Can Employers Withhold Certificates After Termination for Misconduct? Let's Discuss

Can an employer hold back the experience certificate and relieving certificate of an employee who is terminated on the grounds of misconduct?

Proxy Attendance and Termination

The second question is, if someone has engaged in proxy attendance for another person by swiping their ID card when they were not present in the office, is that considered an offense warranting termination, or should a warning be given considering the concerned employee has worked for more than 4 years in the company?

Employer's Right to Withhold Experience Certificate

The employer has the right to not issue the experience certificate on grounds of misconduct which has led to termination. Even if they issue this letter, they will mention it as termination. Why do you want such a letter? It is of no use if you show it for another job.

Proxy Attendance and Misconduct

Regarding proxy attendance, it is also considered misconduct which falls under the ethics code. You will have to find out whether this is true. If it is proved, give both persons a warning letter or a show cause notice.

The employer cannot hold back the experience and relieving letter even for dismissed employees. The employer may mention the reason for leaving service as "Terminated / Discharged / Dismissed" while issuing the service certificate/relieving letter, etc.

Disciplinary Action for Attendance Manipulation

At the same time, the employer can take disciplinary action against any employee for manipulating the attendance of another employee, which deserves stringent action as per the company's standing orders procedure. For terminating the services of an employee who has completed 4 years of service, the regular procedure for issuing a memo/charge sheet/inquiry notice and termination order, etc., must be followed. The punishment should be proportionate to the misconduct committed by an employee. Even the manipulation of attendance is considered grave misconduct and deserves dismissal by an employer. If the employer chooses to impose a lesser punishment, then it will be acceptable.

Regards,
NVRao

In my view, an experience letter is to be issued to an individual, which does not have any relation with termination. An experience letter signifies that someone has worked from a specific start date to an end date in a particular capacity. It is not a request for a performance letter or any other certificate where termination needs to be mentioned.

Secondly, termination due to misconduct can be wrongful and may not hold up in a court of law. False punching is a serious offense and may lead to termination if proven. However, it is up to the management to decide the fate of the individual.

Providing Experience and Relieving Letters

Any good organization will provide the experience letter or the relieving letter to the employee. Even in the case of termination, they should provide a letter stating the tenure of association of the employee with the organization. This is a part of good HR practice.

Handling Employee Misconduct

In your case, it looks like the employee has violated the code of conduct. Therefore, it is up to the top management to terminate the employee or give him a warning and ask for a written apology. While taking such punitive action, the employee's past record and his contribution should also be taken into account.

But yes, he should not be let off like that; otherwise, it will create a bad example for the other employees.

I do agree with both my friends - coolhero and vrn. The employer can issue the relieving letter and experience letter. But, what is the use of such a letter when the employee is terminated for his misconduct? Why does the employee need such a kind of letter, which is of no merit in seeking employment elsewhere?

Proxy Attendance as Serious Misconduct

Regarding proxy attendance, it is a serious misconduct that comes under the ethics code for staff members. For the blue-collar category, it comes under Certified Standing Orders. The employer can take disciplinary action against such an employee for manipulating the attendance of other employees, which deserves stringent action as per the company's standing orders' procedure by complying with all the formalities such as charge-sheeting, enquiry, etc. To terminate the services of a staff member, the management can act according to the terms of his appointment letter.

Proportionate Punishment for Misconduct

The punishment should be proportionate to the misconduct committed by an employee. As the manipulation of attendance is a grave misconduct, it deserves a punishment of dismissal. Ultimately, it is up to the employer to decide on disciplinary matters and pass final orders. The management has to keep in mind the precedence it is setting on such issues.

Regards,
G.K. Manjunath, Sr. Manager-HR

It is up to the management to decide whether to issue an experience letter to the terminated employee or not; however, I don't think it is mandatory.

Apart from this, proxy attendance is a grave misconduct. It is unethical, and if you do not take strict action against it, then other employees will take it for granted, and you may come across incidents where the same act might get repeated.

Regards.

Difference Between Relieving Letter and Experience Certificate

Relieving letters and experience certificates are two different documents. In relieving orders, two facts are mentioned: the date of relieving and the reasons thereof, such as promotion, transfer, quitting the organization due to superannuation, termination, or any other reasons.

In an experience certificate, two facts should be mentioned: the duration of employment and the conduct of the employee during that duration in the organization.

Regards,
ISHER KUMAR ARORA

An employer is at liberty not to issue a relieving and experience certificate. However, whenever an experience certificate is mentioned against the column of Reasons for leaving - Termination of service, such a certificate will be of hardly any use.

Forging proxy signatures is one of the major misconducts, and when proven after a proper enquiry, the employee may as well be discharged from service.

Regards,
S.K. Johri