Can I Issue Backdated Appointment Letters for Long-term Employees in a Small Business?

Dear All,

I have joined as an HR in a small-scale company that employs nearly 40 employees. Here, I am starting with the HR department, and as this is a proprietary business, there were no appointment letters or any such letters given to the employees.

Issuing Backdated Appointment Letters

My question is, can I issue backdated appointment letters since the employees working here have been associated since the company's inception? If yes, what dates should be mentioned for the date of joining and the date of issuing the letter on the same document?

Thank you.

Anything (any document) issued on the present date but dated earlier is not considered correct in law. There is no need to issue a backdated appointment letter. You can issue them with the present date but mention correctly their Date of Joining. The issuance of any document "ex-post-facto" (i.e., after the event has taken place) is legal and valid.

Hope you'll find the above useful. In case of further queries, do revert back.

Warm regards.

Most organizations do not prefer to give appointment letters with a back date as it can lead to significant consequences in case of accidents or the unfortunate death of an employee. At a later stage, it might cause discrepancies, especially in the event of an employee's termination. Therefore, in a practical sense, the employee can be onboarded based on the provisional offer letter issued on the appointment date of their joining. Mentioning the date of joining in the letter could provide assurance of the employee's service to the organization.

Important Note

P.S: Always verify the correct Date of Joining (D.O.J) of an employee and never issue a date prior to the actual joining date.

Regards

You may issue the letter on the current date and include a clause stating that the individuals will be officially considered as employees with all associated rights and liabilities since the inception date or any other preferred date, wrapping it up easily.

However, issuing backdated letters is generally not advisable. In such cases, it is challenging to ascertain the official events that have occurred and the resulting responsibilities that one might be held accountable for. Backdating can lead to significant drawbacks and complications. When the law allows for the transformation of past events into legally binding actions through agreements, why should we concern ourselves with insignificant dates?

Coverage of Existing Employees Under PF, ESIC, and Other Matters

What about the coverage of existing employees under PF, ESIC, and other matters/issues? Please resolve this with your management as they may demand wages with all the accrued benefits.

Regards,
Dubey
Manager HR & IR
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

There is nothing wrong in doing so. Now, please ensure that the date of the letter should be subsequent to when you joined the firm. In other words, if your Date of Joining (DOJ) is 11.11.2011, you cannot issue an appointment letter dated 10.11.2011. If you wish to regularize these appointments, there is nothing wrong with issuing an appointment letter with the current date, clearly stating, "the actual date of appointment is reckoned as..." which has been regularized/documented with mutual consent. Perhaps, add one more line stating "...henceforth no dispute shall be raised by both parties with respect to this DOJ." This is necessary because there was a mutual agreement orally at the time of joining which is valid under the Law of Contract.

Regards,
Kumar S.

Why Does Waking Up Matter?

The question is: why does waking up matter when things have been at rest for such a long time?

You can always issue appointment letters for new employees joining from now onwards. Instead, you may issue a memo with the terms of employment or revised terms of employment and give it to all the old employees so that the terms of employment and office rules are clearly stated and understood. You can give each of them a covering letter that confirms the date from which they have been working.

Hi,

Is there any letter of undertaking we can issue to an employee? Due to a system error, the date of joining was one day before the actual date of reporting of one of our employees who joined us in 2012. He is asking for the same letter with the old date. However, this is illegal. Can we issue him some letter of undertaking or some kind of letter? Please share some format with me ASAP.

Thanks,
Ajay