Stuck Without a Relieving Letter: How Can I Resolve This Career Crisis?

Hi Seniors,

Please help me out with the issue below. I'm in a very difficult situation.

I have been an employee of a certain company. I joined that company as a fresher. I worked for that company for more than 2 years. In my company, the employee needs to serve a notice period of 45 days. However, I was short of my notice period by 30 days. I informed my employer about this, stating that I would be serving a notice period of 14 days. They refused, and I even asked to buy out my notice period, but they didn't agree to it. As I had a job offer in hand and they had an urgent requirement, I didn't serve my full notice period.

Now, after 1 month, my current employer is asking for a relieving letter. When I went to my previous company, they said they wouldn't provide any relieving letter to me. On the other hand, they wouldn't offer any alternative either. They claim in their records that I'm an absconder and have been terminated. It should be noted that they conducted my exit interview. In my company, they send an absconding letter, but I haven't received any letter from the company yet. They claim they have sent the absconding letter to me.

Can anyone help me with this situation? Can anybody advise whether I can obtain my relieving letter from my previous employer or if I can take legal action against the company? Please respond to this question. My career is at stake.

Dear Kotian,

Frankly speaking, if you have worked for two years with one organization, then you must show respect by acknowledging them for giving you an opportunity. Request humbly without playing the blame game for departing like good friends with happy memories. You could have served the notice period with a request for early relieving. If not, the matter could have been pursued further or you could have asked your prospective employer to wait or extend the joining time. Now, you have left a bad impression and are in the bad books of your past company, which is not good for you. You need to pursue your case with the top management such as the CEO or MD, apologizing for the wrong behavior or not adhering to the notice period, or whatever reason, with a very straightforward approach, seeking the mercy of your previous employer for a relieving letter. It is not advisable to confront them or argue because when we are at fault, we should not argue and should accept our mistake. We cannot fight legal battles for petty issues; some issues need amicable settlements, and this is one of such cases.

Regards,

Sawant

I truly agree with Sawant. You could have served the notice period by postponing the joining formalities with the new company. The past is the past. However, a sincere apology will surely help you talk to the top management, not your manager, as the colleagues in between can spoil the whole case.

Hi Kotian,

I went through your mail, and I am sorry to note that you have been branded as an absconder by the previous employer, and the present employer wants a relieving letter from the previous employer. The only option in front of you is to submit the resignation letter tendered to your previous organization. I hope you might have obtained acceptance of your resignation letter and somehow convinced your present employer. Since the timeframe for joining the present organization was very short, you could not serve your notice period with the previous organization, leading to these discrepancies. Anyhow, you need to play your cards very diplomatically.

Thanks & Regards,
Raghunath