The notice period/pay/rate of notice pay etc is part of service conditions and enactments applicable to the establishment/employer/employe shall govern the service conditions and not any private agreement/contract/rule/policy drafted by employer and signed with employee e.g. appointment letter/contract of employment/HR policy/Exit Policy/FnF policy/Service Rules and regulations etc...........................
Thus notice period and notice pay and its rate shall be governed by enactments e.g. Factory Act, (Name of the State) Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, Standing Orders (Certified/Model) etc………..e.g.
As per (Name of the State) Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, notice period shall be as per length of service and can be either NIL or say 15 days and max.30 days……………
As per Model Standing Orders: notice period shall be NIL before confirmation and 30 days after confirmation. Standing Orders are certified on the lines of Model Standing Orders.
Thus you may first determine the enactment that is applicable to the employee/establishment and you will find the right answer in the enactment.
As an HR person don’t implement the wrong policy…………….The HR persons should always remain unbiased and properly informed of their domain and limits................
Majority of the employees shall be covered by the def. of 'Employee' as in the (Name of the State) Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 'Workman' as in ID Act as per their nature of duties, despite the fancy/decorated designations given by employer.
The HR personnel should also take care that T&C in appointment letter are equitable or these can easliy be termed arbitrary.