Email Etiquette

Being HR, you have to check your email etiquette for candidates, employee and management. Before sending them an email or reply them you have to follow these etiquettes - 
1. Make sure your message is simple and clear - Instead of trying to write longer emails so they appear more important, narrow them down and get rid of jargon. Focus on what the person receiving the email is looking for and avoid everything else. This is especially important because emails are read on mobile phones over desktop computers these days so it takes longer to scroll down.
2. Use proper spelling, punctuation and grammar - If you are misspelling words in your emails, people will pick that up and it will hurt your reputation as well as your credibility. If your email provider doesn't have automatic "spell check" then you should copy and paste the email text into Microsoft Word to verify that everything is spelt correctly.
3. Respond to emails in a timely manner - After you receive an email, don't tuck it away. The faster you respond, the better. I've learned this from experience and typically respond immediately especially if it's something really important. The receiver will appreciate the fast response and you will be perceived as more dependable.
4. Make it action oriented - If you aren't pushing someone into action through your email, then what's the point of even writing one? Your goal should be to end your email with an "action item" so that the receiver knows exactly what to do after reading it.
5. Beware of the "reply all" button - Try not to hit "reply all" after receiving an email unless you're positive that the entire team needs to have that information. You don't want to waste anyone's time because they are probably occupied with their own projects.
6. Make the subject line grabbing - Your co-workers receive a lot of emails so make sure your email stands out and they read it. People browse subject lines so concentrate on making your subject line interesting and appealing to the people you are sending the email to.
7. Know your audience - If you're emailing a co-worker who is also a friend, then you can be more casual than if you're emailing an executive you've never met before it's important that you aren't too casual though because your friend could potentially forward your email to someone who you haven't met yet and that could appear unprofessional.
8. Don't hide behind your email - Sometimes you have to pick up the phone or go to your co-worker's office. Schedule a meeting with them and talk it out in person.
9. Use an "out of office" reply when necessary - When you're on vacation or in training, always make sure you have an away message so that people know where you are and who to contact in your absence. This not only looks professional but can help you defer some requests to others who can support you and solve them on your behalf.
10. Review the email before you send it in the first place - If you read your email at least twice before you send it, you will naturally send better emails. Those who just fire off emails without reviewing them first usually make mistakes and look bad in the process.

Gratuity Calculation

Gratuity is a benefit received by an employee by an organization. For companies covered under the Gratuity Act, this benefit is paid when an employee completes five or more years of service with the employer. An employee gets gratuity when he/she resigns, retires or is laid off. In case of death or disablement there is no minimum eligibility period.

How Gratuity is Calculate??
The gratuity amount depends upon the tenure of service and last drawn salary. It is calculated according to this formula:

Gratuity = Last drawn salary (basic salary plus dearness allowance) X number of completed years of service X 15/26.

According to this formula, the time period of over six months or more is considered as one year. This means if you have completed five years and seven months of service, the number of years would be considered as six years for calculation of gratuity benefit. On the other hand, if the service period is five years and five months, for gratuity calculation it will be considered five years.

Maximum Amount
For government employees, Rs. 20 lakh is the maximum amount that can be paid as gratuity. The Seventh Pay Commission had recommended increase in the gratuity ceiling to Rs. 20 lakh from the earlier level of Rs. 10 lakh.

Income Tax Treatment of Gratuity
For government employees, entire amount of gratuity received on retirement or death is currently exempted from income tax. In case of non-government employees, income tax rules on gratuity are applicable depending on whether employees are covered under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 or not.

For non-government employees covered under the Gratuity Act, the income tax exemption on any gratuity received is least of the following:
·         1- Maximum amount specified by the government which is currently Rs. 10 lakh
·         2- Last drawn salary X 15/26 X years of service
·         3- Actual gratuity received

For example, the last drawn salary (basic plus DA) of Mr Rohit, for example is Rs. 60,000 (per month) and he has worked for 25 years. 
The gratuity according to the formula is Rs. 8.65 lakh but suppose he has actually received gratuity of Rs. 12 lakh. So for income tax calculation
Rs. 8.65 lakh will be considered for exemption. So Mr. Rohit will pay tax
Rs. 3.35 lakh (Rs. 12 lakh - 8.65 lakh).

For more discussion kindly email me on my email id

Go with the link for read the Gratuity Act with Amendments -

My Slide Share link for Gratuity Act & Amendments