Before quitting your current job and moving on to a new place, make sure you fulfil all the formalities.
The days of lifetime association with one single organisation are long gone. With new opportunities coming up regularly, job hopping is the order of the day.
Here is a check list of things that need to be taken care of before taking up a new job.
Salary account
Most corporate employers credit salaries to the employees’ bank account. To facilitate such transfers, employees are asked to open ‘zero balance’ saving bank account in the same bank which the employer uses.
The trouble is when you quit, the ‘zero balance’ nature of the account ends. In most cases, you need to maintain a quarterly minimum balance, which may amount up to Rs 10,000.
Failing this, the bank debits your account with the minimum balance charges which may range between Rs 150 to Rs 750 per quarter. Besides the risk of incurring charges, there is a possibility that you may have been giving standing ‘payment instructions’ on a salary account.
To avoid such problems, keep your salary account free of any transactions other than credit of salary. Maintain a bank account other than salary account which can be used to make all the other payments . This works best for those who frequently change jobs.
Provisional tax statement
Many employers offer salary projection along with the salary statement, which includes the amount of tax deducted at source in the current financial year.
If such a projection statement is not provided to you, do ask for the amount of tax deducted, as the same is asked for by your next employer.
Loans and other outstanding
Often employees avail of loan facilities provided by their employer. Needless to say, these need to be paid off before the employer gives a relieving letter.
The best way out is to get the employer loan refinanced by a bank before changing jobs. This is because getting a loan in a new job is usually difficult as banks prefer to lend to those with at least one year of employment history.
Insurance and other facilities
If there is a break between jobs, there is also a break in the group health insurance cover provided by your employers.
Hence don’t rely on employer’s insurance and buy some insurance on your own, if you have not done that till date. You need insurance even when you are unemployed.
Also, the terms of many group policies require that the employee work for a certain period, say one year, before benefits can be extended to family members.
If you are dependent on your employer for providing insurance to your dependents, you need to buy insurance to take care of this uninsured gaps.
Provident fund and other dues from the employer
Ensure that you fill up the forms for transfer of provident fund when you join the new company. If you intend to withdraw the provident fund, the process starts 60 days after the separation.
Ensure that you have filled in the withdrawal forms and handed it over to the previous employer along with your bank account details for smooth encashment of provident fund. In case of annuity, do provide your bank account details to your employer, who in turn pass on the information with the insurer and facilitates payment of pension in the bank account.
Change of address
If you have given your office address as the address of communication for your bank account and other money matters, do change it immediately. First, this deprives you of any important communication sent by your banker. Worse is when somebody, who is not supposed to access such information, can misuse it.
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