Given below is the heartfelt opinion. You may consult elders in the family, competent and experienced well wishers, and proceed as deemed fit and under expert advice of your lawyer. Valuable advice of learned experts/members is sought.
If it is as simple as that “You have resigned by tendering notice of resignation and your resignation has been accepted, your leave has been approved and you have submitted formal resignation on the date of resignation notified by you to company and you have handed over the charge to the official designated by your company” then how and why are declared as absconding???
This is the trend and practice of majority of the personnel in line management, HR, legal and is practiced with impunity and without any regret. It is perceived that when company steps on the toes on one employee the drama helps to discipline other employee and rest of the employees shall fall in line and subscribe to tantrums of the management without any protest, even if their rights are violated. They shall prefer to suffer in silence.
Relieving letter is issued post all settlements and signifies employee is no more employed with the company and nothing is due against the employee.
Acceptances of resignation, last salary slip, FNF statement, acknowledgment of handover of charge, work experience certificate/service certificate and termination letter, also signifies that employee is no more employed with the company. If employee has evidence that he does not owe anything/any amount to company that implies nothing is due. In case of contract the one that has outstanding towards another is the one who shall raise the claim.
You may submit a statement of payables by you, payables to you and conclude that nothing is pending at your end and rather company owes you the monies and its conduct is bad, unfair, coercive, and even illegal.
You may explain the whole situation to current employer and provide copies of acceptance of resignation and other docs and dues bank has to pay to you. The current employer may agree to settle the matter by asking you to sign an affidavit/indemnity mentioning that you are not employed elsewhere.
If bank has supplied any damaging communication to your current employer you may apply your skills, goodwill and resources and sue the bank. You can claim that bank is all out to murder your employability and source of livelihood.
Apparently the charge of abscondment is leveled to deny FNF settlement, notice pay, payment of dues to you, and reliving. Probably your reply to the show cause notice was not sufficient to deter the company officials. The question arises what decision is passed by the company, and inserted into your personnel file? Most likely it is termination.
However has the company supplied the decision to you?
Such companies and such company personnel take advantage of the fact that majority of the employees do not agitate, do not proceed to book them for trial, can be subdued, are ill informed and hence shall plead for mercy.
Even if some employee agitates it shall be a civil suite without any scope for imprisonment and without any much damage to the company.
IN case of a properly informed employee company steps back.
You have posted that:
--“This is a bank & registered.”
Banks are covered under SE Act.
You may look into SE Act applicable to your state; which may be available at Dept. of labor website of your state/SE Inspectorate or you may buy from market.
e.g.
SE Act Delhi:
1. Definitions. premises in which
(5) “commercial establishment” means………premises in which
business of banking,
30. Notice of Dismissal.—(1) No employer shall dispense with the services of an employee who has been in his continuous employment for not less than three months, without giving such person at least one month’s notice in writing or wages in lieu of such notice:
Provided that such notice shall not be necessary where the services of such employee are dispensed with for misconduct, after giving him an opportunity to explain the charge or charges alleged against him in writing.
Bank has charged you for abscondment which is misconduct.
It is time for you to act.
If bank has given an opportunity for explanation to you and has decided that explanation given by you is inadequate, unsatisfactory, unjustified and hence charges against you are proved then bank might have awarded a punishment and might terminated your service.
Has the bank supplied you any communication confirming its decision?
Bank must have inserted the decision and action taken into your personnel file.
You must request the good office of your appointing authority to allow you to examine your personnel file being maintained at its HO on dated…….at time…..{ mention as suitable to you} and request the good offices to communicate to you the reason of separation updated by it in its records with a copy in your personnel file, and supply you a certified copy to it
You may not forget to mention that you have duly replied to the show cause notice although your resignation was accepted, charge was taken from you, and you have remained in touch with company { narrate all representations date wise…..by email, phone, in person}.Thus you may also cover any deficiency of shortcoming in your reply to show cause notice.
If bank has supplied the reason and decision to you, you need to contest it.
It shall be appropriate to approach a competent and experienced service lawyer/labor consultant with copies of all of your documents and give inputs in person and proceed under expert advice of your lawyer, and let your lawyer structure your representations.
You may prove that this action of the bank is misconduct on the part of bank thru its competent personnel who were in line of communication with you, hence bank is a party. Now instead of treating them as honorable/respected/revered individuals occupying a chair in good offices of the company you may treat them as good for nothing crap littering nuisance in not only in corporate place but in society and our republic, terrorizing and coercing citizens of the country with their adamant and recalcitrant mindset and attitude.
If you are able to prove and drill sense into the heads the good offices may provide you relief sensing that company is on weak foot.
Charge the offending officials by name and pull them out of comfort and coziness of their office to your location and let them sit on the bench and stand in the corridors of the o/o lawful authority.
In many of the cases such officials later find themselves on the exit door.
(2) No employee who has put in three months’ continuous service shall terminate his
employment unless he has given to his employer a notice of at least one month, in writing. In case he fails to give one month’s notice he will be released from his employment on payment of an amount equal to one month’s pay.
You have tendered notice and you have affirmed to tendered notice pay which is longer than at least the notice expressed in the SE Act.
You can approach the Inspector which may be ALC at your location.
33. Records.
COMMENTS
(a) Particulars and forms of the records required to be maintained under section 33
The register of employment and wages is required to be kept in Form ‘G’ duly bound and
pages serially numbered.
(d) Can an Inspector require an employer to produce the record in his office for
inspection?
You may also try and obtain the record from Inspector.
Lodge your complaint in writing and peruse thru RTI route to move the lawful authority
Banks have their standing Orders. Obtain a copy. The action of the company might be violative of its own standing orders. Employer is duty bound to exhibit standing orders on notice board, near entrance and supply a copy to employee against a nominal charge of sat Rs.10/-
Your lawyer may affirm that despite your designation you fall within the category of workman.
Your lawyer may opine that company may plead on Specific relief Act however may not succeed.
You need a smart and competent lawyer.
---“Yes, company has accepted the resignation.”
“I have handed over the entire process to next officer who was officially taken the role and I have the acknowledgement also.”
“They did not decline. “ “Yes, leave was approved and they told me to extend the notice period.”
“"My company didn’t agree with this.” Did the company decline in writing? What was the reason quoted by it?" - replied over mail”
What was replied over by mail????
---“Yes mentioned in offer letter, also mentioned its sole discretion”.
The clause is dominance and does not promote equality. Having expressed the penalty of notice pay in lieu of notice the company has ended the possibility of any debate/dialogue/deliberation/speculation/guess etc…….
Has the company ever communicated any other penalty to be born by you towards any kind of loss accrued by it due to your notice/resignation /leave etc….???? If no nothing is left to deliberate. There is no other penalty desired by company and matter is clear.
---“"What is the rate of notice pay: Basic+ DA/Gross/CTC?" – CTC”
You may remain firm on Basic + DA. Let these individuals charged by you explain and quote the concerned law of the land vide which it can be CTC. Your lawyer may provide judgments by court of law that it is Basic+DA.
Has the company included Gratuity also in CTC? If yes, then even if you have not completed 5 years of service you may lay your claim to payment of gratuity by the formulae of calculation of gratuity {without any tax implication on you. You may agree if company agrees to pay in the shape of tax free Ex. Gracia}.
You may remain firm on other perks as explained in CTC sheet. If you remain firm you shall succeed.
--“Now they are saying I have absconded - is that right?”
To the best of understanding and logic they are wrong? The one who has declared you absconding should be charged by name, by you.
The company personnel in responsible positions should behave and operate sensibly and should stand up and tell the owners/promoters/directors/managers that the ….policy/decision/rule is wrong/unlawful/arbitrary/illogical/bad/unfair and refuse to execute and implement such decisions. They should not execute unlawful, unfair, bad decisions and must not step on the toes of employee.
In your case employer being in dominant position is stepping on your toes.
Unfortunately majority of the times in majority of the companies, majority of the personnel in line management/HR/legal are happy to become puppet and executioners of the orders of their masters. Majority of the time they suggest cunning, suppressive methods.
---Company had your replacement and that is why it designated another officer to take charge from you. Company has no objection to leave that is why it passed your leave {it had installed your replacement also}. The whole drama seems to be deny FNF and block payouts and show savings to company and thus create a show of adamancy, recalcitrance, wickedness……. . Charge this HR/Line management by name.
Having accepted your resignation how can they declare you absconding?
You may fine tune your representations as suitable to you.