Laid off in India? What to do in the first two weeks
A checklist for the first fortnight after a layoff in India: documents to collect, the settlement, provident fund, gratuity, health cover, money, and when to start applying.
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A layoff tends to arrive suddenly and then move fast: a meeting, a letter, a last working day and a set of forms. The decisions made in those first two weeks — what you sign, what you withdraw, what you let lapse — are some of the hardest to undo.
This is a checklist, not legal or financial advice. Employment rules in India changed when the new labour codes took effect in November 2025, and some details depend on your role, your employer and your state. Check the current rules for your situation, ask HR to put answers in writing, and talk to a lawyer or an adviser if something looks wrong.
What you should come away with
- Read everything before you sign it, and ask for answers in writing
- Collect your letters, payslips, Form 16 and PF details before your access ends
- Ask for a written break-up of your settlement and the date it will be paid
- Check the current EPFO rules before withdrawing provident fund; transferring is often better
- Sort out health cover before the group policy ends
- Work out how long your money lasts, then start the search in week two
First, read before you sign. You may be handed a separation agreement, a release, or a resignation letter to sign in place of a termination. Ask for a copy, take the time to read it, and ask in writing about anything unclear: why a resignation rather than a termination, what you give up by signing a release, and what the settlement includes. If the amounts are large or the terms unusual, have a lawyer look at it. Being calm and polite does not require signing on the spot.
Before your access ends, collect your documents. Get the termination or separation letter, the relieving letter and an experience letter, or a date by which they will be issued. Download your last few payslips and the latest salary break-up. Note your UAN and check on the EPFO portal that your provident fund contributions are up to date. Ask when Form 16 will be issued. Save the personal contact details of managers and colleagues who can vouch for your work, and keep copies of any of your own work you are allowed to keep. Do not copy company data you are not entitled to; that can create a far bigger problem than the one you have.
Ask for the settlement in writing, item by item. Your full and final settlement may include salary to the last day, notice pay or pay in lieu of notice, leave encashment under company policy, bonus or variable pay already earned, gratuity if you are eligible, and any severance the company offers. The Code on Wages, in force since 21 November 2025, requires wages due on removal, retrenchment or resignation to be paid within two working days; some components, such as gratuity, follow their own rules and timelines. Statutory retrenchment notice and compensation under the Industrial Relations Code apply to employees classed as workers, which excludes many managerial and supervisory roles; for everyone else, the contract and company policy decide. Check the current rules, and ask HR in writing for each amount and the date it will be paid.
Check your gratuity eligibility. For permanent employees the usual threshold is five years of continuous service, with exceptions such as death or disablement. The new labour codes introduced a shorter qualifying period for fixed-term employees. How service is counted can be technical, so if you are close to a threshold, ask HR to confirm in writing, and check the current rules.
Do not withdraw your provident fund by default. Your provident fund is linked to your UAN, which stays with you, and when you join the next employer the balance can be transferred. Withdrawal rules after job loss were revised in October 2025: EPFO said members could withdraw up to 75 per cent soon after losing a job and the rest after twelve months without work, with the pension portion available only after a longer period. Rules like these change, so check EPFO's current position before you apply. If you can manage without it, leaving the money where it is usually serves you better than drawing it down in the first fortnight.
Deal with health cover before the last day. Group health insurance through an employer usually ends with employment, and it may cover your family too. Ask HR exactly when it ends, and ask the insurer whether the group cover can be moved to an individual policy, what that would cost, and by when you must apply, because the window is usually short. If any treatment is planned, find out how the change affects it.
Work out your runway. Add up the settlement you expect and your savings, list the monthly essentials and fixed commitments such as rent, EMIs and school fees, and work out how many months you can last. If an EMI will be hard to pay, talk to the lender before you miss a payment rather than after. That number changes how you search: with more time you can be selective; with less, contract work or an interim role may make sense.
Prepare one sentence for telling people. A short, factual line — 'My role was one of several cut in a restructuring' — works with family, former colleagues and, later, interviewers. Decide whether to post about it publicly, and if you do, do not criticise the employer. Tell people you trust what kind of role you are looking for; specific requests get specific help.
In week two, start the search deliberately. Decide what you are applying for before you apply. Update your resume once, properly, for that role. Contact people before portals: former managers, colleagues, clients and alumni. Set a weekly rhythm rather than a daily scramble, and keep one thing in the week that has nothing to do with the search.