Seeking Advice on Getting Work Experience Certificate and Legal Options After 10-Year-Old Termination

Dear Sir, I worked in a reputed private sector bank in Chennai 10 years ago, handling sales. I had an argument with my immediate superior as he was putting unwanted sales pressure on me, and in a fit of anger, I went and complained to his senior about him. Both my senior and his senior colluded and wanted to eliminate me, so they ordered an inquiry into all my reimbursement bills and my local conveyance bills. The collection team and the audit team summoned me for an inquiry.

1. My auto rickshaw charges were questioned.
2. They found one of my bills containing Rs. 50 as tea charges suspicious.

After the inquiry, I submitted my resignation to my immediate superior, who did not accept it. Instead, a few days later, I received a letter from the head office stating that I had been terminated from services and was asked to settle all dues. I settled all my dues to the organization. I was not provided with a work experience certificate or a relieving letter. Since I was a fresher out of college and thinking about my career, I searched for new jobs and settled into a new career.

My Questions Are:

1. Can I ask them now for a work experience certificate?
2. Will they now provide me with a relieving letter without the word "termination"?
3. Can I take legal action against them as all the charges against me are false except the tea bill of Rs. 50 (as tea charges were Rs. 10 and the remaining amount was for coconut water, for which the bill was clubbed with the tea bill)?

I strongly objected to them, but being young and from a middle-class family, I was prevented from seeking advice or sharing the details with my near and dear ones. Kindly advise, please.

Regards

After reading your query and questions, I would like to know more about you with the following:

1. What is more important to you today, the past or the present?

2. Are you currently working anywhere? If yes, please share. If no, what did you do after leaving the said job?

3. What is the need for an 'experience certificate' from this employer?

4. What is your current total work experience and educational qualification?

Do you truly believe you can fight false charges that you feel were unjustly brought against you? Even if you made mistakes in the past or faced such situations and couldn't share or discuss them with anyone, you still had to take timely action.

You acknowledge the mistakes you made in the past, and I believe one must learn from these experiences and improve to create a better present and future. There is no need to dwell on past events unless necessary.

Now, let me answer your questions simply:

Answer to question #1: Regardless of whether you resigned or were terminated, you have the right to request an 'Experience Certificate.'

Answer to question #2: Due to the time factor and the fact that this is a ten-year-old case, they may not provide you with a relieving cum experience certificate without stating "Terminated" as it is recorded in their files. Records cannot be easily changed, and if you wish to do so, you may need to legally fight and win.

You are aware of your actions, mistakes, and whether you were right or wrong. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide your path forward.

Lastly, I advise you not to dwell on the past unnecessarily and focus on your present and future.

Looking forward to your response.

I wonder what made you think of retribution after a 10-year long hiatus? Now that you are a Ph.D. holder, think of moving forward in life. Let bygones be bygones. Do you think all those people involved will be in the same positions and locations? Do you think all those bills and vouchers will be traced in a minute? Taking revenge at this point in time is meaningless. As our learned professional friends opined above, show your revenge by climbing up your career. It is possible all those people would have long forgotten that episode...

Best wishes

Thanks for sharing more information about your education, work experience, and knowledge, along with an example justifying your mistakes. You are a Ph.D. holder and more experienced today, but still not grasping the truth and needs of today surprised me. Another thing that puzzled me is your answer and example regarding 'Client Entertainment Bills and Claims.' However, I would like to start by revising myself with "Let bygones be bygones, and taking revenge at this point is meaningless." :NK Sundaram

Firstly, it is not really important to entertain clients with ALCOHOL if you are in marketing, and I believe the marketing people here won't fully agree with it either. Even I cannot accept it. However, I understand your situation very well because I used to meet many clients/vendors regarding my work weekly/monthly, and with respect to my position, I did entertain the clients. Still, I would say that it is not important to entertain them with alcohol, and I say this from experience.

Before going further, I would like to present a question and seek your answer with the best of your knowledge and experience:

Can you please let us know why 'alcohol bills' were/are not allowed to be claimed by your company/many (almost every) industry/companies in the category of expenses and reimbursement?

One can't claim alcohol bills directly, but with special approval and justification, such bills can be claimed, and I don't think you are unaware of this. This rule is not new for you, me, or others as well.

Moreover, no one would say that you should not claim your actual expenses (as you referred to in your example and query above), but in your case, where you were caught adding a forged bill, is another thing that I believe you should not forget while referring and justifying anything or querying further. Complete classification and justification of expenses are always required on the bill, no matter if the expense was/is for TEA, Coconut Water, Alcohol, or anything else, and it is the claimant's responsibility, not the supervisor's or BOSS's, for your information.

Saying that you were immature/fresher, which put you in this kind of situation, is totally not acceptable. You were a fresher, not a child or uneducated. I beg your pardon for this, but it is really important to make you realize your mistakes that you, I feel, are still not accepting. You were just following verbal orders, but have you ever tried to share the same with the admin/account authority while submitting bills or claiming? PLEASE ACCEPT THE MISTAKES AND LEARN FROM THEM, MOVE ON...

In closing my lengthy response, I still suggest you find a way to tackle your present problems and live for the future because there is no need to look into the past and follow it, but to learn from it. Just share the three required 'work experience certificates' with your present employer and explain wisely that you are not able to provide your first EC. However, I seriously don't understand why they are asking you to submit all your Experience Certificates.

Best of Luck