice part is concerned, if they have sent you a legal notice, then they must have done so with reference to your terms and conditions as mentioned in the appointment letter, which I am sure you must have signed. If it states that during the probation period, you have to give a 2-month notice period, they have a valid clause to file a suit against you.
I will advise you to get these issues sorted out without any legal implications on you.
Regards
From India, Mumbai
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They did give me an offer letter, but no letter of appointment was given to me. The offer letter is also not a legal document. I have not signed on each and every page of the offer letter. Am I still subject to any breach of contract even if the offer letter is not a legal document?
Offer Letter Details
The offer letter does mention:
- You will be on probation for 6 months. In the event of your successful completion of the probationary period, you will be confirmed. On account of the same, an appointment letter will be given to you.
- On account of your resignation, two months' notice has to be provided from the date of acceptance of the Resignation Letter. Please refer to the Notice Period Policy in the HR Policy Manual for more details.
The HR policy manual was never given to me. I neither read it, so I don't know what it mentions. As I told you, it has only been 7 days in my probationary period.
Legal Documents Signed
The only legal documents that I signed were on:
- Confidentiality
- Agreement For Assignment Of IP
- Non-Compete
They have already sent the legal notice. Since I was not at home, I now have to personally go and collect the same to see what they have charged me with. I thought in India there is no such thing as bonded labor, and you have to sign a legal document of pay and serve to be liable for payment if you leave the company. Let's see what happens. After I collect the document from the post office, I have to see a lawyer, I guess.
Regards.
From India, Calcutta
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Offer Letter Details
The offer letter does mention:
- You will be on probation for 6 months. In the event of your successful completion of the probationary period, you will be confirmed. On account of the same, an appointment letter will be given to you.
- On account of your resignation, two months' notice has to be provided from the date of acceptance of the Resignation Letter. Please refer to the Notice Period Policy in the HR Policy Manual for more details.
The HR policy manual was never given to me. I neither read it, so I don't know what it mentions. As I told you, it has only been 7 days in my probationary period.
Legal Documents Signed
The only legal documents that I signed were on:
- Confidentiality
- Agreement For Assignment Of IP
- Non-Compete
They have already sent the legal notice. Since I was not at home, I now have to personally go and collect the same to see what they have charged me with. I thought in India there is no such thing as bonded labor, and you have to sign a legal document of pay and serve to be liable for payment if you leave the company. Let's see what happens. After I collect the document from the post office, I have to see a lawyer, I guess.
Regards.
From India, Calcutta
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As you have mentioned, if the letter you signed is not a properly documented offer or appointment letter, you could question the authenticity of such a document by stating that it is not a valid employment document.
Regarding Confidentiality Agreements, Assignment of IP, and Non-Compete Agreements
If these are the documents you signed, you need to be aware of any notice charges that may apply to you.
As you noted in your previous statements, upon your resignation, a two-month notice period is required from the date of acceptance of your resignation letter. Please refer to the Notice Period Policy in the HR Policy Manual for further details.
Question About HR Policy Manual
My question is, have you signed their HR Policy Manual, which declares that the employee has acknowledged the documents and will adhere to the rules and procedures outlined in it? If not, you can challenge them by stating that such a policy was never presented to you. However, if you have signed it, it could pose an issue.
One good thing you did was not receiving the letter. Therefore, do not actively seek out the letter; you can always claim that the letter was never received.
Additionally, check if the letter originates from their lawyer or if they have taken legal action by approaching a labor court or civil court and filing a suit against you. If it is from the court, respond accordingly, but do not rush until you physically have the letter. If the letter is from their lawyer on regular A4 paper, you can choose to ignore it.
I hope this helps clarify your situation.
From India, Mumbai
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Regarding Confidentiality Agreements, Assignment of IP, and Non-Compete Agreements
If these are the documents you signed, you need to be aware of any notice charges that may apply to you.
As you noted in your previous statements, upon your resignation, a two-month notice period is required from the date of acceptance of your resignation letter. Please refer to the Notice Period Policy in the HR Policy Manual for further details.
Question About HR Policy Manual
My question is, have you signed their HR Policy Manual, which declares that the employee has acknowledged the documents and will adhere to the rules and procedures outlined in it? If not, you can challenge them by stating that such a policy was never presented to you. However, if you have signed it, it could pose an issue.
One good thing you did was not receiving the letter. Therefore, do not actively seek out the letter; you can always claim that the letter was never received.
Additionally, check if the letter originates from their lawyer or if they have taken legal action by approaching a labor court or civil court and filing a suit against you. If it is from the court, respond accordingly, but do not rush until you physically have the letter. If the letter is from their lawyer on regular A4 paper, you can choose to ignore it.
I hope this helps clarify your situation.
From India, Mumbai
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I have not signed any document or their HR policy manual, nor any document stating that I have read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures mentioned in it. - Some relief.
I only signed the "offer of employment," which was a plain A4 piece of paper, and I signed it only at the very end of the page, not on each page. The only legal document was the Confidentiality/Agreement for Assignment of IP/Non-Compete.
Are you suggesting I should not go to the post office and collect the letter? I have never faced such a situation and never thought they would pursue me like this when I only worked for 7 days. They are demanding 30K, which is quite a huge amount to ask for.
From India, Calcutta
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I only signed the "offer of employment," which was a plain A4 piece of paper, and I signed it only at the very end of the page, not on each page. The only legal document was the Confidentiality/Agreement for Assignment of IP/Non-Compete.
Are you suggesting I should not go to the post office and collect the letter? I have never faced such a situation and never thought they would pursue me like this when I only worked for 7 days. They are demanding 30K, which is quite a huge amount to ask for.
From India, Calcutta
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Notice Period Extension Letter Format.doc