After Accepting Offer Letter - Company Not Ready To Let Me Join

I received an offer letter from ABC company for the vacancy of system engineer. As per the communication with the ABC company HR team, I resigned from my current job. However, now the ABC company HR team is telling me to search for another job, even though I have already resigned from my previous organization.

Now, in this case, what can I do because I am currently jobless due to ABC company.

It's a breach of trust of an agreement. Please check the wording of the offer letter. You may seek legal advice for compensation in lieu of the breach of the agreement.

You have to file a case to claim damages. I have faced similar situations where a particular IT company from Chennai/Bangalore did this, citing reasons like failure in background verification.

I share your anguish. Yes, such instances are common. Normally, offer letters are issued with a specific clause stating, "mere offer of appointment does not vest in the candidate any right to employment." This clause serves as an escape route that some exploit to inconvenience the helpless. Sometimes, during the verification of original documents at the time of joining, inconsistencies may arise, leading to the withdrawal of the offer initially issued.

Are you feeling relieved or are you still serving the notice period? If you are still serving the notice period and the acceptance of your resignation has not been issued, you may even consider withdrawing it. Unfortunately, you cannot petition the ABC or claim any damages from them legally, which is unlikely to provide you an immediate solution. In this situation, you could appeal to ABC Co. once again, citing your precarious situation, possibly in writing. A similar scenario occurs when selected candidates do not report, and although some alternatives are available, your case seems to be particularly serious.

Did you resign based on an Offer Letter or an Appointment Letter? Did you try to join the new job before the deadline set by the new Company? Are there any correspondence, and for what position? If you are confident based on available documents, without wasting time, serve them a Legal Notice after consulting a Lawyer claiming appropriate relief.

Most HR Managers must know what happens when an offer letter is issued to a candidate, which will also stipulate that they should join by a fixed date; failing which, they will lose it. In such cases, every HR Manager should ensure all necessary checks like background verification are completed and then issue the offer letter, rather than putting a candidate in a situation where they resign from their current job based on the offer letter and end up on the street if HR refuses them. It is a pitiable situation that companies like ABC, which have abundant information and resources at their disposal, have to toy with the lives of employees who eagerly want to join after receiving a proper offer letter. This scenario can also happen to HR Managers themselves.

Hence, HR Managers need to take extra care to ensure that prospective employees are not left without a job after offer letters are issued. ABC may not lose anything if a candidate does not join after receiving an offer letter, but the same cannot be said when a person accepts the offer, resigns from their current job, and then is refused when they show up for joining, as in the present case. We look forward to hearing further developments on the issue.

HR Consultant
c.neyimkhan@gmail.com
25.3.17

Dear Ganesh,

As per Section 5 of the Indian Contract Act 1872, a proposal may be revoked at any time before the communication of its acceptance is complete as against the proposer, but not afterward. Hence, after the acceptance of terms and conditions as defined in the offer letter, if you have informed the company regarding the acceptance of the offer letter, then in such a scenario, you can initiate legal action against the company seeking damages due to the illegal withdrawal of the offer letter.

Thanks and Regards,
V. SHAKYA
HR and Labour, Corporate Laws Advisor