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I joined a big MNC and now I have a better opportunity with better skillset with a new company (mid size). It has been just a day that I joined this multinational organization, and currently I do not even have an ID card. I do not own any asset of that company.

What I want to know is if I abscond this organisation (quit the job), would they be able to take any serious actions? Can they get me blacklisted with other organisations and create a problem in future?

My new company is okay with me abscond this MNC, and I want to join them in just a days gap. Would this create any problems for me in the future?

The work country is India.

RonJohn
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roccmol09
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    Presumably, this could be done officially, with the company accepting an early resignation and waiving the notice period, but issuing the normal paperwork. Have they given a reason for not doing that? – Patricia Shanahan Jul 14 '19 at 14:27
  • Also I was hired through an external recruiter. I am definitely expecting an angry call if I abscond the company. – roccmol09 Jul 14 '19 at 17:13
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    Just to be clear, in US English, the word "abscond" is most commonly used to refer to stealing something (he absconded with the money). Here it just means to leave suddenly. – Keith Thompson Jul 14 '19 at 21:20
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    @KeithThompson FYI abscond is also commonly used in the medical field - ie absconding from hospital. Doesn't mean they stole something. – solarflare Jul 15 '19 at 00:15
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    @KeithThompson I think one of the reasons you’re picking up on something weird is that absconding generally takes a preposition, which in this case should be “from” (see @solarflare’s comment above). – alex_d Jul 15 '19 at 01:03
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    @alex_d: In modern US English usage, yes, it usually takes a preposition, usually "with" (implying theft), less commonly "from" (implying leaving a place). Given the dictionary.com definition, "He absconded." would be perfectly valid, meaning "He left suddenly." -- but it's not common usage. I can easily see how "He absconded from the company." might evolve into "He absconded the company." That hasn't happened in US English, but it likely has in Indian English. This could be a good question for [english.se]. Like the US and the UK, the US and India are divided by a common language. – Keith Thompson Jul 15 '19 at 01:37
  • What is your definition of 'absconding'? Just stop showing up for work or formally resign? – PagMax Jul 15 '19 at 05:26
  • Possible duplicate of What is a relieving letter? What are the consequences of not having one? – IDrinkandIKnowThings Jul 15 '19 at 14:27
  • Will you need a "relieving letter" for the new position? They seem to be a common requirement in India – komodosp Jul 15 '19 at 15:20

4 Answers4

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This answer is written keeping your current context in mind and my experience working in India.

What I want to know is if I abscond this organisation, would they be able to take any serious actions?

I am assuming you have already completed the paperwork and signed the offer letter and any other papers. So, absconding is never a good idea. It could be very well argued if the company will take any legal actions, but this is definitely not something you should risk doing.

Are you currently under probation? You should be able to check if that's the case in from your offer letter, or from the HR. Probation is applicable both ways and generally the release duration under probation is much lesser (days) compared to what it is after job confirmation.

Can they get me blacklisted with other organisations and create a problem in future?

There's no official/publicly known data about this, and it also depends on whether you were hired through internal or external recruiter, but you should never risk it. You certainly stand a strong chance to get blacklisted from the current organisation and it's subsidiaries.

My new company is okay with me absconding this MNC, and I want to join them in just a days gap. Would this create any problems for me in the future?

This is a big red flag in my opinion. An employer which encourages its potential employee to take such action is not a reliable one in my opinion. Any organisation employing/suggesting such actions stands a chance to turn their back against you in future.

Evaluate how lucrative the offer from the mid sized company is in the following following terms in the given order:

  1. Domain and quality of work.

  2. Skill and expertise level of the current team members.

  3. Alignment with your career progression and future goals.

  4. Pay, perks and general employee benefits.

If and only if the above points check in the listed order, you should think about leaving the MNC, and even if so, do it by communicating to proper channels and serving the applicable notice period.

The new company is worthy of joining (and you too can check your desirability by the new organisation), if they respect your current situation and handle it professionally by allowing required time between transition.

You mentioned that the notice period is 60 days when under probation. You haven't started getting involved in the work yet, you can try and ask for an expedited release. But it would make for an awkward conversation.

If the MNC don't agree to expedite the release, you may end you burning bridges there, while also standing a chance to lose offer from the new company. Give this a good though before making any move.

Also, the way how MNCs in India operates and follow proper protocols, you may end up serving 60 days notice. Just make sure you don't end up in a situation where you don't have any option in hand.

Kat
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Nimesh Neema
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    "not at all (never)" is a bit difficult to parse. I might suggest just using "never" if that's what you mean. – Cornstalks Jul 14 '19 at 22:01
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Since this is Indian context, you should read your joining letter very carefully from the MNC you have already joined - it will contain clauses as to what you can and can not do with respect to prematurely ending your employment.

Many companies keep a seven day notice period during the first three months (of probation) - if you have that, use it to tell your dream mid size company that you will join within that time frame, as you want to do the right thing by putting in notice.

If you've a bond or any other financial obligation in your joining letter that you would have signed on day 1, remember that the MNC can choose to pursue it via legal notices to obtain the amount back from you. This can happen more frequently than you think, because your failure to turn up is an opportunity loss for the MNC. The MNC may additionally choose to recover travel, relocation and costs associated with temporary lodging etc from you.

As long as you are not terminated/have not resigned from the MNC, you are going to continue to be its employee, so the date of you absconding and duration of work will not matter.

Joining a second company without ending employment from the first one will be a serious cause for legal action, and the MNC can take a legal action of any degree if it perceives any kind of threat to its operations from this action of yours (if the Human Resource(HR) department were to come to know of it by any means). Note that threat here is not what you perceive to be, but what the HR of the MNC determines to be. This is quite possible if both the companies are direct competitors, or if you are in any kind of managerial/leadership role.

As regards the mid sized company, you need to realize that a week or a month worth of head-start does not put you in any advantageous position in the new organization. It usually takes around 2 months for a hire to join from the date of interview, so the company should be very much ready to give you sufficient time to join if it is really interested in you. As has been said in other answers, a really pushy HR is a red flag in itself, and if I were in your shoes, I would seriously consider not joining the mid size organization if the HR were asking to act me so unethically.

Anshul Goyal
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You are one day in to your job and you want to leave. Of course the MNC can't do a lot about it, except word will go around amongst their network that your loyalty is pretty weak if a better offer comes along. You will hurt your chances of working for the MNC in future, and likely other companies too.

However, what do you hope to gain by simply walking away without going through the proper leaving process? You'll get to work for the second company a few days earlier at the expense of trashing your reputation. It's one thing to be seen as rather mercenary, it's quite another to be seen as downright untrustworthy. The MNC won't want to hang on to you any more than they need to if they know you don't want to stay, so stick to working out the proper notice period, and if they let you go sooner, be thankful.

Fiora the Ferret
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It you want to leave your job after a day - frankly that's your choice. Good on you for being so honest with yourself and putting your professional needs first. Check your contract with MNC co. with a fine tooth comb check your probation notice period.

I'm not going to reiterate the excellent advice given to you from the Indian commentators

Also get in writing from the New company they are prepared to wait for you with a possible start date.

Also be aware that you are burning a bridge and you can never work for your current employer for the foreseeable future. However, companies get rid of people all the time so I don't see this as anything different to be honest.

I don't know what the recruitment process was, but if you used a recruitment consultancy expect a rather angry phone call from them and they will try to guilt you into staying because they basically are unhappy about the potential lost commission.

All that said, you are just going to have to sit down with MNC co. HR and your manager and explain the situation to them ASAP- it will be an awkward and an uncomfortable conversation.

Tell them it's nothing personal and that you have got a better offer (from mid size co. However, don't give the company name. Just say that's confidential, its frankly none of their business) and you are going to accept it. Explain to MNC that you are grateful opportunity, but you feel you are a better fit with mid size company and you would like to give your notice.

You know MNC co will find a great replacement to fill this role blah blah blah.

The MNC company may let you go immediately after the meeting (which is likely as you haven't got a pass/laptop/ login credentials etc) or they may ask you work a notice period.

I don't know.

In my 20 years in tech, people have a short memory and forget quickly, so I personally don't think there will be any long term affects from leaving regarding your professional reputation (Just make sure you do a GREAT JOB at your new company).

Let's be real. You haven't lost MNC millions or billions in revenue, you have't damaged servers, you haven't caused severe outages, you haven't done anything that will damage MNC's reputation etc.

All you did was change your mind about a job- a job you realised you didn't want. It's not that any deeper than that.

fypnlp
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