Job and Office Tips

Over the years, I have written a number of posts offering tips to people about jobs and office issues. Here is a handy list of these articles.

Income Tax

• Giving gifts to your family members - a useful tax saving strategy
• Deadlines on filing income tax returns and what to do if you are late
• How to file income tax returns - forms and submission process
• Tips on reducing your tax burden by using investments and tax deductions wisely
• How to calculate net taxable income - HRA, medical, LTA, phone bills and so on
• Income Tax Slabs for the financial year 2009 - 2010
• Income Tax Slabs for the financial year 2008 - 2009
• Income Tax Slabs for the financial year 2007 - 2008

Job Hunting

• Job reservation in the private sector
• Google Adwords Representative - online test and interview process

Other Issues

• Why do some bosses ask for your resignation during recession?
• How do placement consultants really work?
• Job termination and employee suicides
• The real deal about paying off your credit card debts

Termination vs Resignation for Layoffs

Resignation or Termination for Layoffs

The current state of the economy and recession has led to many companies laying off their employees. Top companies such as HP, AOL, Sun, Microsoft, Satyam, Google, Ebay, Sify Technologies, Spectranet and CNN have been downsizing staff through corporate layoffs. This is prevalent across the world, right from USA, Europe and Australia to India, Dubai, the Middle East and South East Asia.

So, what is the right way to go about employee downsizing and cost cutting? In some corporate layoffs, employees are provided pink slips, termination letter and their dues are fully settled by cheque. In other employee layoffs, they are asked to submit their resignation and are convinced that job termination will not help them at getting a new job. This blog post aims to compare the merits and demerits of resignation vs termination for layoffs from both the employers and employees perspective.


Resignation Letter for Laying Off Staff -
This sort of employee termination for mass layoffs benefits the company management the most. The Human Resources manager calls the employee to be laid-off to a meeting, where he/she is told that their services are no longer required. The laid off staff person is then asked to submit their resignation citing some personal problem or other issue. He/she is told that if they ask for the rightful termination letter, they will not be provided a relieving letter and will have difficulty getting a job later. The senior management works to convince the 'laid off employee' that termination is 'shameful' and that it is better to submit a resignation letter and leave gracefully. Similarly, this process is repeated for laying off other employees. This system of employee layoff benefits the company management the most -

• The management does not fear legal action for staff layoffs as they have resignation letters to prove the employee 'resigned of his own accord.'
• The media does not have basis to report in the news that 'mass layoffs' have occurred in xyz company as the concerned staff has actually 'resigned'.
• The government cannot force the company to reinstate these laid off staff members or re-employ them with reduced salaries because the resignation letters prove that no one was terminated - everyone resigned of their own free will.
• The company need not pay the terminated employees the required notice period amount specified in the appointment letter/ contact in case of termination, as the employees have actually 'resigned' and have not been legally 'terminated'.
• The management of some companies may also deduct accrued leave for resigning without giving notice, even though they themselves asked the laid off employee for their resignation letter. This deduction is shown in the final settlement, which the employee gets around 2 months after leaving the company. Victims of such corporate layoffs are shocked but can actually do nothing, as they have 'resigned' in writing.

Termination Letter for Laying Off Staff

The management of most businesses prefer not to give termination letters to the employees in cases of corporate downsizing and cost cutting, as this could result in unnecessary hassles for the company. If incidents of ' mass layoffs' are reported in the media, the company may have to answer and pay heavily. The price of company stocks may fall, investors may become vary of the company and the government may intervene to reinstate the laid off employees. However, termination letters for staff layoffs is the most beneficial to employees and something those facing downsizing layoffs really need to know about.
During employee layoffs, when the staff is confronted by the HR team/ management to submit their resignation letters, they should resist. Termination for layoffs, downsizing or cost cutting is completely different from termination due to bad behavior. Legally and ethically, the management has to provide relieving letters/ certificates of good conduct to the employee if they serve termination letters due to corporate layoffs for reasons such as offshoring, recession, downsizing or cost cutting. Termination letters help the employee in the following ways-

• The company has to compulsorily give the terminated employees all their dues. These layoff benefits include notice period, cash in lieu of notice period, encashable leave and severance pay if any.
• The laid off employee has the right to file a case of wrongful termination against the company within 45 days in the labour court, if he/she is not satisfied with the reasons given for job cuts. This is why companies always delay paying the final settlement till 45 days are complete. Filing a case in the labour cost is very cheap and does not take much effort on the part of the employee.
• If the court/ government asks the company to reinstate the workers or employ them with lesser salary, the company has to comply, as least in part. Example- the air hostesses airline layoffs case.
• If the government offers compensation to terminated employees in the future, they may apply for it on showing their termination letter.
• If the government launches a loan/credit scheme for terminated employees in the future, they may apply for it on displaying their termination letter.

While asking an employee for his resignation letter, the company management may promise to re-employ him when things get better, but that is most certainly not going to happen. When it comes to corporate layoffs and recruiting, the management would rather hire a new employee with less salary and train him for the job than employ a highly paid terminated person who most probably harbors bad blood towards the company.

P.S. If you are really worried about not getting a relieving letter, then just pick up a few company letter heads from your office before the process of terminating staff for mass layoffs begins. Later, you can make your own relieving letter in the future.

Have you faced termination or submitted your resignation during a mass job layoff? Do you have any other tips or advice for people facing the threat of job loss during these times of recession and downsizing? All feedback is gladly welcome!!!

How Placement Consultants Really Work

How Placement Consultants Really Work

Have you ever been sent by a placement consultant for a job interview, done well in the test, but have never heard from the company again. Well, placement companies are also businesses and their main aim is to make a profit, even if a bit cunningly.

Recruitment companies and employment agencies play many tricks on unsuspecting job applicants. Some are easy to guess. Here are some of the most common games played by placement agencies and consultancies -

1. Some clients pay placement agencies an amount for every shortlisted candidate who turns up for their interview. This leads to placement consultants lying to job applicants about the position, qualifications needed, salary and other terms of service offered by a company, just so that you agree to go for the interview. Once you find out that the job is not what you desired, you naturally walk off...but the recruiter has already made their few bucks.

2. In such cases, Placement Agencies may also unscrupulously deal with the Human Resource Managers of companies. All companies have a certain budget for hiring people. Since they 'know' the HR Manager, placement consultants send a large amount of candidates for a position that can be easily filled. Many 'fake' interviews are conducted. The HR person and the recruitment company then share the amount paid for by the company for all shortlisted candidates who attend the job interview.

3. They may tell you about an extremely tempting job offer and ask you to send over your CV. Listening to the sales talk, you are so interested in the job that you email your resume immediately. In reality, there is no job - basically they are just trying to collect a database of resumes. You will never hear from them in connection with that particular job again.

4. They ask you for references of superiors or the name of your previous boss in connection with a very 'lucrative' job offer. They are actually just looking for names and contact details of people who are in the position to hire people, so that they can make contracts and other deals with them for jobs and interviews.

5. They ask you for references of colleagues and friends if you say that you are not interested in a particular job. This means they are trying to build up their database of resumes or trying to get a 'murga' to attend one of the paid shortlisted candidate interviews. If they say they will pay you if your friend gets the job through them, they usually pretend they do not remember your recommendation, after your friend gets hired.

6. If you ask them how much the company is paying, they will ask you what range you are looking for. If you say around Rs. 20000 - 25000 per month, then get ready to work for only around Rs.20,000 or a bit less. They will negotiate with the company for as much as they can get, give you excuses that the job market is down and keep the rest of the profit for themselves.

7. If you get a job through a placement consultant, they will put up unfavorable clauses in your work contract such as termination with little notice, a bond, a compulsory two year contract and so on. You may find you have fewer non-taxable benefits and a large 'basic' salary from which the job agency gains commission.

8. If you don't get shortlisted for an interview, don't turn up for an interview or don't get hired by a contractor client, chances are the recruitment agency will never phone you again. They just don't like candidates who don't make them money.

Of course, there are a few good recruitment agencies that play by the rules. Dealing with them may prove real beneficial for your future. Even they dislike the fraudulent placement agencies that shake both the confidence of candidates and that of companies. Research the recruitment market well to find a honest recruiter.

Wish you all the best as you go job hunting!!

Reservation in Private Sector - 70% for Jack-less

Private Sector Job Reservation

Before the CEO's of private companies make a bigger deal out of 'Lack of talent' being brought in by reservations for SC/ST and students start believing the drivel being dished out in the media that they won't get jobs, here is some food for thought -

1. I don't know many who have got a job without knowing someone ( papa/chacha/dost works there, beaurocrat recommendations, Client/Customers/Suppliers Kid etc). In all the seven jobs that I've worked, I've got through with one of the above jacks.

2. Neither me nor anyone I know has ever got a private sector job by applying through the internet/newspapers. Even though we were well qualified and attended ten's of interviews we were never selected. Later I found out through a friend in HR, that the applicant was already appointed. The interviews and ads in the paper for resumes was just an eyewash used as a legal requirement.

3. Those people without jack who are placed by educational institutes/placement companies work as trainees/interns for years sometimes. They are made to work extra hours, late night shifts, work on holidays and if anything goes wrong then it's thier fault. The salary is paltry and sometimes even that is not paid for months. Performance Appraisals are a big Dhoka. The cost of the educational course is not paid back by the job. Placement agencies ask for the first 2 months salary but they see to it that the company they place you with sacks you within 3 months. This is so they can appoint someone new and take that person's 2 months salary too.

4. Privat SectorJobs are bought and sold - by unscrupulous HR and placement people. eg. my brother was asked for Rs. 70,000 for a call centre job in Wipro, Calcutta. He is a B.Tech in Computers.

I am all for Private Sector Job Reservation. There should be atleast 70 percent reservations for people who don't have jack. Out of this 35 percent should be reserved for women. Women are more qualified, work harder and more efficiently, yet they are disqualified for no apparent reason.

Yeah, Mr. CEO's, Worried that some unknown SC/ST's will get private sector jobs for free !! Why should they not, atleast there will be some qualified employees, doing work and getting paid for it. The government is there to protect them. Manmohan Ji, please do something for the 'Jackless' too !!