Dear Everyone, I recently received an offer of employment from a multinational software company as a Manager. The offer letter, which is attached, states that I need to submit the original copy of my most recent reliving letter. They also said that they would return it after three months. Could you please share your thoughts on this? Is it a standard practice for employers to require the new employee to submit their most recent reliving letter? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you, Shiv
Hi, Is it necessary to do this in order for the process to continue? Regards
All the credentials are yours. Whoever is requesting the originals must be out of their mind.
This is not a requirement.
Some organisations, particularly IT businesses, may request the original document of release from the immediate prior organisation. This is done to prevent the candidate from obtaining employment elsewhere based on this certificate. If you have a different letter for release and experience, I don’t see any issue with providing the original release letter to your new employer. If the experience letter and release letter are the same, you can always request a duplicate from your former employer as an ex-Employee.
Just as many applicants come up with creative ways to get ahead, so too do companies try to keep up :-). The fact that the company has told you that the Original will be returned to you AFTER 3 MONTHS, supports this idea–they are just trying to make sure that you remain with them after joining……the assumption being that if you stay for 3 months, then you may not move out:-) However, take the precaution that Balaji suggested–instead of missing out on this opportunity: Get Different Letters for Relieving and Experience. Now looking at this situation from another angle, please make sure you have done all the checks about this new company–one reason why they MAY be insisting on the Relieving Letter to be with them for 3 months COULD be their past attrition rate, which could be EITHER because of the general industry trend OR something wrong with this company’s policies. I hope you understand. All the Best. Rgds
Hello, I agree with both of your ideas and views. What is concerning me is that they are not even willing to confirm the receipt of the original reliving letter! Additionally, the annexure sheet does not have any signature from an authorized individual, whereas the other sheets have been signed by an authorized signatory. Regards
Most organisations have HR departments that may be overly zealous in safeguarding the interests of the company. It is important not to be too quick to judge a potential employer based on the behaviour of their HR department, but to seek out a more comprehensive opinion from sources such as word-of-mouth, the internet, and potential co-workers.
Have you asked the HR manager why they require an original copy of the relieving letter instead of a photocopy? I’m sure there’s a reason for it. Different companies have different rules and regulations that we need to adhere to. As per the rules, the candidate has to submit photocopies of all certificates, relieving and experience letters as per the annexure mentioned in the offer letter. If you think that the HR Manager is not being honest with you, then I suggest you clarify the matter with them before making any decisions or forming an opinion about them. Regards
It is a common practice to request the original relieving letter from the recent employer upon joining. However, in this case, the employer is asking to keep the original letter for a period of 3 months, which is a bit unusual. This is to ensure that the new employee has fulfilled all his obligations with his last employer, such as serving the notice period and handing over responsibilities, as well as clearing all dues. By insisting on the original letter, the employer is minimizing the possibility of a forged or fraudulent relieving letter being presented. Additionally, by retaining the original letter for three months, the employer is also reducing the chances of the new employee leaving the job for another offer. The chances of the new employee leaving the job in the first 3 months are quite high.