Kindly show your letter of appointment, standing orders of the company, service rules book etc to a competent and experienced labor consultant/service lawyer, give inputs in person and proceed under expert advice.
--The very purpose of notice period is that employer is able to do orderly transition, install replacement, complete exit formalities, and employee is able to firm up his future venture and help the employer to complete the exit formalities.
As per condition of appointment an individual has planned his future course of action and accordingly given 3 month notice, and if employer relieves him immediately then he has to pay in lieu of notice. .
In the appointment letter the clause of notice period and notice pay is mentioned and notice pay is the penalty/compensation to be paid in case of default on notice period.
In your case you have not requested for waiver of not ice period and notice pay. You have tendered notice period {with willingness to serve} which is fixed by the employer's side to the maximum period that the employer gives to an employee to find out an alternative employment.
Rather you have tendered voluntary resignation and acceptance {BY HR personnel who may not be the appointing authority or even authority approved by board to accept resignation} would convert the voluntary resignation into an involuntary/deemed termination and makes the employee eligible for unemployment compensation for any period of interrupted employment.
If the next employer has not made any job offer from instant date employee shall be without any source of livelihood/ employment.
If an employee is under obligation to give a certain amount of notice of their resignations, it creates an implied contract obligating employer to give an equal amount of notice before terminating an employee. Thus if employer requires notice of a resignation and then decide to terminate the employee earlier, employer may be required to pay the employee for the balance of the notice period. Moreover employer is required to give a similar amount of notice to any employee that is terminated.
It is felt that employer is liable to tender notice pay.
You may submit your protest in writing under acknowledgment { and thus give an opportunity to good offices to provide you relief and this shall be implied notice also.Be gentle, specific, precise and avoid emotional outbursts} to the good offices of your appointing authority and conclude that you have tendered notice of resignation as per clause number……..appointment letter issued to you and thus have not only honored the terms of contract of employment but have maintained highest standards of good faith and have displayed character. You may fine tune your representation as deemed fit and let good offices get a message that a termination action without pay sends a negative message to the rest of the workforce, that if employee give notice as requested in appointment letter, employee shall be penalized, hurting the good faith and morale and company may not receive many advance notices of future resignations by other employees. The message shall be loud and clear that company is habitual violator of the contact of employment.
In such circumstances it would be appreciable to refer to the certified Standing Orders of the company. Standing orders are to be displayed near entrance/on notice board. You may check if standing orders are applicable to your establishment and have been extended to your designation. If certified standing orders are not framed mode standing orders shall apply.
----Another point is that an employee has the right to withdraw his resignation before it becomes effective.
Nand Keshwar Prasad vs Indian Farmers Fertilizers ... on 1 April, 1998
Supreme Court of India
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.”
You shall find reference of many other pertinent and useful judgments cited in this decision by honorable SC.
Valuable advice of learned experts/members is sought.
