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Abhirup (Vice President - Employee Relations)     18 January 2013

Resignation on emotional grounds

Hello Sirs,

 

I have a situation. An employee resigns in the heat of the moment / on emotional grounds, the organization accepts and the resignation and made an immediate release with a notice period waive off. The employee wants to withdraw the resignation after a thought but the organization does not want to take back the employee and doest not accepts the withdrawl. Does the employee can go to court for constructive dismissal? Is there any legal risk for the organization? Is there any law in India which mandates the organization to take back the employee if the employee has resigned on emotional grounds?

It would be really helpfull for some answer to my query.

 

Thanks

Abhi 



Learning

 6 Replies

Kumar Doab (FIN)     18 January 2013

 

Employee can withdraw the resignation before expiry of notice/effective date of resignation-last day in office-date of retirement given by employee.

Supreme Court judgment in case of:  

Nand_Keshwar_Prasad_vs_Indian_Farmers_Fertilizers_..._on_1_April,_1998(1)

Thus company does not enjoy any so stated power of “doest not accepts the withdrawl.

 

Yes employee can approach court of law. Employee can approach other avenues e.g. works committee, trade union etc…..and any other resource for recourse.

Being from employee relations you may look for avenues which may precipitate anguish of the employee e.g. apology by the others even if they are senior and accept notice of resignation and agree to tender salary as in appointment letter and issue a communication to employee mentioning he/she does not need to attend office.

Apparently company is weak an employee seems to have merit.

It also seems that employee has already consulted as he/she has decided to exercise option to withdraw the resignation.

HR/legal/personnel/admin should exercise restraint and care while dealing with employees especially a properly informed employee and an employee who is determined. Thus the personnel in these discplines shall defent the company as well as them too.

 

Valuable advice of learned experts/members is sought.


(Guest)

I differ to the opinion of Ld. memeber/expert.

 

In the light of the given fact, 'No' is the answer to this query.

 

Point to be noted- Once agreement reached, cannot be challenged, unless lacking ingredients of 'Free Consent'.

 

Note- This reply should be taken as per the declaration given in my profile page.

 

Thanks,

Regards,

 

KCS Kutty, Pune (FACULTY)     19 January 2013

In this case, the employee gives his resignation ( on emotional grounds)

The employer accepts the resignation and waive off the notice period and relive the 

employee.  (Employer has discretion to waive off the notice period to be given by employee ahd exercised it)

Once relieved, he is no more an employee of the organisation (once he raise an industrial dispute, he is a workman

under the ID Act 1947)

Question of withdrawing the resignation does not arise, since the employee has been already relieved.

He could have exercised his withdrawal, before be is relieved from the post  i.e. during notice period.

When the employee resigned and he is relieved, where is the dispute of dismissal ? ( mentioned as constructive

dismissal ?)   Employer has a discretion to reconsider his decision and allow the employee to continue to work

but that cannot be legally enforced.  

The employee may request the employer to reconsider the decision of accepting the resignation stating the 

circumstances under which he had submitted his resignation.  The employer may reconsider his decision.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kumar Doab (FIN)     20 January 2013

This is an interesting discussion.

Mr. Sumitra Kumar and Mr. Kutty have furthered the discussion with their inputs and inputs from learned experts/members always lead to enrich the forum. Valuable advice of learned experts/members is sought. Kindly keep this thread continued.

The following is heartfelt opinion only, is not aimed to argue or debate, and is posted to further the learning from this thread and I do not differ with Mr. Sumitra Kumar and Mr. Kutty.

After all the deliberations decision for the company is to be taken by a wise man in the organization of Mr. Abhirup and in case the matter lands up in some works committee/Grievance redressal committee /trade union deliberations the decision is to be taken the wise men in the committee and if the matter lands up in a court of law the decision shall be rendered by wise man{men} in the learned court of law.

Before the matter proceeds to land up in a court of law the first wise man to take a decision is the wise man in the company of Mr. Abhirup.

Nand_Keshwar_Prasad_vs_Indian_Farmers_Fertilizers_..._on_1_April,_1998(1)

11. After giving our careful consideration to the facts and circumstances of the case, it appears to us that the law is well settled by this Court in a number of decisions that unless controlled by condition of service or the statutory provisions, the retirement mentioned in the letter of resignation must take effect from the date mentioned therein and such date cannot be advanced by accepting the resignation from an earlier date when the employee concerned did not intend to retire from such earlier date. It has also been held by this Court that

it is open to the employee concerned to withdraw letter of resignation before the same becomes effective

--It depends upon the facts of each case. In one case, by a letter dated 7.1.1986, a permanent employee of the bank, sent his resignation to be effective from 30.6.1986. The management of the bank informed the employee by a letter dated 7.2.1986 that his resign alton was accepted by waiving the condition of notice. The employee filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the action of the management of the bank and prior to hearing of the writ petition withdrew his resignation. The High Court held that the management of the bank could not accept the resignation before the expiry of the notice period. In the appeal as filed by the bank against the order of the High Court, the Supreme Court held that the proviso 2 of Regulation 20 should not be interpreted to enable the bank to thrust resignation of an employee with effect from the date different than one which can make his resignation effective under the terms of said Regulation.

It was further clarified that the resignation is a voluntary act of an employee. He may choose to resign with immediate effect or with a notice of less than three months if the bank agrees to the same. He may also resign at a future date on the expiry, or beyond the period of three months but for this, no further consent of the bank will be necessary. The court observed that it is true that there is no specific provision in the regulations permitting the employee to withdraw the resignation. It is, however, not necessary that there should be any such specific rule. On the terms of the letter read with Regulation 20, it is open to the employee, on general principles to withdraw his letter of resignation before it becomes effective.

Reference

Ref:

Punjab National Bank vs. P.K. Mittal, 1989 LLR Vol. XX 194.

 

 

 


(Guest)

@Ld. Member/Expert


First let me convey my appreciation for your way of expressing your ideas in a mannered way.


Starting....

 

I don't see anything here which should be subjected for discussion.

 

Note-This reply should only be considered in view of the referred case and not in view of the current case which we have already dealt with.

 

The ref. you cited in your post didn't mean what you are expecting.Please pay attention to these lines in your referred case and I believe it enough to convey my opinion.

 

"employer would then certainly have been entitled to accept the resignation, as requested by the employee, waiving the notice period. The distinction between that case and the present one is that, here, the employee has chosen a future date on which his resignation would be effective but he is being forced to "resign" before such date.For the reasons discussed above, we affirm the decision of the High Court and dismiss this appeal."

 

Same was held in your referred case of Nandkeshwar prasad. Kindly put emphasis on your lines which goes like-

 

"Employee can withdraw the resignation before expiry of notice/effective date of resignation-last day in office-date of retirement given by employee."

 

Also please put special emphasis on these lines,which is the logic,  judgement contained-

 

"The analogy of that case would have applied to the present case as well if the respondent here had expressed his desire to be relieved immediately even before the expiry of the three months’ notice period and the bank had accepted it. The employer would then certainly have been entitled to accept the resignation, as requested by the employee, waiving the notice period. The distinction between that case and the present one is that, here, the employee has chosen a future date on which his resignation would be effective but he is being forced to "resign" before such date."

 

I said my previous post,that for the agreement,there must be clear terms and condition set. Let me define 'consent' for sake of clarity and not to educate anyone.

 

Consent-Two parties are said to be in consent when they agree upon the same thing in the same sense.

 

When the notice period was sought by the employee,it was a condition pre-set by the employee when offering his resignation,violation of which left the agreement non-enforceable.Therefore,he can  said not to be in consent when the employer waived-off notice period and released him with immediate effect.

 

Before the notice period expiry,employee has every right to withdraw resignation but after expiry,it depends only on employer if he wanted to retain the employee or not.

 

Maxim -'Voleti non fit injuria'

 

Hope I am cleared

.

Further(If need so arises)

 


 

@Querist,

 

One advice/Suggestion/Request-

 

Human nature,in such cases,pardonable. He may be given a chance on humanitarian ground.

 

Rest is upon you.

 

Thanks,

Regards,

KCS Kutty, Pune (FACULTY)     21 January 2013

YOu are right Mr Sumitra Kumar. HR related issues cannot solved by legal provisions alone.

If the said employee is worthy, his re-employment can be considered on humanitarian grounds.  His request for withdrawal of resignation can be considered favourably and he may be allowed to rejoin on duties.  The absence period can be treated as leave  or leave without pay as the case may be.  Perhaps in future this employee may be one of the best performing asset of the organisation.  

 


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