Can I Face Legal Trouble for Backing Out of a Job Offer I Already Accepted?

I have received an offer letter from a company via email, and they have requested me to confirm my acceptance by replying to the email. I have done so. Now, I have received another offer from a better organization, and it is very appealing to me. I would like to join the second organization in this scenario. Can the first organization take any legal action against me for retracting my acceptance of the offer letter?

Please provide clarification.

Regards,
Atul

You can withdraw your offer; however, it depends on the clauses mentioned in the offer letter. Please check the following news item and try to find out whether the contents are applicable to you:

[Rejecting a job offer? Get ready to pay penalty - Economic Times](http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-08-23/news/41440580_1_job-offer-penalty-clause-offer-letter)

While accepting an offer from the first company, you could have been a little more thoughtful. You could have waited for the outcome of the interview with the second company. Recruitment is a lengthy process. Many people are involved in selecting the candidate. If you revoke your acceptance letter, their efforts will go in vain. For the sake of a few more thousand rupees, you would be betraying the trust they had placed in you. This is nothing but leaving them in a lurch (tond ghashi padne in Marathi). It is your personal decision. Therefore, consider their perspective as well.

Thanks,

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar

You can withdraw your offer letter if there is no penalty clause revoking it. Not joining is better than joining and working half-heartedly, as you may have regrets that another option could be better. Just send an apologetic email and mention that you will not be able to join. HR professionals are smart; they likely have someone as a backup.

Good luck!

There is no penalty clause mentioned in my offer letter. It only states that I will join them on a specific date.

Then send an email as an apology and revoke the offer letter. Do it ASAP as they might confirm another candidate for the same position. Don't delay anymore if you have made up your mind.