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Vasu Singh   15 June 2021

Breach of contract

I joined a company one year back in Delhi but now I am getting a better offer at another company in Mumbai. They have asked me to join within 2 weeks whereas the present one has a policy of giving notice before 1 month of leaving. If I leave the company, can the company sue me, or what will be the consequences?   



Learning

 2 Replies

Sankaranarayanan (Advocate)     15 June 2021

As per the contract both parties need act. if any one deviate and against the contract then they have to face the consequences . If any penalty clause then you can bare the same and try to solve the issues. check the contract clauses and in-addition better to consult a local lawyer and get clarity

Ananya Gosain   30 August 2021

Notice period refers to the number of days between the date of resignation and the last working day of an employee. The time period for which an employee is mandated to serve notice before leaving the organization depends on the terms & conditions of the contractual agreement between the employee and the employer. Normally in India, the notice period varies from fifteen days to up to three months depending on the type of employment or the level of seniority. Acts that may protect you when resigning without serving notice period are as follows- 1)Section 14 of The Specific Relief Act, 1963, limits the enforceability of any contract related to personal service in the court of law, which means the employer has to be restricted to the extent that he can claim recovery “in lieu” of the notice period. It is up to an employee to honor the notice period to be able to collect full payment along with a relieving letter. 2) As per section 27 of The Indian Contract Act, Every agreement by which anyone is restrained from exercising a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind, is to that extent void. An employment letter is a legally valid document and binding on the employee who signs it. However, if it mentions the words “in lieu of ” related to payment against notice period, in such cases the employer can not force an employee to complete the notice period if he/she is ready to sacrifice their salary against such notice period. In such cases, the employer is bound to issue a “relieving letter” to the employee, provided they do proper clearance as per the company’s rules & regulations. In the case of Hewitt Associates India Private Limited v/s Naveen Goyal, the employee did not serve the notice period and left the organization by simply putting in his resignation and seeking to join another organization. As per the letter he was to serve a minimum of 30 days to find a suitable replacement. The Delhi High Court observed that the company failed to produce any documentary evidence about the substantial loss it incurred because of his resignation, at the same time took 10 days to respond to the employee about rejecting his resignation. Therefore, He can’t be forced to do rejoin based on Section 27 of the Contract Act as well as Section 14 of The Specific Relief Act. Read more at https://www.lawyersclubindia.com/experts/Regarding-notice-period-494396.asp Regards

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