I was working with a MNC for past 7 years. on Aug 31st 2012 I was handed over a termination letter stating that due to ramp down in my dept, my jservices are being terminated
Following are the flow of events that happend before termination
In April - 2012 my manager calls me in his cabin and advises me that I am slipping on my timelines and that he has pulled up my access card report which shows that I have left work early on a lot of occassons and because of which I will now be put on a documentation by HR . the discussion was verbal and he advised that he wil send this to me by email and have HR meet me. He did not send the email to me
in a couple of days my Line HR manager comes up to me and states that she has seen enough evidence and emails sent to me by my manager that I have been missing timelines and there have been escalations etc. and that I have been leaving early from work . before she spoke to me I myself had called for my access card report and analysed it. I am supposed to work a 9 hr shift mon - fri. Thus my productive time is 8 hrs in office. On most occassions on an everyday basis I have just taken a 15 - 20 min break and have given the required productive hours which is 8 hrs on the floor. in some cases it is more than 8 hrs and in some cases less than 8 hrs by a few mins
I gave her this explanation, however her only agenda seemed like pursuing me to sign the documentation
I very assertivley asked her if she has seen all the proofs, then I would like to see the same before I sign any piece of documentation. I called for a meeting with my manager in her presence
After 2 days she meets me again and advises that she has had a discussion with her manager and my manager and will have to sign the documenttion or submit my resignation
I was initially shocked, as here I have a lady from HR who is forcing me to resign without even showing me evidence of the the mistakes that I have made. she was carrying a document with her, which had generic reasons like missing timelines, not taking feedback, not bringing direct report up the learning curve etc..
I asked her that I will not sign the document till I see the proof
She said she will get her manager and my manager and we all will then have a conversation
The next day the HR head and my manager meet me and state that I wll have to sign the letter. I ask for proofs to which my manger replies that he hasnt maintained any
I just couldnt follow this drama any more. I said clearly that I am not signing any document before seeing proof.They asked me to step out for 5 mins and later on told me that they will move me to an other dept and will send me for interviews for the same
I think it is important for me to tell that I have been working with this manager ever since I have joined this company and have moved depts with him.in fact the role that I handled last, he was the one who offered the same to me as my pre decessor was leaving and there were ramp downs happening in my dept in oct 2011. At that time I grabbed the opportunity as I would have lost my job otherwise. However after that I managed the role really well for 4 months and then in one of our 1 on 1's just mentioned that I would like to do something more challenging as I feel that the role is not something that is helping me utilize my capabilities to the best
post the meeting I came out feeling agitated, I tried to escalate the matter to my manager's manager however he was not very helpful and kept avoiding me. I then decided to escalate the matter to our ethics team, which comprises of the CEO, Risk and compliance head, and the head of our whistleblowing team
I wrote a very long email to them ( attached). I was told an independent inquiry will be conducted and the team will revert with responses
I then had a appraisal discussion in which I was not given a great rating. Just for the records I was an assistant manager and am supposed to have quartelry discussions about my performance./ I had none. in fact my score card was also not fixed after I moved into the role. My goals were just finalised in april 2012, and he appraisal period was from april 2011 - march 2012. the appraisal was reviewed by my manger's manger who brought up issues that were escalated.
I promptly told him that all the issues that were raised were post april - 12 and do not fall in the appraisal period that was eing discussed. we just went round in circles and ultimatley I had no choice but to put up with the rating
post the escalation to the CEO, after a nonth and a half the VP HR met me and advised me all allegations that were made were baseless and not true and that I am actually a misfit to the role I am managing. I was told I will be placed somewhere else in the organisation as currently there is nothing better that can be offered tio me within the same dept. I was OK with this. However he told me that they would only try to place me for two months and if I dont get thru any other dept I will have to leave and give my resignation
I felt comletely cheated. He in a sugar coated manner very quielty send a strong message, pretty much similar to the stand that was taken initially. after taking all this in my stride I asked him as an employee of the company if I am asked to leave without a reason, what does the labour law state
He told me that maangers are not entitled to any severance package and there are not a lot of leagal options available. this meeting lasted for almost 2 hrs
He told me that either he will or I should document this conversation and putthings on an email
After a week he send me a follow up email and asked me to document the actions and that my HR manager who was at fault initially will deal with my case from there on
I did not give anything in writing and asked HR to take further action
In the meanwhile they send me for a couple 4 interviews which didnt materialise. I was not even given a feedback for the reson of not getting selected which is the normal protocol
On August 31st the HR head calls me and hands over my termination letter to me citing my services are being terminated due to headcount reasons.
they gave me 2 months of my notice pay as per my appointment letter. the cheque was sent to me by courier. I was also paid gratuity
I want to fight for the humiliation that I was subjected to and want to teach a lesson to this company.
DO I have any legal options. I have proof available that the letter given to me is false and we had just got additional business of 200 more roles at that time. I have an email from the client
can I send a notice and claim compensation
please help me with some good lawyers who will not fleece money from me and help me fight this case
