Can Employers Legally Withhold a Relieving Letter After 11 Months of Work?

Dear HR fraternity,

A warm hello to all you creative people out there. My name is Rashmi N. Currently, I am working in the Banking Industry as an HR professional. I wanted to know, can an employer deny an employee his relieving letter after working for 11 months in the organization? Is it allowed as per the law? Can an employee ask for a signed copy of the acceptance of the resignation before the relieving letter is handed over to the employee?

Thanks & Regards,
Rashmi N

Hi Rashmi,

To the best of my knowledge, an employee has to first tender his/her resignation. This is then accepted. Frankly, there is no way any company can reject a resignation. One can try to hold back the employee and delay the resignation, but one cannot reject it. Thus, after acceptance and after the employee has actually separated from the company, the relieving letter can be issued. Some companies issue the same, if required, on the last working day of the employee. This is to facilitate the employee to provide it at the new place of work.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Ajay

Wanted to know, can an employer deny an employee his relieving letter after working for 11 months in the organization?

The employment time period is not a condition to issue a relieving letter. The relieving letter is a subsequent process of the letter of resignation tendered by the concerned employee from the employment of the company.

Is it allowed as per law? Can an employee ask for a signed copy of the acceptance of the resignation before the relieving letter is handed over to the employee?

It is in the interest of both the employer and the employee to issue/get the relieving letter after the concerned employee obtains a no-dues certificate from all concerned departments.

Legally, the employee can ask for an experience letter, but as a practice, it is given after the employee submits a request in writing to the appointing authority. The practice of taking a request letter terminates the right to claim the experience letter automatically.

The letter to this effect is common these days, given only once, to the employee one or two days before his day of discharge.

Parashar