FnF Settlement process is a series of steps undertaken by management and employees to settle the outstanding dues and obligations while the exit of an employee irrespective of resignation, termination, or retirement from the Organization. It ensures the settlement of all financial obligations of employees and terminates employment relationships.
The full and final settlement process is the clearance of dues that have been earned by an exiting employee during their term of service from the resignation letter date to their last working date. Irrespective of the type of exit – voluntary resignation, retirement, or termination – the company is liable to release different payable dues of their salaried employees after their exit.
It is an essential stride in the HR workflow to evaluate and remunerate employees’ dues after their exit from the organization as it results in satisfied employees and enhances the company’s internal and external image.
After an employee resigns, from that particular day till their term in the company ends is considered as the ‘notice period’ of the employee. When the employee accomplishes the notice period term with the proper handover of documents, assets, and knowledge acquired during their term of service along with no contractual obligation, they are entitled to receive the full and final settlement clearance from their company.
There are multiple major components that are taken into consideration in evaluating the FnF, namely:
Unpaid salary is the outstanding wages of employees that are not paid on time during their employment. Salary earned in the month of notice or any salary due from the preceding month of employment is considered unpaid salary.
According to The Payment Of Wages Act 1936, employees are entitled to receive their salary on time for their term of employment, and if the company or employer refuses or fails to pay the amount, the employer is liable to pay an interest amount along with the due salary.
The number of days of compensation is multiplied by the gross salary divided by the average number of working days in a month.
The No. of Days of Compensation x Gross Salary/ 26 ( Avg. working days in a month) = Unpaid Salary.
It includes various allowances and bonuses provided apart from the basic employee’s salary during his term of service like:
Apart from casual leaves, employees are also entitled to privileged leaves (PL). If PL has not been availed by the employee during their tenure, leave encashment is paid during their exit and is added to the full and final payment.
The leave encashment of privileged leaves varies as per the company policy and norms. It is never the same for all companies as every company’s policy is different.
In addition, employers provide bonuses to employees on special occasions (e.g. Diwali Bonus), statutory bonuses, or due to their meritorious performances and significant contribution in their job role. The cash equivalent to the bonuses is added to the full and final settlement payment during the exit of the employee.
As mentioned, PL for leave encashment varies as per the company policy, so approximately,
If the PL is considered 21 Calendar days a year, the calculation will be:
(Basic Salary + D.A.) / 30 (No. of working days to be enchased).
If Pl is considered 21 working days a year, then the calculation changes to:
(Basic Salary + D.D) / 26 (No. of working days to be enchased).
A statutory bonus is an annual or monthly incentive given to an employee whose income is less than 21,000 a month. The Payment Of Bonus Act, of 1965 provides a minimum bonus of 8.33 percent and maximum annual benefits of 20 percent of wages to the employees.
The Act applies to all establishments with more than 20 employees. Some companies choose to pay this out in advance. The calculation is undertaken using the formula:
Statutory bonus = Salary (Basic + DA) * Bonus Percentage
Note:
These are the termination payments undertaken by the company to the employees during a layover.
The reason for employee termination could be numerous, ranging from Non-requirement of personnel for a particular job role to termination due to liquidation of the company, or any other reason.
An employee is eligible for this payment only when they have completed 2 years of service in that particular company.
Employee aged of more than or equal to 41 years = 1 and half weeks pay for each full year
Employee aged more than 22 and less than 41 = 1 week pay for each full year
Employee aged under 22 =half a week’s pay for each full year.
These are the unpaid and accrued interest that has not been paid over the duration of time.
The Payment of Gratuity Act of 1972 has laid certain rules for the payment of gratuity amounts. It is paid to employees who have completed 5 years of continuous term in an organization without any gap in between.
The company is liable to pay the gratuity amount within 30 days of the employee’s exit. By law, the government has made it mandatory for organizations to pay gratuity within 30 days of an employee’s exit else a simple interest is required to be paid from the due date till the date of payment by the employer.
Most companies deduct 4.81% from the employee salary and pay it during the exit of an employee as the gratuity amount.
As the gratuity paid to employees is a part of their salaries, it is eligible for income tax deductions. However, it is subject to limited deductions due to various exemptions laid by the government.
If the company policy is covered under Gratuity Act:
Gratuity = n*b*15 / 26
If the company policy is not covered under Gratuity Act:
Gratuity = n*b*15 / 30
Note:
Any tax liability that is eligible for income tax is deducted from the full and final settlement payment.
In accordance with the Income Tax Act, of 1962 a TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) is deducted from the components that are qualified for taxation.
Deductions include Provident Fund, ESI (if applicable), Employee’s Income Tax, etc. However, gratuity and leave encashments are exempted from TDS.
Provident funds are the invested funds made out of partial payment from both the employer and employee for long-term savings to back up the employee’s retirement.
Most confuse provident funds with pension benefits. A provident fund is the combination of the employer’s and employee’s contributions for retirement benefits whereas, a pension fund is the employee’s contribution for retirement purposes.
Pension funds are eligible for withdrawal when an employee completes 10 years of continuous service. So, it is important for the employee to obtain the EPS certificate and hand it over to the new employer to maintain continuity of employment.
Under the Employee Pension scheme, the minimum Pension amount is ₹ 1000 to ₹ 2000 per month for India.
The employee has to contribute 12 % of (basic salary + DA) towards the PF contribution.
The PF percent varies from 10-12 % for employees and 12% for the employer.
From the employer’s contribution, 8.33% is shared towards an employee’s pension scheme and 3.67% is shared towards the EPF scheme.
Employee’s monthly salary = ( pensionable salary * pensionable service) / 70
Note:
ESIC benefit deductions are applicable for employees whose monthly salary is less than ₹ 21,000.
The ESIC Act, of 1948 has fixed a percentage of contribution for both employer and employee.
The ESIC rate is revised from time to time. Currently, the employer contribution for ESIC is 3.5% of the salary and the employee’s contribution is 0.75%.
The calculation of ESIC is done on the basis of 26 days and not calendar month.
This is the amount deducted from the gross salary of the employee in case of advances drawn from the company in any preceding month.
The Full and Final settlement calculation process includes the deduction of such an amount from the employee during his exit.
Total gross salary (including all earnings) – advances received.
In India, there are no specific regulations for undertaking the Full and Final Settlement (FnF). Every company has its own policy and rules for the FnF process.
However, according to the Payment of Wages Act 1935, an employee is entitled to payment according to their terms of service.
There are certain state laws like the Commercial Establishment Act, Wage Code, New Wage Code, Labour Law, and more, that can be referred to during the FnF process.
Ideally, the maximum duration for making a full and final settlement is 30-45 days after the last working day of the employee. The day when the notice period ends is considered the last working day.
The FnF settlement payslip does not have any specific format to be uniformly followed by all the establishments.
The basic full and final settlement payslip format includes the following details:
The process of full and final settlement has the following steps:
Accepting the employee’s resignation is the first step of the full and final settlement process in which the company should accept the request of the employee to leave the organization.
Giving a response to the resignation showcases the ideal conduct of management towards human resources.
After receiving the resignation letter from the employee, the employer sends an acceptance letter to acknowledge the exit date and process the final settlement accordingly.
Next in the queue is the handover of all official gadgets and access provided to the employee during their term of employment.
The employee is expected to return the asset intact and the login access maintaining the confidentiality policies of the establishment.
Different departments like IT, HR, Finance, and Admin provide clearance after verifying the returnables from the employee.
It ensures zero data theft and maintains the credibility and confidentiality of the company.
After getting clearances from different departments, the full and final settlement is processed and released within 30-45 days of the employee’s exit after serving the notice period.
Later, the experience certificate is also provided to the employee for investing their knowledge and skills in the company.
It enhances the employer’s reputation for both existing as well as exiting employees.
It is extremely vital for the employer to process the final settlement as it has an advantageous output for both the employer and the organization.
The benefits might be indirect but are prolong and vivid. Various benefits of clearing FnF include:
Employee satisfaction reflects the work environment’s culture and how the workforce is treated.
A smooth and quick final settlement process not only enhances the reputation of the company but also boosts the morale of the internal employees.
It showcases the strong work culture and positive work environment of the establishment.
When an employee leaves a company with hassle-free exit procedures and a streamlined FnF process, it creates an optimistic experience which, as a result, enhances the organization’s reputation.
It is a basic human tendency to discuss previous companies’ pros and cons with the current ones. As a result, the staff tend to discuss the quick and streamlined FnF settlement procedures with others which not only magnify the employer’s image but also attract the finest candidates to associate with the organization.
The financial year (i.e. 1st April to 31st March) auditing to evaluate the company property, assets, and liabilities are conducted every year to keep a watch on the processing and functioning of the organization.
Accumulating the FnF amount of employees ultimately affects the functioning of the organization during the audit. It puts the company’s evaluation in trouble and degrades the credibility of the company. In contrast, when the full and final settlement is streamlined, it smoothens the audit process and frames a clear picture of the flow of investments and expenses incurred.
The FnF settlement procedure is a tedious process for the payroll team specifically since its evaluation of adding the cash benefit, calculating the face salary deductions, and more. Automation in FnF settlement procedure not only quickens the process but also eases the task and benefits in managing time better. FnF is calculated on the regular salary schedule and a streamlined FnF procedure exemplifies the vigorous and supportive management team.
No legally specific time period is mentioned as per the Wages Act for the voluntarily resigned or retired employees, but ideally, as per experts, a maximum of 30-45 days after an employee’s exit is preferred suitable for clearance and fnf settlement time period.
The Wages Act of 1964 states that terminated employees are entitled to receive their fnf within 2 working days after their termination.
In case of failure of payment of fnf by the employer, the employee can legally sue the employer and approach the labour commissioner. If fraudulent avoidance prevails from the employer then, the employee can even lodge a police complaint.
The New Labour Law states that the Employer has to pay the complete salary settlement within 2 days of the employee’s exit (last working day) day from the organization irrespective of voluntary resignation, termination, dismissal, or retirement.
Yes, if the employees resign from their jobs or are terminated, and have completed the period of notice they are entitled to receive gratuity within 30 days of exit. In case of delay, they are entitled to receive simple interest on the gratuity amount.
1. Intelligent and Automatic F&F Calculations
Since HR people are the ones, who initiate the full and final settlement process, having HR software is a smart thing since it calculates full and final payables for the employee along with receivables in an intelligent and accurate way. HR software calculates all the critical payroll aspects like unpaid salary, medical, LTA, gratuity, balance leaves, bonus, etc.
All at the click of a button. Most importantly, the HR software will automatically deduct the tax amount the employee is liable for from his full and final settlement dues and accordingly update the Form 16 and worksheet.
2. Calculates Recoverable
An employee when quits a company, he/she is entitled to claim for important recoveries during the exit. Since full and final settlement is one hectic task, having a good HR solution in place is no less than a blessing in disguise for the HR people since it would calculate all recoverables in a matter of seconds thus, paving the way for quicker and smoother exit process for both the company as well as the employee.
3. One-stop Hub for Employee Documents
Having instant access to proper records is one of the critical aspects of a full and final settlement process. HR software ensures that you have a formal copy of the resignation along with the necessary documents in place. In case the employee is fired, it is imperative to maintain documentation and communications.
You can track all the relevant documents and forms pertaining to the layoff of a particular employee using the HR software along with exit interview documents. You always have the option of adding up relevant notes/comments to these documents.
Long story short, HR software offers you a bird’s eye view of the entire (F&F) full and final settlement process. Lastly, yet importantly, it provides an information-rich F&F letter briefing the entire settlement process.
These are a few prominent instances of how HR software can simplify employee separations for both employees as well as businesses.
Empower your HR Today for The Future!
Subscribe to Newsletter
Product
Company
Resources
Cities
