Worried About Missing Payslips for Background Check at Cognizant? Here's My Situation

I have 8 years of experience and previously worked for Capgemini, TCS, IBM, and Linde Group. At Linde, for the initial one year, I was on a direct contract with the company and later became permanent. During the first year, Linde did not generate any payslips since they did not deduct PF contributions. However, once I became permanent, I started receiving payslips.

For the initial one year, I have a bank statement, Form 16A (since Linde deducted TDS), Form 26AS, an offer letter, and an experience letter. Now, I have joined Cognizant and noticed on their portal that there is an option to upload all previous employers' payslips. Will it create any problem in background verification if I cannot provide those 7-year-old payslips?

HR Practices Regarding Payslip Requests

First of all, let me say that in such posts, you should avoid using company names. It is a very bad HR practice to ask employees to show their payslips or upload previous pay slips. However, when this practice is carried out by large and reputed companies, nobody questions it. It is required simply to determine the pay of the candidate. The appropriate action for HR to take is to trust the candidate's word, assess their demands, and if both parties are in agreement, proceed with hiring; otherwise, drop the candidate. In the case of a highly reputable organization, it is likely that such companies have a defined pay scale, grades, and competency matrix, eliminating the need to inquire about the candidate's current salary. Instead, HR can directly offer a package based on the candidate's competency.

Alternative Documents to Payslips

Regarding the request to upload payslips, you can provide any available pay slips. It is unlikely that someone keeps all their payslips on their computer; they are usually saved or downloaded when needed. Nowadays, you can easily provide Form 26AS, which is widely accepted, even by banks for loan applications, in place of traditional payslips. Therefore, you may upload whatever is available and explain that the payslips are downloaded from the HR site as necessary. If you no longer have access to them, inform them of this and see if they would accept Form 26AS.

Hi Madhu,

Thank you for your feedback. My question is, can Form 16A be used as proof of payment/salary from the employer for contract employees?

That is not proof of a relationship, but in the absence of any payslips, you can use it. It is good if you take 26AS, which is more explanatory because the monthly payout is shown in it, whereas Form 16A is a consolidation for a year.