Case Study: A Sales Employee’s Fraudulent Retaliation

This is a challenging and frustrating situation. Here’s a structured analysis of what you've described, along with suggested steps to protect yourself and your organization.

Background

You hired an employee to manage sales, expecting them to engage directly with the market to generate results. Despite repeated attempts to encourage and coach them, this individual showed no effort, initiative, or engagement in their sales responsibilities. Instead, their performance was consistently zero, leading to disappointment for the company and a negative impact on team morale.

Actions Taken by the Company

The company demonstrated patience by giving this employee several chances to improve, clearly communicating job expectations, and explaining the policies that govern performance-based pay and expenses. When results did not materialize, the company took appropriate action by withholding salary and expenses, as was explicitly outlined in the employment terms.

Employee’s Fraudulent and Malicious Retaliation

In response to the salary hold, this employee’s behavior turned malicious and dishonest. Their actions included:

1. Threats and Harassment: Using international numbers to make threatening calls.
2. False Accusations: Alleging that you personally visited their city to take ?5 lakh in cash from a distributor. This claim is baseless, especially as you have never been to the location.
3. Privacy Invasion: Sharing your phone number across various websites, resulting in a flood of OTPs and spam, causing distress and disruption.

Analyzing the Impact

The employee’s behavior appears to stem from an unwillingness to accept accountability for their performance. Rather than improving their performance, they have resorted to malicious actions that could have both personal and professional consequences for you. This situation represents a severe breach of trust and is potentially a legal matter due to the harassment and defamation involved.

Suggested Actions

1. Document Everything: Compile all records of communication with this employee, including performance reviews, email exchanges, texts, and notes from conversations. Retain records of any threats or harassment, including screenshots, recordings, and evidence of OTP requests from unknown sites.
2. Report to Authorities: Given the threatening nature of the calls and the invasion of privacy, you should consider filing a complaint with the police or cybercrime authorities. Share all evidence, including records of international numbers used to contact you and logs of the malicious OTP requests. This will help you establish a formal record of the harassment.
3. Engage Legal Counsel: Consult with a legal professional to explore defamation or harassment charges. Legal experts can provide guidance on how to approach authorities and may help send a formal cease-and-desist letter, which could deter further action by the individual.
4. Inform Relevant Online Platforms: If you’re receiving OTPs or unwanted contact from specific websites, consider reaching out to these platforms to inform them of the misuse of your information and request assistance in managing the spam.
5. Enhance Personal Security: Be vigilant and, if necessary, update your online privacy settings. It may also be prudent to enable additional security measures on your phone and email accounts.

Final Thoughts

It’s absolutely reasonable to feel that these actions are unjust. The situation is deeply unprofessional and has crossed legal boundaries. As challenging as this is, taking formal steps will protect you, set a precedent, and uphold a fair and safe working environment.