Can we only give an experience letter if the employee works and completes a minimum of 1 year?

Dear All, As a part of retention, can we only give an experience letter if the employee works and completes a minimum of 1 year.
Since we have employees leaving before 1 year, we want to retain them. Please advise

Dear Jayalatheesh,

As of now, you are issuing the "Experience-cum Employment Certificate" whether they stayed with you for a year or not. To ensure their at least for a year, you would like to stop issuing the experience letter to those who quit before a year.

However, your solution is akin to applying a bandaid to a festering wound. You need to find out why the wound is not getting cured. If the employees are not staying even for a year in your company, then you need to find out where the malaise lies.

If people are leaving so soon, then have you done a study of employee attrition? Over and above, earlier, I had given the reasons why employees leave the company. You may click here to refer to my reply.

Employee retention is a challenge and it requires a commitment from the top management. Without their involvement and commitment, this challenge cannot be overcome.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Most of the shop & establishment acts require you to give an Experience Certificate, which are called by different names in different states. So please check with the relevant state acts to see if you are in violation of the same.

Further, can you refuse to give a relieving letter to the employee who serves or is willing to serve his notice pay? By doing so, you may be encouraging employees to leave without notice. And in case you are issuing relieving letters, it is enough in most companies to get a job with the experience being counted as valid.