Relieving Letter and Salary Settlement
2 months ago
I had tendered my resignation from my position as an Assistant Professor in my organization on 9th January, 2024 with prior intimation to my department. As per the conversation with my departmental authorities they had said that once they get the replacement they have no issue in relieving me and on 12th January they got my replacement. I served my notice period till 9th of February, 2024 but when I went to the HR for clearance of my dues they starting saying that my relieving letter will only be issued upon the payment of more than one month's salary which I find concerning and unjustified. On the basis of an email sent in the month of December they started saying that you cannot resign from your position in the mid of semester. Whereas I had resigned on 9th January and my session started from 12th of January. Please guide further and help me in getting my salary and experience certificate.
A.Dear Client,
Upon tendering your resignation following the terms outlined in the offer/appointment letter, the employer-employee relationship is terminated upon the expiration of the notice period. If the contract of employment does not explicitly grant the employer the authority to deduct one month's salary from an employee who resigns, such action is deemed unfair labor practice.
According to Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, any agreement terms that compel the employee to serve the employer or impose restrictions on joining a competitor or another employer are not valid. Even if the employee has agreed to an employment bond specifying a specific service period, they have the right to resign. However, if the employer can prove that the employee is joining a competitor to disclose trade secrets, a court may issue an injunction.
Sections 73 and 74 of the Indian Contract Act address un-liquidated and liquidated damages, respectively. Compensation is not automatically granted for a mere breach of contract; actual loss or damage must be proven. Withholding a relieving letter and Full and Final settlement dues from an outgoing employee constitutes unfair labor practice.
If facing such issues, you can escalate your grievance to regulatory bodies like AICTE and UGC, which oversee various courses offered by universities and educational institutes. UGC has introduced a streamlined grievance redressal portal called "UGC e-samadhan: A step forward: Service to Stake Holders" for stakeholders to register complaints or grievances 24/7. A toll-free number (1800-111-656) is also available on the UGC website for lodging complaints.
If these steps and a legal notice do not resolve the matter, consider filing a writ petition with the High Court for appropriate relief.
Upon tendering your resignation following the terms outlined in the offer/appointment letter, the employer-employee relationship is terminated upon the expiration of the notice period. If the contract of employment does not explicitly grant the employer the authority to deduct one month's salary from an employee who resigns, such action is deemed unfair labor practice.
According to Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, any agreement terms that compel the employee to serve the employer or impose restrictions on joining a competitor or another employer are not valid. Even if the employee has agreed to an employment bond specifying a specific service period, they have the right to resign. However, if the employer can prove that the employee is joining a competitor to disclose trade secrets, a court may issue an injunction.
Sections 73 and 74 of the Indian Contract Act address un-liquidated and liquidated damages, respectively. Compensation is not automatically granted for a mere breach of contract; actual loss or damage must be proven. Withholding a relieving letter and Full and Final settlement dues from an outgoing employee constitutes unfair labor practice.
If facing such issues, you can escalate your grievance to regulatory bodies like AICTE and UGC, which oversee various courses offered by universities and educational institutes. UGC has introduced a streamlined grievance redressal portal called "UGC e-samadhan: A step forward: Service to Stake Holders" for stakeholders to register complaints or grievances 24/7. A toll-free number (1800-111-656) is also available on the UGC website for lodging complaints.
If these steps and a legal notice do not resolve the matter, consider filing a writ petition with the High Court for appropriate relief.
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A.Dear Client,
If you tendered your resignation following the terms of the offer/appointment letter then on the expiry of the notice period, the relationship between employee and employer gets severed/seized. In the absence of specific terms in the contract of employment empowering the employer to recover one month's salary from an employee who tenders his or her resignation, the employer cannot do that as a matter of right and amounts to unfair labour practice. As per the mandate of Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act,1872, any terms and conditions of an agreement that directly or indirectly compels the employee to serve the employer or puts a restriction on them joining the competitor or other employer is not valid. The employee has the right to resign from the employment even if he has agreed to the employment bond to serve the employer for a specific period. In the case where the employer can prove that the employee is joining the competitor to disclose the trade secret then the court may issue an injunction order restricting the employee from joining the competitor. Further, Section 73 of the Act makes provision for un-liquidated damages (not stipulated in a contract), Section 74 deals with liquidated damages (stipulated in a contract) and no compensation is attracted for mere breach of contract u/s.73. 74 of the Act unless such breach resulted in an actual loss or damage to the opposite party employer. Withholding of relieving letter, F & F settlement dues of an outgoing employee amounted to unfair labour practice on the part of the Employer. Both AICTE & UGC are the regulatory bodies of almost all the technical, non-technical, and conventional courses carried on by the universities, deemed universities and other private educational institutes. You can escalate your grievance before these authorities online. Further, to streamline the stakeholders' grievance redressal mechanisms, UGC has merged its existing portals/ helplines except Anti Ragging Helpline and developed a new portal "UGC e-samadhan: A step forward: Service to Stake Holders" which would be a single Window system for all the stakeholders for registering their complaints/ grievances on the portal which would be available 24x7 with a click of mouse. A toll free No. 1800-111-656 will also be available on the UGC website 24x7 for lodging complaints by the stakeholders on any issue faced by them. So, following the above steps and serving a legal notice, if the matter is not resolved you may file a writ petition to High Court for appropriate relief in the matter.
If you tendered your resignation following the terms of the offer/appointment letter then on the expiry of the notice period, the relationship between employee and employer gets severed/seized. In the absence of specific terms in the contract of employment empowering the employer to recover one month's salary from an employee who tenders his or her resignation, the employer cannot do that as a matter of right and amounts to unfair labour practice. As per the mandate of Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act,1872, any terms and conditions of an agreement that directly or indirectly compels the employee to serve the employer or puts a restriction on them joining the competitor or other employer is not valid. The employee has the right to resign from the employment even if he has agreed to the employment bond to serve the employer for a specific period. In the case where the employer can prove that the employee is joining the competitor to disclose the trade secret then the court may issue an injunction order restricting the employee from joining the competitor. Further, Section 73 of the Act makes provision for un-liquidated damages (not stipulated in a contract), Section 74 deals with liquidated damages (stipulated in a contract) and no compensation is attracted for mere breach of contract u/s.73. 74 of the Act unless such breach resulted in an actual loss or damage to the opposite party employer. Withholding of relieving letter, F & F settlement dues of an outgoing employee amounted to unfair labour practice on the part of the Employer. Both AICTE & UGC are the regulatory bodies of almost all the technical, non-technical, and conventional courses carried on by the universities, deemed universities and other private educational institutes. You can escalate your grievance before these authorities online. Further, to streamline the stakeholders' grievance redressal mechanisms, UGC has merged its existing portals/ helplines except Anti Ragging Helpline and developed a new portal "UGC e-samadhan: A step forward: Service to Stake Holders" which would be a single Window system for all the stakeholders for registering their complaints/ grievances on the portal which would be available 24x7 with a click of mouse. A toll free No. 1800-111-656 will also be available on the UGC website 24x7 for lodging complaints by the stakeholders on any issue faced by them. So, following the above steps and serving a legal notice, if the matter is not resolved you may file a writ petition to High Court for appropriate relief in the matter.
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