Legal demand notice for not joining Company after accepting offer letter
2 years ago
I have accepted offer from one the IT company on email, offer letter has clause saying if failed to join particular company then I have to pay 2 months of salary. Now they have sent me legal notice because some unavoidable personal reasons I decided not to join the company. According to legal notice they are saying "Offer letter constitutes a binding contract between parties in terms of section 2(h) of Contract act ,1872". Further they have added, "Due to malafide and illegal act, the client has suffer huge loss and damage which cannot quantified in monitory terms, our client right to claim damages in terms of section 73 of contract act 1872".They also asked me to submit such huge amount in 15 days failing which they will take appropriate action before competent court of law.
Kindly advice me in this regard. I'm not even employee of that company. I just accepted the offer letter that to in pressure. Thanking you in advance
Ankur Goel @ Complete Law Shield
Responded 2 years ago
Which small IT company it is ?
Did they paid employees when company delayed joining of employees ?
Did you joined another company ?
same date of joining or joined after some days ?
Ayantika Mondal @ Prime Legal
Responded 2 years ago
You have agreed to the terms in the contract and so you will have to pay the amount. However, the money demanded cannot be an exorbitant sum. There have been a number of decisions in this regard, and the same would apply here. If the amount is to be paid, it can only be claimed on the basis of reasonable expenses or damages sustained.
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According to the terms of the contract, you must pay the company the agreed-upon amount. A lawyer, on the other hand, can examine the legitimacy of the clause in the agreement after reviewing the entire deal. Additionally, be assured exorbitant amounts cannot be demanded by the company for pay and leave scenarios especially the expense of training, similar will apply here too. You can sue them for demanding illegal or unnecessary money in a civil court.
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As per the Indian Contract Law, once an offer is accepted it becomes a binding contract. You are bound by the terms and contents of the offer letter. Therefore, you are liable to pay them 2 months of salary to them. You can send a reply to legal notice detailing your inability to join the office, which must result in amicable settlement of the issue. Otherwise, if they proceed to file a civil case against you, you can contest by stating that such clauses are wholly one sided and hence it is illegal and non-binding.
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Ayantika Mondal @ Prime Legal
Responded 2 years ago
As per the Contract Act, once a proposal is made, and you accept that proposal, it would amount to a binding contract between you the other party. In your case, an offer was made and you accepted the offer, thereby creating a binding contractual agreement. Since, as per the terms of the offer your bound to pay the 2 months of salary in case of non-joining in the office. They will most likely institute a civil case against you if you fail to pay. You can contest the civil case on the grounds that such clause in the offer letter is one-sided and wholly illegal. You may be able to establish your case. Consult with an advocate.
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I will suggest you a an alternative way to negotiate with them rather than fighting the case in court of law.
You can initiate ODR- Online Dispute Resolution process through Vidhi Samaadhaan through this link https://www.vidhikarya.com/online-dispute-resolution and try to get this resolved in faster and better way
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