Misplaced My Appointment Letter at a New School: How Should I Handle This Situation?

Hello all, Earlier, I was an HR executive, but currently, I am working as a teacher in an international school. It's a newly opened school. I recently joined the school as a PRT Maths teacher and received the appointment letter. For some official purposes, they again requested the appointment letter and then returned it to me. I kept it in my file and later couldn't find it. Unfortunately, I did not keep its soft copy either. Since I am new to the organization, I am unsure whom to discuss this with. Moreover, I find the management not very smooth and the employees not very friendly.

Seeking Guidance on Lost Appointment Letter

Please guide me on what I should do, what problems could arise in dealing with this situation, and how to tackle them.

Hi,

Appointment letters are normally provided in 2 copies: one for the appointee (employee) and one for the appointer (employer). Schools typically keep records in their administrative offices, so you can inquire and request a duplicate if you have lost yours. They should have a file on record for you. There should not be any issues in approaching the administrative desk and asking for another copy; honesty is key in this situation. They just need to make a copy for you.

Thank you for your valuable suggestion. However, my problem lies in the lack of support from the management here at my school. One of my colleagues immediately started working here after the interview but did not receive an appointment letter. Despite numerous requests for the letter, the management did not provide it, and she was later terminated for certain errors in her work.

I am quite concerned that if my appointment letter has been intentionally taken by someone, what will happen?

Thank you.

Hi, for that, I can see two possibilities: you either lost your appointment letter or someone took it from you. The latter might be jumping to conclusions, so you need to be certain. Initially, you mentioned that it was returned to you—please ensure this. If you're unsure whether it was returned, ask the person to return it to you.

Regarding the school's management

I can't judge based on one incident. Honestly, it was a mistake from your colleague as he/she did not ask for the appointment letter. As I understand, it is not an obligation of the school's management to publicly inform about the reason behind the termination. There could be deeper reasons because, as a new school, one cannot just terminate an employee (or afford to lose a teacher) if there was no gross negligence. Just saying... Another point is that not explaining the termination to everyone is also to protect the integrity of both the teacher and management. If I assume correctly, you may have only heard one side of the story.

Requesting your appointment letter back

There is no harm in asking for your appointment letter back. One thing you can do is wait for your payroll. The payslip is proof that you are an employee (if I am guessing right that you are afraid you do not have any leverage or document proof of being an employee of that school). After receiving the payslip, you can go and ask for your appointment letter.

Can you register on this site? Thanks.