Understanding Offer Letters vs. Appointment Letters: What Sets Them Apart in Hiring?

Difference between an offer letter and an appointment letter?

An offer letter is typically sent to a candidate by an employer, offering a position of employment, outlining key details such as job title, salary, benefits, and any conditions of employment. It serves as a formal offer of employment to the candidate.

On the other hand, an appointment letter is sent after the candidate has accepted the offer in the offer letter. It confirms the candidate's acceptance of the job offer and provides further details such as start date, reporting structure, and any other relevant information regarding the employment.

In summary, the offer letter extends the initial offer of employment, while the appointment letter finalizes the hiring process by formally appointing the candidate to the position.

Understanding the Offer Letter and Appointment Order

An offer letter is indicative of the fact of being appointed (without details), while the appointment order sets out the terms and conditions of appointment. The offer letter is indicative of a firm appointment order being made. It helps a candidate working elsewhere to submit their resignation and serve the notice period. An offer letter is generally only one to two paragraphs, while the appointment order may run into several pages.

Job Offer Letter vs. Offer of Appointment

A job offer letter is only a selection confirmation letter to enable the candidate to submit their resignation to their current company. It is not a legal document.

On the contrary, an Offer of Appointment is an employment contract to be signed by both parties (employer and employee) and is a legal document.

In my view, an offer letter is not a contract, whereas an appointment letter is a contract. An offer letter is an intent to enter into a contract, and an appointment letter is a contract, as stated above. Either party is free to rescind the offer, but an appointment letter cannot be rescinded.

Thank you.

Offer Letter
An offer letter is originated by the employer to inform the employee that a job has been offered to him or her. The employee may accept or reject the offer within a specified number of days. However, it is not a confirmation of the job from either party.

Appointment Letter
After the issuance of the offer letter and the employee's acceptance of the offer, the employer issues an appointment letter with the terms and conditions of services that the employee has to sign before joining the job.

Once an employee accepts the offer by signing the letter, they have the obligation to join the job; they cannot refuse. If they do so, they may have to pay the penalties as mentioned in the offer letter. Usually, in such cases, the penalty is the payment of costs incurred in hiring the candidate with some interest. However, it depends on the company's hiring policy.

Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Hi Alen, do you require this information for academic purposes? The attachment lists relevant aspects of offer and appointment letters. There are a few others that can be added later as they are isolated instances.

The Offer Letter: An Integral Part of the Selection Process

The offer letter is an integral part of the selection process. It is a written letter issued by the employer to the selected candidate in confirmation of mutually agreed main terms such as designation, total CTC, likely date of joining, bond, etc. It is issued to enable the selected person to resign with due notice from their present job. Unlike the appointment letter, which is a proper contract between the parties and contains detailed terms of appointment, the offer letter is brief and not enforceable. The appointment letter is generally issued on the date the person joins the new organization.

Regards, Vinayak Nagarkar HR and Employee Relations Consultant

Understanding Offer Letters and Appointment Letters

An offer letter is the recent development. It is another trick or "mayajal" of the corporate Audit Department's comfort usable act. Only believe in the Standard Appointment letter, which is usually like a contract with terms and conditions.

An offer letter is used by companies to build a record to show the Government or enhance share value in business. Sometimes, you often see suitcase companies in newspapers. Go for standards, not time-pass tricks done by some companies, please.

Many final-year engineering students reported to us that certain IT companies gave them an offer letter during campus selection, but even after four years, they didn't receive a call or appointment letter for job posting.

Dear friends, I forgot to attach a list of differences to my post dated 14th by oversight. Please find attached herein.

I agree with Gannahope that the offer letter culture is a recent development, perhaps rightly for the purposes itemized in his contribution above. So, we in the HR fraternity are endorsing the practice of first issuing an offer prior to the appointment letter.

I want clarity... Can the new employee join the company upon receipt of the offer letter without the appointment letter?

It can vary from company to company whether they prefer to issue both offer letters and appointment letters separately or issue a single letter to serve the purpose of both the offer and appointment. Some companies may include information that only someone who has accepted the offer and been appointed for the job needs to know. For these companies, the appointment letter would contain more details than the offer letter, and the appointment letter would be binding.

In some companies, penalty clauses may be added to the offer letter in case the candidate, after accepting the offer, does not join for employment. Therefore, whether you are joining a company with or without the appointment letter when you already have an offer letter from the company, it all depends on how the company prefers to conduct the process, as long as they are not breaching any of the legal employment norms laid out by the government.