Job Offer Without an Offer Letter: Should I Push for It Before Joining?

Hi,

I have a job offer, which means she says that it is confirmed, but she is not giving me an offer letter. She says the offer is confirmed, and I should join on the date fixed by us. Should I force her to provide the offer letter?

Initially, she mentioned she would give me a hard copy directly, but later she said that they would provide it at the time of my joining. What should I do?

Moreover, if this job is on a contract basis, what facilities may I receive? She mentioned that PF is applicable to me. Can I also avail benefits like leave, etc.?

Awaiting your response.

Hi Pallavi,

Firstly, it's important that you have a hard or soft copy of the offer that you can carry along with you. It is not advisable to resign from your current job without having any offer in hand. As a contract employee, the leave pattern of your contracted company is applicable to you; this is the general practice. Please confirm with them about the benefits you are entitled to and the leaves that are applicable to you.

Regards,
Rakhi

Hi,

You need to insist on the offer letter since it's a confirmation from the company regarding the job offer. Most of the benefits will be mentioned in the offer letter, such as your salary package, benefits, and travel allowance. Regarding leaves, it depends on the company's leave policy. Most companies provide leave benefits to their employees, regardless of whether they are on contract, training, or probation. However, it's important to note that leave is not an absolute right but rather the sole decision of the company.

In case you have any further queries, please let me know.

Good luck.

Regards,
Joylyn

Hi Pallavi,

You can ask your employer (potential) to send your offer letter via email. The reason they don't want to provide a hard copy of the offer letter is to prevent you from shopping around with that offer. When I joined the company where I am currently working, I received the offer letter through email only. Nowadays, recruiters, in fear of losing a candidate, are sending offer letters via email without mentioning the salary details. Having email confirmation about the offer itself is more than enough in such cases.

Regards,
Raghav V

Hi Pallavi,

You can ask your employer (potential) to send your offer letter via email and request a hard copy on your date of joining. The reason they don't want to provide a hard copy of the offer letter is to prevent you from shopping around with the offer. When I joined the company where I currently work, I received the offer letter only via email. Nowadays, recruiters, in fear of losing the candidate, are sending offer letters via email without specifying the salary details. Having email confirmation of the offer itself is sufficient in such cases.

Regards,

~Raghav V

Hi,

Actually, I had already submitted my resignation before receiving this job. However, I was offered this job shortly after. Initially, she mentioned that she would provide me with a soft copy by next week. I requested her to just send me the soft copy. She then informed me that the hard copy would be given next week. Later, she mentioned that there was another vacancy which was also filled on Friday, while mine was on Tuesday. She assured me that both processes would be carried out simultaneously, which might take some time. Now, she has informed me that the hard copy will be given directly to me when I join, as someone had misused the previous copies.

I am unsure about what to do in this situation. I have been calling her regularly for updates.

Please help.

Hi Pallavi,

First, you should ask for your offer letter in hard copy so that you can join the company and know more details like salary and leaves as per the company norms. If the person is not giving you the offer letter first and is asking you to join the company, you should go and attend for 3-4 days. Meanwhile, if you don't get the offer letter, it's just a waste of time to continue there. But remember, don't resign from your current job until you are confirmed in that company.

Good Luck! 😛

Dear Pallavi,

I can understand your anxiety to obtain the offer letter. If I am not wrong, Mr. Raghav has partially answered your question by highlighting the fact that there are many candidates who collect the offer letter and go around hunting for jobs to compare the offers received from competitor companies who may be in the same line of business.

Extending an offer can be done on the joining date, and you also have to sign a contract with the company. Maybe that is one of the reasons why some recruiters are protective about their company interests.

However, I personally feel that this is a bad HR practice to make a selected candidate run around for an offer letter.

I would advise you to politely request the HR of the company to issue you a letter of intent at least at this point of time so that you feel assured that the HR concerned will issue you the offer letter on the joining date. Most companies issue offer letters prior to the joining date so that they do not lose a selected candidate.

The more you panic with the HR concerned to issue you an offer letter prior to the joining date, it might create an impression that you do not trust the company.

However, the HR concerned can issue you a letter of intent without compensation details if they really need you to join the company. If they do not issue even a letter of intent, then there is cause for concern. Please keep your options open if they do not issue a letter of intent.

Attend interviews at stable companies who would issue you an offer letter in case there is still adequate time before the actual date of joining in order to protect your interest, and kindly do not mention to the other companies that you are attending their interviews because this company is not issuing you an offer letter. You have all the right to safeguard your interest.

Regarding your query about benefits you are entitled to as a contract employee, you certainly are eligible for mandatory benefits like opening a PF account and ESI benefits too. It is a legal obligation of any company to extend the above-mentioned benefits.

Do some background check about the company you intend to join but do not make it obvious to your potential employer.

Let me know about the developments so that I can refer your query to an HR Specialist.

Take care Pallavi, I hope everything will work out in your favor.

Regards,

Rahul Rao

Dear Pallavi,

Most traditional companies will issue you an offer letter only at the time of joining because of certain reasons; this is not a problem. However, in your case, it is a contract job, so it's better to get your offer letter before joining. My advice to you is to clarify with them what happens after the expiry of the contract. If you are in a permanent job now, please reject the new offer and try for some good opportunities.

Regards,
Mohamed Zaki