How To Proceed If The Employer Does Not Provide A Relieving Letter

Resignations are not easy and often hide crucial reasons for leaving a company or an organization by employees. However, resigning from a job is a professional way of ending your employment with an organization. In return for your resignation, the company will provide a relieving letter in the right relieving letter format. 

Remember that a relieving letter is different from a job experience letter in terms of purpose and intent. While a relieving letter confirms the end of the employee’s tenure with the organization and that all the dues have been cleared, an experience letter summarizes an employee’s experience and performance with the company during their tenure.

The Mileage of a Relieving Letter

A relieving letter or a resignation acceptance letter, is a formal professional document issued by an employer to an employee who has resigned from their job. The letter confirms that the employee has completed all necessary tasks and obligations before leaving the company and that the employer has accepted their resignation.

For proper understanding, the relieving letter format is as follows:

• Employee’s name
• Date of resignation
• Last working day
• Confirmation that all dues have been settled
• Contact information for future reference
• A statement expressing gratitude for the employee’s service to the company

Relieving letters in the right relieving letter format are important for employees as they serve as proof of their resignation and can be used for future employment purposes. They also provide a sense of closure for both the employee and the employer, allowing them to move on from the working relationship.

Remember that a relieving letter can be important for future employment and career opportunities, as it verifies the previous employer’s employment history and good standing. Therefore, it’s important to make efforts to obtain one.

When the employer does not provide closure

Sometimes, companies can deny giving employees the relieving letter if they abscond or commit any illegal or fraudulent activities or for some other grave reason. If the candidate has left the job and their employer has not given them a relieving letter, there are several steps you can take to obtain one:

Request the letter

Contact the previous employer and request a relieving letter in the right relieving letter format. One can do this through email, phone, or in person. Start by writing an email or letter to your employer requesting the relieving letter. Be clear and polite in the request.

Be specific with the communication and ask the candidate to provide details of the employment with the company, including your designation, date of joining, and last working day. This will help your employer locate your employment records and process your request quickly.

Explain the need for the letter, whether for a new job or other purposes. This can help the employer understand the urgency and importance of the request. 

Follow up

If you are still waiting to receive a response within a reasonable time, follow up with your employer again. You can also ask for an update on the status of your request. You can send a reminder email or make a phone call to inquire about the relieving letter to the company’s HR Manager or other concerned employees.

Advise to seek legal help

If the employer refuses to provide the candidate with a relieving letter in the right relieving letter format, you can suggest they seek legal help. A lawyer can advise them on their legal rights and the appropriate steps.

However, before proceeding with any legal action against the company, ensure the candidate should not have committed any fraudulent or criminal activity or anything that does not comply with the company’s code of conduct or compliance.

Also, ensure that the candidate’s offer letter with the company mentions that the employer will provide a relieving letter when the employee resigns, serves the notice period as per the norms, and clears the dues. It would be challenging to go ahead with a legal case without valid proof.

Use other documents

If you cannot obtain a relieving letter in the right relieving letter format, you can use other documents to prove your employment, such as the candidate’s pay slips, offer letter, or employment contract, if the new employer permits the same.

Submitting a relieving letter is mandatory for some jobs, and for others, it is not. For MNCs, it isn’t easy to join without relieving and experiencing letters. In such cases, recruiters can suggest to applicants the option of joining as a fresher with no experience and ignore the employment tenure with the previous employer if it is not too much.

In conclusion

Although a relieving letter in the right relieving letter format is an essential document to be submitted when applying for a new job, its absence has to be clearly explained. Otherwise, candidates must be honest enough with the new employer and explain the real situation with proper documentation. 

Having a few months’ gap between jobs is common nowadays. Under acute circumstances, you can keep the employer tenure with the non-relieving employer as a gap instead of mentioning it in the resume.