Facing a Hostile Boss: How Can I Legally Obtain My Experience Letter After Resignation?

Dear All,

I have been working with a software company in Hyderabad since December 2006. I have got a good opportunity to be a part of a prestigious organization in July 2010.

I have submitted my resignation and offered to serve the notice period of 30 days. However, my managing director is a bit aggressive and superior. He was not ready to relieve me with a 30-day notice period. 30 days is the usual notice period, but my MD is an arrogant person who does not have much respect for employees; he has an "I pay him" kind of attitude. He threatened me, saying if I talk too much about the 30-day notice period, he will make me stay for a 90-day notice period.

He did not even reply to my resignation email or acknowledge it. He wanted to harass me intentionally. Therefore, I had no other option but to take voluntary relieving. I submitted voluntary relieving and left.

The next day when I went to the office to collect my belongings, he told me to get out and asked me, "Why did you come, did you come to steal anything? What did you steal?" I was completely disappointed and left the office. I had been working there for 3 and a half years, and he did not even respect my sincerity and the efficiency with which I had been working. He called me a thief and asked if I came for theft. It was such a disappointing experience. He forgot all the work I had done for the company, all the contributions I made to the organization's growth, and started treating me like an enemy.

He never replied to my resignation emails, never answered my calls and emails asking for the resignation and relieving letter. For my future purposes, I need the resignation and relieving letter.

How can I obtain it? Are there any legal ways to obtain it? I had been working there for 3 and a half years; how can I leave those experiences behind?

How could I confront him? Are there any laws or labor courts where I can raise a complaint?

He is a rash person when somebody goes against his will. He will consider them an enemy and do everything to destroy their career. Many people have faced this in the past. He has wealth, so he is trying to treat everyone with it.

Please advise me.

Greetings,

To begin with, please draft an email mentioning the resignation you had tendered, offering to buy the rest of the notice period of those 30 days. Legally, when an employee resigns, it marks the end of the employment until revoked. However, the relieving process is managed by the employer. Even though it's an employee's right to have the relieving process completed, the ownership of the process lies with the employer.

Hence, please tread carefully. You have dedicated three years to the company. You will require this company to provide clearance during background verifications as well. Therefore, be very cordial in your communications and thank them for all the learning you have gained from them. Do not act scared at any point; instead, remain very grateful. Continuously share these documents with your new company. Until you receive clearance, these documents should help you buy time. Expect no immediate response and anticipate delays in replies. Be patient. You already have a deadline by which you need the clearance, so remain calm and maintain communication. Seek legal advice, but only take that step when you have exhausted all other options. It should be your last resort.

Please read this discussion: https://www.citehr.com/270580-not-ge...ndly-help.html

Wishing you all the best.

Regards,

(Cite Contribution)

Hi, I have done all these already. I even thanked them in all ways. I politely sent mails to the MD. He never shows respect in his replies to the mail. He never sends any replies.

I even sent a hard copy of my resignation email and a written mail to the MD via registered post. He doesn't even respect that I had been working there for 3 and a half years. He harassed me in front of everyone, accusing me of coming to steal something.

How should I deal with such a person? Everyone who leaves this organization departs with pain and suffering. It feels like all these years were spent for nothing.

I am always grateful for the opportunities they provided, but when an employee wants to leave, they want to depart with sweet memories about the work. However, this MD's behavior turns everything upside down. Especially when efficient workers are leaving, he resorts to harassing tactics. If the employees are not considered valuable resources, he lets them leave without prior notice periods.

I was prepared to serve the 30-day notice period, but he threatened me to extend it to 90 days or work on a new project before leaving. This could potentially delay my relieving process indefinitely, as starting a new project could lead to delays due to changing requirements. It seems like a ploy to make me stay longer. Thus, I had no choice but to opt for voluntary relieving.

I hope you understand the gravity of the situation. Please advise.

Hi,

Please communicate the same with your prospective company and provide documents to support your case. They may consider hiring you based on the circumstances and trust in you. If they decide to hire you, then you can take legal action against your previous employer for harassment and failure to complete the necessary formalities upon your departure. Although the responsibility for the relieving process lies with the employer, it is their basic duty to respond to the resignation letter (either accepting or rejecting it).

If you have fulfilled all your obligations correctly, you can proceed with legal action without any hesitation.

Regards,
Rohith

I do not think he would ever change his mind. There are people who haven't had experience or relief even after 6-8 years.

MD is actually based in Andhra, and I am an out-of-state candidate in the office. There are only 2-3 people who are from out of state; initially, I was the only person there. So, other people are silent because of MD's hold in the state, etc.

He never replies to my queries. I have sent emails as well as postal mail asking for the experience letter, but he never replies. He is totally in silent mode, just... At least he should think of this fellow as working sincerely and loyally for the last 3 and a half years. We have to reply to him like that. He never respects that. I am fed up. I went a few times to meet him directly, but when I am there, he will go out.

I was the best in technical matters in the organization. Any issues or problems in coding or software systems, I was the one who used to resolve them. Always my teammates used to come to me for help and suggestions. I am not exaggerating. Still, people who know me will never say anything wrong about me. I was very punctual in my office. I would always be in the office by 9 and would always maintain good working conditions, etc. But why does he behave like this? I always did my best for the organization, contributed lots of solutions for the company, and people are still using them there.

I don't want him to be thankful; he is the boss, right? So I want him to at least respect the sincerity and the work I have done.

I have joined a prestigious organization 2-3 days ago. They were ready to accept me without relieving after learning about my relieving issues.

Even though I have Form-16, bank statements, ITR acknowledgments, PF receipts, etc., to prove my employment, I have heard that this may not be sufficient for working in top IT companies. They may not accept me without a relieving letter or resignation acceptance.

What will I do if he is not responding to my emails, neither accepting nor rejecting my resignation?

I am also worried about future visa or on-site opportunities and potential passport issues without proper relieving. There are too many things to handle.

I have copies of all the communication I had with my MD, but he has not replied to any of them.

I also have a concern about withdrawing around 3 and a half years' worth of money from my PF account. Is it necessary to have the employer's seal and signature for this process? If the employer is behaving as described above, I doubt he will provide the necessary sign and seal for the PF withdrawal form.

Can an employer behave in such a way, preventing me from withdrawing my PF amount?

Please advise. I also have issues with Form-16. From April 2010 to July 2010, he should provide me with the Form-16 since tax was deducted from my salary during these months. Can he refuse to issue Form-16 for me? Is there any other way I can compel him to issue me the Form-16 next year? I am also concerned about whether he will pay the tax amount to the Income Tax Department.

Form-26 might have entries related to this, but I could not find it updated in the Form-16 from the income tax site.

Please advise.

Hi Soum76,

I am not quite good at making fakes. It's just a last option, right?

Regarding the letterhead, none of them will help because of the fear instilled by the Managing Director (MD). For them, they need that job to survive, for their families. So, I do not want them to get into trouble.

I have talked to my immediate superior. However, in my office, everything is decided by the MD, so he cannot do anything. The MD is in a revengeful mode towards me. He is acting out of vengeance now. Anyone who goes against his will becomes his enemy, and he will seek revenge on them.

That's the way it is there. He knows that the documents are crucial for our future careers, so he delays them. This way, we couldn't pursue our careers any further.

So, that's my situation. Any help or suggestions?

I was wondering if there are any legal cases my employer can make against me.

My MD is so crooked that he will look for how to frame fake cases on the person and use our Indian laws to frame and bribe all government officials to book the person. My MD is an expert at handling these types of issues and has cheated many people. There was one senior person who filed a source code theft case against him and put him in jail, thereby spoiling his life and keeping this news in local newspapers.

So, my family, including my old parents, is worried that I might jump into legal troubles. I am happy that I have gotten out of that place. I was a milking cow for that company. It's not good to talk about my previous company like this, but my experiences compel me to.

Somebody, please advise...

I don't know if this works, but I think it is worth giving a try.

Since you have already joined an organization, now you can file a case against your old employer for not relieving you from your services despite repeated reminders. Additionally, you can also file a case for harassment. If you want, you can mention that you were threatened that he would spoil your career by filing a lawsuit against you for property theft. You can file a case in consumer court or even in civil court. Please protect all the evidence like emails, a photocopy of the posted resignation letter (acknowledgment of the postal/courier copy), and any such evidence that proves his guilt. This would prevent him from filing a case against you.

In case you still feel insecure, apply for an anticipatory bail, and then you can appoint a good lawyer to fight your case.

Regards, Rohith

Those people haven't deleted my official email ID. In spite of it, they just reset the password. Since I sent my resignation from my official ID, they are trying to create proof by pretending to have replied to my emails, I believe. I sent some test mails; they are not bouncing, but the webmail login password has been reset by them.

I have decided to face whatever comes my way; why should I worry? I didn't do anything wrong. After all, he is not a Supreme Court judge, Indian president, or prime minister to think he can do anything in this world. I do have original experience, and why should I bother about a piece of paper? I have bank statements, Income Tax Return filings, and Form-16 from the same company. Companies that recognize that will hire me in the future; that's all.

Let me see how they are proceeding. Thank you all for your replies and support. I will keep you updated.