Frustrated with Delays: How Can I Get My Appointment Letter from My Former College?

Dear Sir/Madam,

Recently, I changed my job from an engineering college to the software industry. For document verification and last employment proof, my current company requires an appointment letter from my previous organization (i.e., from the engineering college). However, they are not providing me with the appointment letter; they keep saying they will give it to me. It has been almost four months, and I still have not received my appointment letter.

I have now decided to file a complaint with AICTE or the university. Could you please advise me on the process for this or provide me with the appropriate contact information?

Thank you.

Your issue seems to be like this:

You were working in a college and left that profession to join a company as a Software Engineer. The old employer has not issued an appointment order to you, but you have your relieving order with you. Additionally, you have pay slips reflecting your salary drawn and can also obtain Form 16 in respect of income tax deducted at source. Now, we have EPF details available online, which will show the date of exit from the previous company. Forget about this scenario if that college was aided by the government and had a provident fund of the government.

Are these documents sufficient for the new employer?

What is the significance of an appointment order? Anyone can hold an appointment order, but that does not necessarily mean that they were employed in that organization. After receiving an appointment order, you can choose to decline joining the company or, after joining, you can decide to leave. When leaving the company, the company will not take the appointment order back from you; it will remain with you. However, this does not confirm that you have worked in that company. What holds importance here is the service certificate/relieving order, which certifies that you have worked during a specific period in the role specified therein.

Now, present your new employer with the relieving order, Form 16, last month's pay slip, etc., to complete the process. Genuine HR professionals will accept these documents.

Dispute Resolution for Employment Issues

I do not think either the AICTE or the university is the appropriate forum for resolving disputes between employers and employees. However, there may be a dispute resolution forum at the university that you can approach and try your luck.

Alternatively, you can approach the labor commissioner of the area and ask for their help. You have not provided details of your employment, so I am not sure how helpful they will be.

Otherwise, as Madhu-ji explained, there are other ways to prove that you have worked there.