First Company Closed - Need Your Help/suggestions

Hello HRs,

I need your help. Could you please guide me on what I should do in the scenario below?

Background:

I am a 2009 passout engineer. In 2008, I was selected on-campus for Company A, which gave me a joining month of Sept '10. With nothing to do between July '2009 and Sept '10, I joined a local company, S.

At company S, I received my salary in cash and did not have a PF account or Form-16. I left this job in Aug '10 and joined Company A in Sept '10 as a fresher. Company A did not consider my previous employment since the offer was issued for a fresher employee. I spent 2 years in Company A and then joined Company P.

Company P conducted verification of all my previous employments and contacted company S to confirm my tenure there. Company S verified that I had indeed worked there for the mentioned period. Consequently, Company P acknowledged my previous experience and issued me an offer letter.

Even during this period, I was selected by Company Z, which performed external vendor verification to verify my previous employment, and I was cleared.

Issue:

Now, my first company, S, is closed. There is no official means to verify whether I worked there or not. I have contacted company S, and they have confirmed that they can provide their contact details to confirm my employment.

I possess an offer letter, relieving letter, and experience letter from Company S. I also have salary slips for all months, but I lack bank statements or Form 16 to prove my employment at Company S.

My questions are:

1. Will the new company accept my first employment?
2. What steps should I take for background verification?
3. Should I discuss this issue with HR during the HR interview?
4. Should I exclude my experience from the first company?

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

I am not able to edit the above post:

Edit: (paragraph of ISSUE details)

I contacted the owner of Company S, and he told me that I can provide his contact details, and he will confirm that I was working there.

Ravi144: So where's the issue now? Share the contact details of Company S and be honest. I think the HR community is now open to hiring from failed or shutdown organizations.

Hi TALENTSORCERER,

Thank you for your reply and suggestion. My concern is: If I tell HR that my first company is closed and if they ask me for a bank statement and form-16, then would I not be in a problem? My salary was only Rs. 12,000, so I was not eligible for income tax, and I was not aware of the benefits of having a bank statement and form-16 to prove my employment. Actually, my concern is the combination of a closed company and cash payment (salary slip), which can readily be assumed as fake experience.

I can inform HR that Company P (my current organization) had conducted the background verification and considered my Company S experience, but would they accept my argument? I want to take extra precautions as this situation could ruin my career. Could you please provide guidance?

Regards,
~Ravi

Hi TALENTSORCERER,

Thanks a lot for your reply and suggestions. My concern is: If I tell HR that my company is closed, and if HR asks for a Bank Statement and Form-16, then would I NOT be in trouble? Actually, my salary was only Rs. 10,000, so I was not eligible for tax, and also I was not aware of the benefits of having a bank statement and Form-16, so I did not give much emphasis on it.

My concern is that a CLOSED COMPANY + CASH PAYMENT could be readily assumed as fake experience. I can inform HR that Company P (my current organization) conducted the background verification and counted my experience from Company S, but would they accept my argument? I want to take extra precautions as this situation could ruin my career.

Could you please guide me on what I should tell HR in this case?

Kind regards,
Ravi

Hi TALENTSORCERER. Thanks a lot for your reply and suggestions. My concern is: If I tell HR that my company is closed, and if HR asks for Bank Statement and Form-16, then would I NOT be in a problem? Actually, my salary was only Rs. 10,000 so I was not eligible for tax, and also I was not aware of the benefits of having a bank statement and Form 16, so did not give much emphasis on it.

My concern is a CLOSED COMPANY + CASH PAYMENT could be readily assumed as fake experience. I can tell HR that Company P (my current organization) had done the background verification and counted my experience of Company S, but would they accept my argument? I want to take extra precaution as this mess could ruin my career. Could you please guide what I should tell HR in this case?

Kind regards, Ravi

Hi TALENTSORCERER,

Thank you very much for your reply and suggestions.

My concern is: If I tell HR that my company is closed, and if HR asks for Bank Statement and Form-16, then would I NOT be in trouble? Actually, my salary was only Rs. 10,000 so I was not eligible for tax, and also I was not aware of the benefits of having a bank statement and Form 16, so I did not give much emphasis on it.

My actual concern is a CLOSED COMPANY + CASH PAYMENT could be readily assumed as fake experience. I can tell HR that Company P (my current organization) had done the background verification and counted my experience of Company S, but would they accept my argument? I want to take extra precaution as this mess could ruin my career.

Could you please guide me on what I should tell HR in this case?

Kind regards, Ravi

Ravi, tell them the truth. Here's the representation of facts:

1) You joined your first firm and received payment in cash.
2) You quit and joined Company P - did they conduct a reference check? If yes, they will have verification records.
3) Your first firm closed down - you can provide the firm owner's contact information for validation.

All depends on whether Company P conducted a reference check. If they did, then they will have verification records, and you can request a copy (though not mandatory, you can always ask for one).

Hope this helps.

Hi talentsorcerer, Thanks a lot for your help and suggestion. Yes, company P did the verification. Your suggestion would definitely help. Now I am in a better position to discuss this issue with HR. Thanks, Ravi

Ravi,

Going by your narration, there appear to be no drawbacks on your side. No one will find fault with you for a closed company. And as you said, you got paid in cash, and again, it's not your fault. So long as you don't misrepresent facts, you need not fear. Since you got your relieving letter and other documents, it should suffice.

All the best.

Hi everyone,

I have a similar query but with a difference. I am currently in the 8th semester of my engineering program, and I have received a job offer from Company X. The issue is that I have some part-time work experience with a non-banking financial company that paid me in cash but also deducted TDS, requiring me to file an income tax return. My joining date with Company X is in September 2015, and I do not wish to disclose my part-time work experience to them. If they inquire about a release letter from my previous employer, what should I do then?

Thank you.