Background Check Failure: What Does Your Relieving Letter Say?

Hi,

I had a question - If someone is asked to leave (resign) because their background verification failed, what will be written in the relieving letter? Can someone shed light on this?

Thanks

Hi, I don't think there should be any mention of the purpose of resignation on the relieving letters. If the defaulter resists resigning on his own, then issue a termination letter mentioning the reason; otherwise, it is not required.

Cheers,
Naveen

Dear Alka,

Since the employee has been asked to resign, his relieving letter will be the same as any other employee who resigns. This is because usually, the company, in good faith and not wanting to ruin someone's career, asks an employee to resign so that he/she can be given a proper and decent severance. If the issue is really critical, serious, and damaging, then the company proceeds with disciplinary proceedings and terminates the employee. Once an employee is terminated through disciplinary proceedings as punishment, it becomes extremely difficult for him to seek future employment.

Regards, SC

I think we should not issue him/her a relieving letter because the offer/terms of employment normally state that the joining is dependent on proper verification. In case there is any deviation from the same, the employee will be terminated.

On a personal ground, we would think that by issuing him a relieving letter would save his career. But what about your company's image in case the next company he/she is associated with finds the same issues for which you are asking him to leave?? This is an ethical dilemma that you and the company should decide on.

Dear Shyla,

No, what you are stating is not given importance in the result of the number of fake resumes circulating these days. Unless there is an association of employers who agree to do what you are saying, the system is never followed. It is the duty of the company to verify the credentials and not the previous company to point it out.

Regards, SC

Dear Swastik,

I am not saying that we mention something like this while issuing the letter; my only point is the company, if at the point of employment, has this clause that your employment is dependent on full verification. If something is found misrepresented, then the company has the upper hand and can terminate the employee on this ground. In our company, this clause is clearly mentioned. I agree with you that it is the company's duty to verify the credentials. In fact, that is why companies do reference checks. But in this particular case, what I understand is the person is already on the rolls, and now they wish to ask him to leave the job because of misrepresentation of facts.

Looking forward to your views.

Dear Shyla,

Yes, what you are saying is right, but you must also understand that you simply cannot terminate an employee abruptly. To terminate an employee, you need to follow a proper disciplinary procedure where the guilt of the employee has to be proven beyond doubt. After that, you have to serve them a notice, and if the employee desires, they can seek redress in Court, Labour Court, or Industrial Tribunal, as applicable. Therefore, only after everything is settled in favor of the Company can the employee be legally terminated.

This process can be time-consuming and detrimental for both the Company and the employee, depending on which side of the decision you are on. Hence, the best and quickest way that is beneficial to both the Company and the employee is followed, which is to ask for resignation.

Regards,
SC

Hi Alka,

The best option is to get the individual to resign. Since the verification has failed, I assume that the employee has not spent too much time with the company. The employee may not even want a relieving letter as it would show a job change. In case the employee wants a relieving letter, it is best to just mention the designation, dates from and to, and the salary at which the employee was employed with your company.

Regards,
Ajay

The process of termination in such cases takes strength from the employment form itself, where it is normally written that the information provided hereinabove for seeking employment is true and nothing has been hidden in the organizational interest.

In view of this, a paragraph is added in the appointment letter for the punitive action of hiding such information, which warrants termination. Invariably, cases are on account of stating higher qualifications or higher salary. In such cases, some companies have taken a lenient view and consequently adjust the salary of the employee if the position is critical or demote the candidate equal to his qualification or salary (This saves a lot of time and cost of recruitment and, in turn, the company gains the trust level of the candidate). Largely, people have been asked to leave, considering substantial evidence after verification and company policy.

Therefore, the recommendation for issuing a relieving letter is against tendering resignation and not termination. The principle of discharge simpliciter applies in such cases, where no inquiry is required, and you can terminate the employee post-facto if the employee resists resigning.

Please avoid issuing a letter of appointment until you complete your verification process if it is mandatory for all positions.

As a good HR practice, companies nowadays get the verification done before the joining of the candidate, and they use a third party for such services, which are faster, and the company avoids taking the candidate on the roll rather than terminating after appointing.

This is a process that indirectly disturbs your attrition ratio. Think of HR as a business partner; a delayed process of verification directly impacts the business.

I think the suggestions given above are valid and go with what best fits the situation.

Parashar

Hi,

In the case of a background verification failure and the organization issuing a relieving letter to a particular employee, is there any way for the employee to rejoin the same organization based on the correct documents?

Here I would like to clear a doubt: why was the employee asked to join the organization before completing background verification? Please answer.

After background verification failed, if a company provides a relieving letter and mentions the reason for resignation as "misrepresentation of facts while joining," then what should a person do? How will he continue his career? Does another company provide him with an opportunity? Please give me an answer as soon as possible.