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FI’m a techie from Bengaluru, working in a mid-sized company (60-100 emps).
the HR reached out to me & conveyed that someone has raised a one off incident complaint against me. they are asking me to sign a NDA and Non Retialiation Agreement before proceeding this case with the ethics committee.they have not provided any details regarding the incident or the person who has raised the complaint.
as someone who is generally docile/introvert, this has come as a massive shock to me. I am very certain that my day to day activities will be heavily impacted during this period.
should I involve a legal representative on my behalf so I am not terminated irrespective of the ethics committee’s decision due to poor performance during this period.
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FI myself am not aware of what case/complaint has been lodged against me.
this will be revealed through the ethics committee after I sign the NDA & NRA
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Fthe email sent to me by the HR:
This Agreement is executed to ensure that no retaliation occurs against complainant, witness, or
any other party that might get involved in the redressal process conducted by the Ethics
Committee (EC) in relation to allegations of mis-conduct.
You are expected to agree and acknowledge that:
a) You shall not engage in any form of retaliation, including but not limited to intimidation,
threats, coercion, discrimination, adverse actions, or any other behavior that may have a
negative impact on the complainant, witnesses, or any person participating in the redressal
process.
b) Any retaliation, whether direct or indirect, including through third parties, shall be deemed a
violation of this Agreement and may lead to disciplinary action, including termination of
employment, as per the Company’s practices.
By signing below, you affirm your understanding of and commitment to the principles outlined
in this Agreement.-
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UTell them to give you time to consult a lawyer, as you do not want to be falsely implicated without any evidence.
Tell us how they react to that demand.
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ADo not set a time frame.
“I am taking your NRA and NDA to multiple lawyers do guidance and will act accordingly.”
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U^ this is exactly right.
Don’t let them bully you because at the end of the day, it’s only a job. And you will get another job if you’re good at your job (which I am guessing you are, being an introvert), but it will be harder for you to get self-respect if you give in to their demands.
From the outside, it looks like someone is trying to ruin your reputation. As a man, your reputation is all you have – do not sign the NDA/NRA without talking to a good lawyer (In india, lawyers can and are routinely bribed by the opposing party so make sure your lawyer search is solid – try to get a NLU lawyer reference.)
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UIf u r posting here and asking some help def u get if u clearly post what happend and why hr reached u ?
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CStep 1 – Start looking for a new job (This will give you an upper hand late on)
Step 2 – Under no circumstance should you sign an NDA & an NRA without even knowing the allegations
If the HR insists, put your foot down on this issue.
At no point should you lose your cool, behave rudely or erratically. This is key!
Possible outcomes –
1. HR shares the context/ complaint. You can then involve your advocate. But make sure you NEVER tell your HR about this in the initial stages
2. They back down
3. They use the unwillingness to sign NDA/NRA as an excuse to terminate you. This then gives your advocate a nice opportunity to make them pay for unfair termination.
Since you’re already looking for a new job, you’ll land on your feet.
The world is filled with a**holes. Learn to keep them in check!
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HI think this is a standard procedure. If you don’t sign the NDA / NRA, i guess they may proceed with your termination since you are not cooperative.
Usually Ethics committee will comprise of a few people and they’ll try to ascertain the facts first with respect to the complaint they received.
I know for a fact that people have come out of the enquiry successfully since the accusations couldn’t be proved and in some case backfired on the complainant as well.
If you are 100% sure of no wrong doings, nothing wrong in appearing for the enquiry. I have a strong feeling that they’d not disclose anything to a lawyer you hire citing confidentiality.
Your lawyer possibly will come into play only if you are terminated and still doubt they can do anything related to it since your joining letter / signature will have clear clauses allowing the organisation to terminate you on multiple grounds.
Please do keep us posted and if you have been clean and fair, wish you all the best to come out well.
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Fthe company works on a hybrid work policy where I visit the premise 2-3 times a week.
my presence is pretty much non-existent as I sit in a corner and most of my work involves just coding with little to no interactions with other members of the company.most of my interactions are part of meetings or breaks.
but your words sound assuring and I will first get an opinion from a lawyer whether to proceed or not.
if the lawyer assures me that this is a standard procedure and there is nothing to worry about in case of my innocence, I will proceed with signing the NDA & NRA and hope it goes well.
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U+1 to this.
Also keep in mind that the definition of office / work space in such context is not only to your desk or the office floor, but also includes extended spaces where you can interact with colleagues – the pantry, lobby, office campus, even things like team lunch / dinners, offsite meetings, WhatsApp messages, etc.
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SPractising advocate here:
Don’t sign anything. Tell them that you’re going to get the documents looked at. For you to sign any documents based on a mere allegation is senseless and you have every right to take an informed decision.
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**Disclaimer: The information provided above does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available are strictly for general informational purposes only and create no liability on the provider of said information. Readers should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter.**
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UWould such an agreement even have a legal standing? It would make it complicated for sure but would it be valid?
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COne sentence in the email says that “this is just one moment” and doesn’t define you. I am not sure what that means. Was there one off moment that you did something
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RWhat nonsense! How can you sign NDA NRA when you don’t even know the context of the complaint. DO NOT SIGN
Insist for the copy of the complaint. In the meanwhile pull out all your organisation policies related to complaint handling – HR/ Employee Grievances/ POSH etc while you reach out to a lawyer.
Unfortunately you will have to start looking for other opportunities ASAP
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MI work in Ethics committee of a very well known company. Ideally if you have done nothing wrong, you should not be worried about it. We ascertain facts before coming to any conclusion. For termination scenarios, you should have violated the code of conduct and this requires sufficient information. In certain scenarios, we don’t recommend termination but end the case with warning letters (depends on the gravity of the situation) ideally the investigation is conducted to hear both sides and it is impartial and confidential in nature, so you won’t have to worry about it. NDA is requested as the investigations are very discrete in nature.
Hope this helps.-
MRetaliatory clauses are included so that if you get to know the identity of the complainant, the company wants to ensure that the complainants is not targeted by the other employees for the allegations raised.
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UFew other questions.
1. What happens if the complain is found false? Does the complainant contract is terminated (or what happens)? What does your company do to deter false complaints?
2. What if OP wants to file a cross complaint for damaging his reputation and mental harassment? By signing NRA, he won’t be able to do that, right?
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M1) No, the complaints contract does not get terminated, sometimes the investigators would not get sufficient evidence. therefore there would be no action against the complainant, the case would just be unsubstantiated.
2) the complainants reputation would not get damaged as like I mentioned before, it’s a very discreet process. I believe people are confusing the word “Non retaliatory agreement” it simply means that the complainant should not face any harassment at work because he filed a complaint
Additionally if the person is terminated on unfair grounds( which does not happen usually) he can always go to labour court.
The investigation is done to hear both sides, so that the defendant can defend himself.
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UI have a question. If the OP switches as the proceedings are going on/ after receiving a warning, won’t it be reflected in the relieving/ experience letter?
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UI agree with the general recommendations , don’t sigh anything, lawer up to protect yourself. Start looking for a new job.
Sometimes colleagues who are jealous of your success or have a specific agenda against you will do this. Look at the evidence and possibly challenging it should be part of your response. If the evidence does not hold out , counter file.Win in any case and make sure the world knows about it through such forms so that others can benefit from it . ( if false )
Good luck
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NOne cannot stay in an organization whose management has already made up their mind, passed judgment on you, and is self-judgmental in their convictions. No matter what you do, you will eventually face the consequences. Take an exit, with or without offer in hand, if you wish to avoid falling into a well-known anxiety loop later in life.
That’s the best thing you can do for yourself under such circumstances. You’ll be grateful to me in the future. You’ll eventually find employment. Good Luck 🤞
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HInform the ethics committee on email that while you have done nothing wrong, you will cooperate with the investigation into the Complaint. But be very clear that you are not ready to sign any agreement. They cannot force you to sign anything. No need to involve legal representation at this stage. First see what is the complaint made against you.
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URecently happened with me. I have been made a team manager and one of my team member lodged a complaint to HR for SA.
HR knows me and asked me to not do anything as they will ask the other person to sign NDA and then terminate them.
The termination is also because they are in probation and have missed 3-4 deadlines already.-
UDo you mean that HR decided to terminate the employee even before the investigation was started? How is that not retaliation?
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CIt looks like there is a POSH Complaint against you.
Also, whoever is advising you not to sign the NDA is definitely not aware of the process under a POSH Complaint. This is standard procedure required under the POSH Act. Also, your lawyer cannot represent you before the POSH Committee hearings.
Even if it’s not a POSH Complaint, this is a standard procedure. So sign it.
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