M
Hi,
My
wife was working for a local company here in Bangalore, since last 2
yrs. In the first week of March, she had a strong verbal argument with
her senior & top most management. She wanted a temporary reduction
in her work hours as she was sick and wanted some load sharing. On
this, the management shouted on her & accused her of being
irresponsible, not replying to emails and of using company resources
for her technical up-gradation. They did not even discussed her main
issue. She is very sincere & hard working and was very hurt on
these accusations and left the company premises.
I then asked
her not to go back and look for another job. However, our mistake was
that we did not send a resignation email that time itself.
Three
days later, her manager mailed her stating that she is on unauthorized
absence and her behavior is again irresponsible. To this, we replied
that she is not wiling to join and is resigning. We also clarified on
the accusations. This mail was cc'd to HR & Director.
To
this, her manager replied that she cannot resign as she is under an
agreement. This agreement was signed by her in Apr'07 & commits her
to work till Apr'09 with her BE degree as surety and there are no
monetary conditions in it.
Also, as per the offer letter,
either she has to serve a month notice or payout a month notice pay. We
have decided not to claim for the certificates and as her Feb' salary
was still not credited, we asked the company to keep that as the notice
pay. There had been no reply or response from the management to this
email. We have mailed them again & again, but they haven't replied.
Its been three weeks now and they have not credited the Feb salary, so we are assuming that they are keeping it as notice pay.
Now,
the top-most management have informed us "unofficially" through one of
her colleague that they will follow legal course as she is bound by the
agreement, or else we should pay them the money, the company spent on
her training and her usage of company resources. They have quoted an
exorbitant amount. There is no written agreement of any sort which
states that if she leaves, she has to pay for these trainings.
My queries are:
1.
The company is not acknowledging or accepting a hard copy of the
resignation, So the only resignation proof we have is the email
exchange we had with her management. Even in those emails, they have
not accepted her resignation. So as per the Indian law, is there a time
frame after which it is assumed that her resignation has been accepted?
2. What are the probable legal actions the company can take against her?
3. Is she is still bound by that agreement, even if we are not claiming for the certificates?
4.
Are there any financial dues from her side? Can we give a declaration
to future employers that she has no financial obligations to this
company?
5. The company is not giving her relieving &
experience letter (as they are asking for money). Will it matter
legally, even if the future employers take her without these documents?
6. How will this affect her TDS, as she did not get paid for Mar'08 & there is no salary credit for Feb'08 also?
Also, if you know of any good company lawyer in bangalore, please provide the contact details.
Thanks,
PJ
