Caught in a Recruitment Blunder: How Can I Get My Experience Letter Without Returning?

I was working with a leading recruitment company (Africa and the Middle East) in Mumbai as a Senior Business Development Executive for more than a year. All was going well, and in good faith, I received a 70% hike on my current salary recently (I received only an email about the hike without any amount mentioned).

Suddenly, a blunder occurred when one of my close female friends, an ex-employee here, started her own recruitment firm. She casually asked me for my company Monster ID to download some CVs. It was so casual that I gave it to her, and a blunder started.

Another current employee here was running a parallel recruitment company while still being an employee of our company, using my clients. One fine day, the owners found out about this blunder. They traced IP addresses and email IDs, and they confronted that culprit employee and asked me what happened. According to them, I was also a culprit. A police complaint was lodged against the ex-female employee and the current employee, and they had to pay a huge amount as compensation to the owners. I was told to "part away" for some days. After that, they offered me to rejoin with that 70% hike, but now I do not wish to resume. They have refused to give me my salary cheque and experience letter if I do not resume. What should I do? (I have not yet sent an official resignation email; it has been a month now).

Company Details:

Legal Status: Sole proprietorship (two stakeholders, brother and sister)

Employees: Not more than 25

Turnover: Not more than 80 Lakh

ISO 9001:2008

Recruitment Firm

Notes: They have some proofs such as IP addresses to prove the blunder, which I did not actually commit. I just want to wash my hands off this business and need my experience letter.

Firstly, I would like to say that by sharing the Job Portal - Monster login ID and password with your ex-female friend, you have made a grave mistake. You are now at the receiving end and mercy is needed to save your future career. Asking you to rejoin is akin to a god's gift for you, despite being seen as a culprit in their eyes.

Instead of resigning in this difficult situation, I would advise you to resume work with them and strive to create a 'good' image in their minds. By doing so, you will also receive your salary and an experience certificate.

Remember, you are in a tough situation. Therefore, you must work on cleaning up your image, building confidence by staying away from such actions. Through hard work, you can generate a good amount of business for your company, which will help in restoring your image.

Take this incident as a lesson of a lifetime. When it comes to your career, always prioritize the interests of your company and refrain from engaging in unlawful activities that could jeopardize your job. Remember, your livelihood is at stake.

Hence, aiding friends and relatives, especially when it poses a risk to your career, should be wisely avoided.

If you do plan to change your job, it is advisable to wait for some time. Otherwise, resigning at this point may lead your current employer to cause issues for you, such as negative background/employment verification and a tainted employment certificate.

Strive to be polite and supportive whenever possible, and work on building trust with your current employer to enhance your reputation.

Feel free to reach out to me for any further doubts or queries.

Regards,
Sumeet

Can you please elaborate on why you don't wish to continue even when you received a 70% hike again? Also, did you check out why they reoffered to you again? There could be both positive and negative causes, so unless you are absolutely sure, I suggest thinking through your head rather than through your heart in such situations.

Maybe they realized you are not at fault and since they already know your worth (having given the 70% hike), not giving the salary and experience letter could be their way of ensuring they don't lose you. If indeed this is the case, please note that you are on a much stronger wicket now than earlier and should be able to make your mark, designation-wise and future-wise, sooner rather than later.

Like Sumeet suggested, you learned your lesson. Rejoining and leaving sometime later, when you are on a stronger wicket, would be the better option unless you have some very strong reservations against it. If you don't wish to reveal them, then the members in this forum wouldn't be able to give you well-considered/well-informed suggestions.

All the best.

Regards, TS