Employer not issuing a relieving letter

What is your company Industrial or Commercial establishment?

You are not causing abrupt termination, and thus you have displayed character and have done well to your organization. This should be the sufficient time for your company to put its acts in order and to put a succession plan in place and to its effect.

Such matters are best resolved by applying rapport, goodwill, persuasion, persistence, reasoning, and negotiation skills. Good offices of the employer should be approached and a fair opportunity be given to good offices to provide relief. Even while you are agitating remain amiable. Good offices should act fairly as parent and should adopt unbiased and reasonable approach and save the organization and employee from burden of litigation.

In your notice or by subsequent communication ( by redg. post) you may mention that you are tendering notice of resignation with notice period……days as per clause number….. in appointment letter dated….. issued to you and your effective date of resignation/last day in office shall be dated …….. IN your notice of resignation you may affirm to transfer the knowledge, within and up to your last day in office, handover the charge, company property, to designated employee under acknowledgment on the spot and within and up to your last day in office.

You may write to the company personnel/ Higher Management that you are not able to extend the date as you have already explained the unavoidable family issues and accordingly you have firmed up future plans and request them to ensure that you are relieved by effective date of your resignation, i.e. dated…..

Since higher management has turned self centered do not limit your self to line management and HR and address all representations to good offices of appointing authority, MD, Chairman, Company Secretary and request to intervene and provide relief. Thus build favorable written record.

You may remain amiable (on record) and request the managers with whom you have long association to be nice, gentle and let you carry the rapport and good relationship with him and organization and do not cause alienation or make the environment stressful.

Many of the CEO’s deliberate that they and the companies run by them are not affected by attrition as they are always ready to share the work and have succession plan in place.

(Read Attachment: Should employee be forced to serve the notice period.).

Whereas majority of these arm chair managers are neither able to find replacement, or train them nor willing to share the work/responsibility of outgoing employee and ensure that work of their employer is not affected.

Keep on perusing and resolve the situation in your favor while in employment.

If your company has good HR practices approach good guys in HR, IR, Employee relations also.

However submit minutes of discussion of each meeting.

If you have discussed verbally, you may narrate all representations ( in writing by letter addressed to good offices of your appointing authority, MD, Chairman, Company Secretary) made by you till date in person ( mention each of the dates, name…designation…dept…address…of the company personnel you have been meeting ) and mention family issues you are facing and conclude that you are adhering to clauses of appointment letter issued to you and good offices should issue instructions for proper reliving by effective date of resignation and ensure that exit formalities are completed within time. You may cite the communication address to higher management and enclose the copy and request good offices to intervene and provide relief.

Seek an appointment in writing (under acknowledgment) from good offices to plead your case. If someone calls on phone to deny the appointment write the minutes and build record. If no appointment is given keep on writing. Barge/Move into the good offices and submit your side of the matter emphatically. Later submit minutes in writing under acknowledgment.

You may request good offices:

- to inform you in writing to whom you should handover the charge/company property and that designated employee should issue proper acknowledgment to you on the spot.

-to supply you the acknowledgment of notice of resignation, acceptance of notice and resignation, correct FNF statement, payment of dues as per correct FNF statement, Form 16 as per correct FNF statement, PF number/account slips/pass book/attested copies of PF transfer forms, payment of gratuity (if it is in CTC sheet), NOC/NDC, service certificate/work experience certificate, relieving letter, etc should be supplied to you by your last day in office…….

Reliving letter signifies proper relieving and is issued post all settlements by employee. Settlements due at the end of employee are handing over the charge/company property to designated employee, payment of dues if any. Ideally it should be handed over on last day in office or within next 2 days.

If company wants you to remain for some more days it should request you for the same and affirm it shall pay you the wages as per appointment letter issued to you and relieve you by dated……..Company should not resort to twist arm tactics and step on the toes of employee. It is up to you to accept or decline.

Your contractual obligation is to tender notice of resignation/serve it or tender notice pay.

You have complied to it and now good offices should comply to its contractual obligations and relieve you gracefully and honorably.

The notice issued by you shall expire by the close of office hours on date of expiry of notice period. On your last day in office submit final resignation, handover the charge/company property under acknowledgment.

Obtain copies of standing orders of the company, HR policy, exit policy, severance policy. If standing orders are applicable and certified standing orders are not framed model standing orders shall apply. Employer should circulate and display standing orders on notice board and should supply to employee against nominal payment of say.. Rs.10/

Model Standing Orders: 13. Termination of employment, 11.      Payment of wages

15.        Complaints., --16.        Certificate on termination of service.-, 17.    Liability of 17[employer].-- 18.           Exhibition of standing orders.--

The payment of wages and certificate of service should have been supplied to employee on last day in office or within two days.

If SE Act is applicable you may look into SE Act applicable to your state.

e.g. SE Act Delhi:

19.  TIME AND CONDITIONS OF PAYMENT OF WAGES, 21.  CLAIMS RELATING TO WAGES, 30.       NOTICE OF DISMISSAL:

THE PAYMENT OF WAGES ACT, 1936:

2. Definitions:

3*[(vi)

If good offices also do not provide relief then it shall be appropriate to approach a competent and experienced labor consultant/service lawyer with copy of standing orders of the company, appointment letter, and any other document relevant to your case. Let your lawyer opine finally on the merits and eventualities.

The designation alone does not decide employee is a workman or not. Your lawyer may ask a set of structured questions and may opine that employee is a workman. The labor laws applicable to a workman limit the choice to employer.

You may approach O/o Labor Commissioner, Inspector under SE act, Wages Inspector, or civil court.

Valuable advice of learned experts/members is sought.