Handling Release Letters: Should HR Return the Original to Resigned Employees?

Hello,

I want to know if people who have submitted the original copy of the Release Letter while joining the Company, do we need to give back the original release letter to them from the HR Dept when they have resigned and are asking for the original release letter from their previous employer. Can anyone suggest the exact procedure? I need to make a decision by tomorrow.

Thanks & Regards,
P. Chatterjee

Relieving Letter by the Employer is the Property of the Employee, not the Prospective Employer who Recruits the Employee. It is a Verification Process to Ensure the Relieving of the Employee from the Commitment of Employment, and Employees have no Liability towards their Past Employer.

You must return the original retaining Xerox copy to the concerned employee.

Thank you.

You do not have any right to keep the relieving letter given by the previous employer. At most, you should have verified it and collected a xerox copy of the same. Immediately return it as it is of no use to you. For reference, you can keep the xerox copy. Please return it promptly.

Hi,

The relieving letter is for the employee only, which is for his records. If the employee is joining another company/employer, he has to submit a photocopy of the same along with his resume to show his past experience.

Thank you,
K. Srinivasa Rao

Thank you for all your suggestions, but, as far as my knowledge is concerned, a release letter from the previous employer is only accepted by the company the individual is joining. Later, when the individual leaves our company, they can use our release letter to show to their next employer.

Please let me know if I am mistaken.

Dear P. Chatterjee,

You are incorrect. Please do not keep the original relieving letter of the employee. For HR reference, you can ask for a photocopy. The employee should retain all relieving letters for future reference.

Thank you for all your suggestions. However, to my knowledge, the release letter from the previous employer is only accepted by the company the employee is joining. When the employee leaves our company, they can take our release letter and present it to their next employer.

Please advise if I am mistaken.

Thank you.

Dear Friend,

Please give weightage to a certificate produced by any employee. Original certificates are obviously required for verification, which need to be produced when they approach another company for employment.

In certain companies, mostly MNC's, they would like to make sure whether an employee who joins them has been properly relieved by his previous employers. Please note previous employers. Hence, this certificate is vital for the employee. Obviously, it is not useful to you when an employee leaves you. So please give it back. The same rule applies when you hunt for another job. Hope I am clear.

G Priya Maran

You want to hear people say that it is okay to keep the relieving letter, but sadly, the rule permits otherwise, so return it back.

Hi,

If they want it, you can give their original relieving letter from the previous organization after you have completed all the background verification. There is no need to keep the original relieving letter from the previous organization with you.

Hi,

A relieving letter is only required for verification purposes. It is the property of the employee and not the prospective employer. It is advisable to hand over the photocopy of the relieving letter to the employee and keep the original with yourself.

Regards,
Debashish