Is an Unsigned Email Resignation Letter Legally Acceptable? Let's Discuss

Whether the resignation letter sent by email without a signature is acceptable legally is a common question. Normally, every organization insists on a handwritten resignation letter from the employees.

Dear Mr. Shanmuganathan,

As per my knowledge, it is acceptable if the mail has come from his official email ID. Moreover, receiving a resignation email from the employee is strong proof for future verification.

You need to refer to Section 4 of the Information Technology Act and other relevant parts of the act. There is a clear provision that email is now equivalent to written communication. So, a resignation sent by email is valid; there is no need for a signature.

The resignation need not be through an official email ID. It can very well be from a personal ID. In fact, resigning from an official ID is a bad idea since, at a later date, the employee will not have access to it.

Well, as per my current employer, resignation emails are considered in two different ways. We receive resignation alerts through email, and employees send emails from their official accounts. This is because most of the time they are on-site and do not have the opportunity to meet the concerned person to submit their resignation in writing. Receiving an email from a personal email ID is considered acceptable if the employee is out of station or on vacation. Hence, submitting a resignation through email is considered a formal resignation.

If your employer puts a rule, you have no choice but to follow it. However, to explain my contention...

Emails can be very easily falsified. Trail mails can be falsified even more easily, so they hold no evidential value. For forensic purposes, the original mail is needed. It carries a certain amount of cryptic data, including the server serial number, against which it can be verified who actually sent the mail, when, and how.

After you leave, your account will be locked, so you can't get the original mail to prove it was sent by you or how. Someone else can use your account, backdating the mails and setting them to create evidence against you. That was my point.