There is an employee who joined the company (letter of intent given, salary credited to account, appointment letter not given). The employee is under unauthorized absence for 10 days and was previously on unauthorized absence for 15 days. He was warned several times over the telephone and personally. Finally, a show-cause notice was issued to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken. It was mentioned that in case of no reply, the management would be at liberty to take appropriate action without further reference to him. There has been no reply received from him.
Questions Regarding Employee Termination
1) Should he be dismissed or terminated?
2) Is it necessary to send him any communication confirming dismissal or termination?
Looking forward to your reply. Thank you.
From India, Delhi
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Questions Regarding Employee Termination
1) Should he be dismissed or terminated?
2) Is it necessary to send him any communication confirming dismissal or termination?
Looking forward to your reply. Thank you.
From India, Delhi
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Hi, Few questions: Why was the appointment order not issued, but the salary was processed and credited to his account? What is the content of the letter of intent? Is there any term mentioned regarding the notice period in it? Now that he is not reporting without any information, and considering that a warning/show cause has already been issued, please wait for his response. If the letter is posted through RPAD, also wait for the delivery acknowledgment. If there is no reply, proceed with termination for unauthorized absence. Termination through RPAD is a must. In case the termination RPAD bounces back to your address, file it in his personal file without opening it.
From India, Madras
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1015From India, Madras
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Hi V.M. Lakshminarayanan, Thank you for your response. The issuance of the appointment letter was delayed due to some issues, and he has only worked for two months in the company. The letter of intent does not mention anything about the notice period. The show cause notice was sent to him via email and WhatsApp.
Queries on Show Cause and Termination Notices
- Is it acceptable to issue a show cause notice via email?
- Can the termination letter be sent via email?
- Does RPAD stand for Registered Post?
Please advise on the above queries. Thank you.
From India, Delhi
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Queries on Show Cause and Termination Notices
- Is it acceptable to issue a show cause notice via email?
- Can the termination letter be sent via email?
- Does RPAD stand for Registered Post?
Please advise on the above queries. Thank you.
From India, Delhi
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Hi, It is strange that even after two months of service, the appointment order has not been issued. So, when there are no mutually agreed terms and conditions on the notice period between the employer and the employee, on what basis have you served a show cause notice? The employee may claim that he is not aware of any such notice period clause.
Proper Communication Methods for Show Cause Notices
A show cause/warning/termination letter should always be served through Registered Post with Acknowledgement due. (In normal registered post, you will not get a signed acknowledgment, which is proof of delivery.) Additionally, you can send a copy via email.
Limitations of Email and WhatsApp for Official Communication
Sending communication solely through email is not recommended. The reason being an employee might claim in the future that they haven't seen the email or that the particular email address is not in use. Similarly, a WhatsApp message cannot be considered a proper channel of communication. Email/WhatsApp can only be used as an additional communication method.
Thank you.
From India, Madras
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Proper Communication Methods for Show Cause Notices
A show cause/warning/termination letter should always be served through Registered Post with Acknowledgement due. (In normal registered post, you will not get a signed acknowledgment, which is proof of delivery.) Additionally, you can send a copy via email.
Limitations of Email and WhatsApp for Official Communication
Sending communication solely through email is not recommended. The reason being an employee might claim in the future that they haven't seen the email or that the particular email address is not in use. Similarly, a WhatsApp message cannot be considered a proper channel of communication. Email/WhatsApp can only be used as an additional communication method.
Thank you.
From India, Madras
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As appointment letter was not served, there is no legal binding between company/employer and employee. In such a scenario, you can infer that he has voluntarily abandoned his employment.
From India, Aizawl
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From India, Aizawl
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The subject acknowledges that due to certain issues, the Appointment Letter has not been issued. Thus, the initial responsibility for the derailment of duty falls on the employer. Typically, a formal letter of appointment is issued, and the employee is asked to fill in the details in the Duty Joining Report on their first day. Additionally, the employee completes a form to open a salary bank account at the same bank where the company holds its account. This process is usually followed to facilitate easy documentation and concurrent transfer of funds from the company to the employee.
Now, the problem lacks proper details. Why was the Letter of Appointment not issued and signed by the employee with the terms and conditions? As you mentioned, there are issues on both sides. You did not accept some conditions of the employee, and the employee did not accept some conditions of the employer. Consequently, nothing is binding. How can you credit the salary without any approval from the department where he worked?
If biometric attendance is in place, why has HR not checked the employee's attendance for the minimum number of days he was present on duty? Normally, I always review 25 days of attendance for the current month, plus the earlier months from the 26th day to the month-end (28/29/30/31, as applicable). That is, the calculation is from the 26th of the previous month to the 25th of the current month.
This applies to office employees, and field personnel are authorized by the managers. New joining employees are always shown separately, and their accounts are checked for probation, absence, sick leave, unauthorized absence, etc.
In this situation, you can either terminate or suspend, but the employer-employee relationship is not established. At most, you can check his attendance and what has been paid to him. If any excess has been paid due to the automatic credit of salary, you can seek a refund. A notice could be sent by the company with a show-cause notice for remaining absent during the probation period.
From Saudi Arabia
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Now, the problem lacks proper details. Why was the Letter of Appointment not issued and signed by the employee with the terms and conditions? As you mentioned, there are issues on both sides. You did not accept some conditions of the employee, and the employee did not accept some conditions of the employer. Consequently, nothing is binding. How can you credit the salary without any approval from the department where he worked?
If biometric attendance is in place, why has HR not checked the employee's attendance for the minimum number of days he was present on duty? Normally, I always review 25 days of attendance for the current month, plus the earlier months from the 26th day to the month-end (28/29/30/31, as applicable). That is, the calculation is from the 26th of the previous month to the 25th of the current month.
This applies to office employees, and field personnel are authorized by the managers. New joining employees are always shown separately, and their accounts are checked for probation, absence, sick leave, unauthorized absence, etc.
In this situation, you can either terminate or suspend, but the employer-employee relationship is not established. At most, you can check his attendance and what has been paid to him. If any excess has been paid due to the automatic credit of salary, you can seek a refund. A notice could be sent by the company with a show-cause notice for remaining absent during the probation period.
From Saudi Arabia
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Any absence during normal working hours that is not covered by an approved Leave Request, including any leave over the period specified by an approved Leave Request, or which is not authorized by a special and specific ruling by competent Company authority, is considered Absence Without Leave (AWOL).
Record of AWOL
For HR to review the employee's attendance records, any AWOL should be identified by the Payroll Unit in the HR Department. The HR Department will verify the AWOL by discussing it with the employee's supervisor and the employee if necessary. The AWOL will be recorded in the employee's leave record. For exempt personnel who do not use Time Cards, AWOL must be reported by the employee's supervisor to the higher authority and the HR Department for similar record and action if necessary.
Excessive AWOL
In our company, excessive AWOL will result in disciplinary action or termination. AWOL may not exceed 3 consecutive working days at one time or exceed 6 working days in one month. The employee will be legally terminated.
Performance
The record of AWOL is considered during the annual performance review or merit increase.
Best regards,
John
From China, Shanghai
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Record of AWOL
For HR to review the employee's attendance records, any AWOL should be identified by the Payroll Unit in the HR Department. The HR Department will verify the AWOL by discussing it with the employee's supervisor and the employee if necessary. The AWOL will be recorded in the employee's leave record. For exempt personnel who do not use Time Cards, AWOL must be reported by the employee's supervisor to the higher authority and the HR Department for similar record and action if necessary.
Excessive AWOL
In our company, excessive AWOL will result in disciplinary action or termination. AWOL may not exceed 3 consecutive working days at one time or exceed 6 working days in one month. The employee will be legally terminated.
Performance
The record of AWOL is considered during the annual performance review or merit increase.
Best regards,
John
From China, Shanghai
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As the employee has worked only for two months, most likely he didn't like the job and left on his own. You can wait for some time, say for a month or so, and send a letter of termination directly to the last known address as per his application. The letter is to be sent to the individual by RPAD.
From India, Madras
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From India, Madras
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Termination letter for absence.doc
Communication.p pt