For Senior Members,

This is in context of my employment with a NOIDA based BPO company. The company is headquarterd in UK having offices in India at different locations. I joined the company on August 01st, 2011 and had to resign in the month of January 2012.

The reason they(HR) gave me that my process manager marked me as "ABSCONDING" for remaining abscent for more than 07 days. Actually, I was down with cold and fever about which my TL(a lady was getting the regular updates). 

They (HR) people are not ready to issue experience/relieving letter without getting a sum amounting to one month salary along with training costs which would again come to one month salary. 

The problem with my job profile is that it is not in abundance like other BPO job profiles. I joined as a Quality Analyst for Spanish Language. Getting another job immidiately is not at all guaranteed and I do not have any idea how long it would take in getting another job. They (HR) people did not allow me for even notice period saying since the process manager has marked me "ABSCONDING" then the company policy is to relieve me after collection the dues.

I approached a Lawyer friend of mind and served a legal notice asking why I should not be reinstated or compensated but they did not respond to it and I am in a fix about my next steps. My carrer as a language professional is at stake. 

Now what should I do for quick resolutions? The name of the company is IENERGIZER located in NOIDA. The process was of GRANADA SERVICES PVT. LTD. named as VEGAS. I would prefer to collect my lawyers charges also for forcing me to legal measures in the name of company policies about which they never explained me anything in advance.

I have one more case pending in context of the same Spanish Language job profiles. It was filed in 2008 for a Guiding Liscence in Tourism. I would like to know if the same can be clubbed togather or not, since the nature of complexity/exploitation in context of Spanish job profiles are more or less same in both sectors(Tourism & BPO).

Sincerely

Mritunjay Kumar

(M):7428894877

The HR is bound by terms and conditions, process, procedures laid by the company.

Did you submit leave/sick leave application to the leave sanctioning authority? Did the doctor advice bed rest?

You should have at least mentioned in first leave application that you are feeling indisposed and have sought treatment from doctor, and later that you are under treatment for ...days.

You may check your appointment letter, certified standing orders of the company ( which are to be displayed at the entrance and supplied to employee) if applicable, employee rule book (which is to be supplied to employee) and see if it is mentioned that if employee remains absent for .............days he/she shall be marked absconding.

HR of company is expected to send communications which may be emails, letters and then notice by redg post before marking absconding. HR has not performed its duty.

You have posted that "Actually, I was down with cold and fever about which my TL (a lady was getting the regular updates)" implying that you had kept your reporting authority informed. Do you have copy of these updates or any proof?

You need to establish that report of your reporting authority marking you absconding is false. And you provided all details to HR personnel, Mr/Ms...........designation............address on dated............by (mention details e.g. phone call, in person, email, and letter). You must be having the original bills of all phone calls/SMS. If you have retained SMS sent by you and SMS received you, you can show it. HR was duty bound to undo the wrongful action of TL.

If HR also stepped on your toes, you should have submitted written representations under acknowledgment to good offices of your appointing authority, MD, CEO, company Secretary with a copy to Head-HR. A smart employee shall convince these offices and get the matter resolved without landing into litigation.

You may go thru SE act applicable to your state, Industrial Employment Standing Orders Act. It is felt that you were not a manager/supervisor; therefore you should be able to approach O/o Labor commissioner. You must structure your representations carefully and may approach a competent and experienced labor consultant, and proceed under expert advice. If your wages were below Rs.16000/pm, you may agitate before Wages Inspector too.  It is seen that HR/Employer may pose as tough but majority of them are wary of law suits. If you are determined and have sufficient evidence, you may obtain address of your TL and charge your TL.

If you do not want to do all this you may pay company and obtain your work experience certificate. However you must confirm if HR shall issue relieving letter also or not? Our hunch is they shall not issue the same. You must obtain relieving letter ( hard copy under original seal and signature by hand, and soft copy from authenticated email id  of the company)without any adverse comment rather you should insist for relieving letter with good comments, and must not agree for relieving letter with conduct column left blank or without any column for conduct. You must also extract a comittement even if by email that there is nothing on record in your personnel file and you shall get positive feedback in reference check.

You are in Noida, near national capitol. There is a huge scope for translator. You can attach with some successful enterprise or establish your own. It is felt that person who knows foreign language earn handsome amounts. Till you resolve your matter you may earn from private work.

FOR SENIOR MEMBERS, 

The department concerned in my context was "QUALITY", wherein my immidiate senior was the TL, next was Manager and senior Manager. The process manager who marked me as "ABSCONDER" was in no way on my supervisor's list. In fact the employees working under him were the subjects of evaluation by the "QUALITY" deartment for "QUALITY ASSURANCE".

I did not submit any leave application but it was on record put up by the TL on last day in office when she marked me half day since I was feeling cold with high fever. And she was receiving the regular feedback about my health. Appointment letter does contains one point wherein remaining abscent for more than 7 days would mean I have abandoned the job which was not the case since I kept her updating. 

No certified standing orders of the company ( which are to be displayed at the entrance and supplied to employee) were displayed at any point of time during my employment with the company. No  employee rule book (which is to be supplied to employee) were provided to me inspite of repeated representations to HR. The HR representatives kept on rehearsing the same old scriptt saying since process manager has marked as "ABSCONDING" there is no way out except paying up for getting the relieving letter. Reinstatement is not at all feasible. 

I did not receive any e-mail or registered communications throgh post from HR asking me to explain about the resons of not turning up in office. Even now they haven't communicated in writing under the seal and signature of the company asking me to pay up the amounts owned and get relieved.

Their internal communications are done through Outlook Express and are configured in such way that I can not e-mail it from out side. I did started writing on one comapny's e-mail ID (info@ienergizer.com) but there was no response to any one of my e-mails then I stopped writing it after posting that I have approached my lawyer for getting the things resolved. I started writing on comapny's e-mail ID when I heard that my job is gone after getting marked as "ABSCONDER".

The wages were below 16000/- and I would try and approach all the relevant offices concerned including CII(probably whcih allows for the exstance of these BPO in India). I do not intend to pay up for getting my Experience Certificate since I have already seen TOURISM hwere in one case is already pending seeking a Tourist Guiding License. 

Sincerely

Mritunjay Kumar