Can a Company Force You to Join After Accepting an Offer? Seeking Urgent Advice on Employment Obligations

Dear Seniors, My friend was interviewed for a higher position in one of the companies. He got selected and received the offer letter. He acknowledged that he would join the organization through email communication. They waited for him since his notice period in the current company was 90 days. Due to some personal issues, he is now unable to join that organization. He communicated the same to them. However, the HR professional of that company is blackmailing him to join, threatening to blacklist his employment by filing complaints with certain associations.

Query on Employment Obligations

My query is, can any company force a candidate to join? Can they blacklist employment? Please share your urgent views.

Legally, it is not possible to blacklist a candidate who has rejected joining after accepting the offer. Usually, it may be because of the frustration of that HR professional (since the candidate backed out at the last moment) that he is threatening.

Pain Points for HR Professionals

Following are the pain points for HR professionals in this context:

• There may not be an alternate candidate planned.

• The recruitment process for that senior position is back to square one.

The HR must have come to know that either the present employer must have retained the candidate with a higher salary or the candidate must have used this offer to get a better package elsewhere. Whatever may be the reason, he/she cannot be blacklisted officially.

Possible HR Reactions

However, the HR may resort to the following activities to vent out the ire:

• Communicate with the present employer that this candidate was offered (in case it was not known already) and try to make his position shaky.

• Inform other similar industries that the candidate is unreliable.

Kind regards,

Dayanand L Guddin

As Dayanand has pointed out, it is not only illegal to blacklist a candidate who has declined to join, but it is also illegal to threaten him in any way. Your friend should write to the MD informing him of the threats and enclosing any evidence. The letter should also include your friend's apology for the inconvenience caused by not joining (this is a matter of simple courtesy).

HR's Role in Recruitment Process

Having said that, I must point out that HR is also at fault here in their recruitment process. Any good HR professional should always have at least two other candidates as backup should the first candidate be unable or unwilling to join, even after acceptance. HR must realize that they are dealing with humans and that circumstances can change at any time, whether it is for personal reasons or if the current employer has made an irresistible offer in an effort to retain.

Would this HR professional not do the same if faced with the prospect of a valued employee leaving?

I hope the above helps.

Regards,
Harsh

I completely agree with the comments given by our fellow member, Dayanand. The Human Resources of that company would have closed the position after offering it to your friend; however, they would have been seriously frustrated when your friend declined the offer close to the date on which he was supposed to join.

Without any legal implications, the HR of any company cannot blacklist the name of anyone, especially those who are not associated with that organization.

Ethical Considerations in Hiring Processes

The HR cannot blackmail the candidate. However, the HR cannot be blamed for persuading the candidate to join. As several SMEs vie for one job position, only one offer at a time can be issued, although they may have a backup of the second-best candidate. Only after the first candidate refuses the offer on the nth day can the offer be made to the next candidate. If the offer is made to both of them and both are willing to join, then the budget may not permit both hires. In that case, it is not ethical on the part of the company to decline the offer to either of them.

In this case, it would have been good if the candidate had shown his disinterest at the earliest instead of keeping the HR waiting for 90 days, which would delay the hiring process for the next candidate.

In such a case, your friend can proceed legally for defamation as well as damages.

Thank you.