Early Relieve and Termination Threat

A.Dear Client,
A company cannot travel beyond its limit as stipulated in the contract of employment or appointment letter that governs the relationship between an employer and an employee. An employer cannot change the service condition of an employee unilaterally without complying with the mandatory provision of Section 9 of the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947. When you tendered your resignation following the terms of your employment and serving your notice period, on the expiry of the notice period, the relationship between an employer and employee gets severed/seized and the contract stands frustrated. The employer cannot terminate the service of an employee who is serving his notice period post-resignation on the grounds of poor performance and is duty-bound to issue a relieving letter and disburse the F & F Settlement dues to an outgoing employee. On cessation of employment either on resignation or otherwise, except for proven misconduct, an employer cannot withhold the relieving letter of the employee and F & F Settlement dues without any valid reason which amounts to illegal victimization and unfair labour practices. The employee has the right to resign from the employment even if he has agreed to serve the employer for a specific period. In the case where the employer can prove that the employee is joining the competitor to disclose the trade secret then the court may issue an injunction order restricting the employee from joining the competitor. Further, Section 73 of the Contract Act, 1872 makes provision for unliquidated damages. Section 74 of the Act deals with liquidated damages and no compensation is attracted for mere breach of contract u/s.73. or 74 of the Act unless such breach resulted in an actual loss or damage to the opposite party employer. So, in the prevailing situation, apart from the escalation of your grievance before the higher authorities of the Company, if you are not holding the position of Manager/Supervisor but a workman as defined u/s.2(s) of the Industrial Dispute Act then after serving a legal notice to the Company, reach out to the office of the concerned Labour Commissioner/ Asst. Labour Commissioner((State) for filing a complaint against the Company to redress your grievance over alleged arbitrary and unfair labour practice. Otherwise, if you are holding a position of manager or Administrative officer in the Company, you have to file a civil suit for specific performance against the Company seeking appropriate relief. Feel free to contact our legal team to avail of our expert service to resolve the issue in the right way.