Feeling Stuck: Can My Company Refuse My Relieving and Experience Letters? What Should I Do?

Due to some issues with the management, I resign from the company and am serving the notice period. Due to being mentally harassed, I couldn't do my daily basis reports and couldn't assign them to someone. One week is left, so please, can the company deny holding my relieving letter and experience letter? If yes, then help me. What should I do in my last week to get the relieving letter and experience letter?

Hi sir,

Due to some issues with the management, I resigned from my job. I am currently serving the notice period, but I have been mentally harassed, which has made it difficult for me to complete my daily reports and delegate tasks to someone. No one has approached me to assign any work.

I only have one week left of the notice period. Can the company refuse to issue me a relieving letter and an experience letter? If yes, please advise on what steps I can take to obtain these documents during my last week of the notice period.

Thank you.

Hi,

Due to some issues with the management, I resigned from the company, serving a one-month notice period. However, due to mental harassment, I couldn't complete my daily reports and wasn't able to assign them to someone else. Now, only one week is left of my notice period. Can the company deny issuing a relieving letter and an experience letter? If yes, then please advise on what I should do to obtain these documents. I have only one week left in this organization.

You have not stated which industry you are in and what your position is in the company. The reaction of companies differs, and there is no straightforward answer to give you. In most companies, the fact that you have served the notice period is enough for them to give you the relieving letter. However, if you have not done any work during the notice period, for whatever excuse you give, there are chances that the company will refuse to issue it, claiming that you have not done any work or completed a handover.

You can take legal recourse, but that is a long-drawn process, and in any case, they are likely to give negative feedback in any background verification.

Steps to Take in Your Remaining Week

What you can do in the remaining week again depends on a variety of factors that we can't ascertain since we haven't been in your company and don't know the attitude of the HR or managers. Therefore, the best option for you would be to approach your manager and ask him what you need to do in the remaining week to complete the pending work that was assigned and how to complete your handover properly. You should also speak to HR and see what needs to be done in the remaining period to get relieved properly.

Thank you, sir. Actually, I am working at Genpact as a process associate. There were some misunderstandings between my manager and me, and I reacted very unprofessionally by resigning instead of making a smart professional decision. I said inappropriate things about management while resigning because I did not trust them. They tried to convince me to stay, but I wanted to leave, leading to the current situation. Now, they are playing tricks on me, and I am unfamiliar with company laws. I want to leave the company with my documents, but I only have one week left. In this time, I am unable to train the person replacing me or complete all the pending reports. So, I would like to know if it is a better idea to extend my notice period to hand over all the company assets, or if that would create more problems for me. They are not willing to extend my notice period, so what should I do to retrieve all my documents?

Actually, the story is that I was expecting a promotion, but the result was a failure. I then informed my manager that I would try to switch to another company for a higher salary. However, my manager wanted me to stay. After a few days, I sent an email to the HR manager for resignation, but my manager convinced me and offered an internal transfer. She played games by rejecting me whenever I went for an interview, and at the same time, she tried to gather information about my contacts by checking my phone without permission, as phones were submitted outside the floor area. Instead of raising the issue, I resigned unprofessionally. They tried to convince me not to resign, but I went ahead with my resignation. Now, they are playing tricks on me and mentally harassing me. I am sure they will not issue my relieving letter and experience letter because I couldn't assign my daily reports or upskill someone. I now have only one week left. What can I do to retrieve all my documents? I don't know if they will extend my notice period or consider taking me back. It's up to the management, and they may view me negatively. Please assist.

In my point of view, you should not discuss these things with your identity exposed because your HR team may be part of this social network. It may create more trouble instead of a solution. My suggestion is to discuss with your manager as well as the HR team for smooth relief, and they may receive a written apology letter for the harsh behavior exhibited by you. This approach will prevent any further harm, unlike if you were to go against them.

Discussion and an apology may be the only solution in your case since you made a mistake, and management always upholds its policies which employees may not fully comprehend at the time of their appointment. Additionally, there will be a clear statement in your appointment letter requiring you to agree to the management policies, and the management will have final decision authority.

So, please act smart until the time of relief.

Thank you, sir. I may not be able to retrieve all my documents. Would my career be over, or can I start my career again as a fresher? Please assist.

You mentioned that due to issues with management, you resigned. This indicates that management is not happy; therefore, things will not be so easy now. However, I can suggest that you depart amicably in the last moment and get your work done with politeness. When you are at your weakest, be humble and have patience.

Actually, my manager didn't say anything wrong to me; they were polite. However, I was treated badly because I was unaware of the corporate laws, and this was my first experience. So please assist.

Complete your given tasks with focus and responsibility to give others a chance to raise any issues against you of any kind until your separation.

Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Professionalism During Notice Period

Checking your mobile phone like this is highly unprofessional. You should keep a password or something to secure your phone so that no one can access it. Resigning from the company due to any reason is your individual choice. Now, there is only one week left in which you are required to finish your pending work, which you should have completed during the entire notice period.

Many employees tend to neglect giving a proper handover when leaving the company, with a mentality that says, "If I am leaving, why should I bother?" This attitude is unprofessional because, many times, the company faces problems understanding the tasks done and pending work if the handover is not comprehensive.

However, as you mentioned, if they are harassing you because you are leaving the company, try to be honest with yourself. Finish the handover properly and, at the same time, provide a medical reason that your health is not well. This may prevent them from troubling you during your notice period. If possible, request an extension to finish the given tasks and maintain a record of all handovers. This record can be useful in the future to demonstrate that you provided a proper handover and may aid in obtaining certificates.

While you are still with the company, try to maintain a positive relationship. Forget about the past incidents and leave on a good note. The fact that they are trying to retain you indicates that you are a valuable employee to the company. Therefore, aim to depart on good terms.

Good luck to you!

I have friends in Genpact. It is a large, professionally managed company. HR in the company is not under the control of operations managers, so you can go and discuss with HR what would be needed for a smooth exit. I am surprised that someone in Genpact accessed your phone from a secured area without your approval. You should have complained to HR about it.

The problem you state of not being able to train the concerned person is something I can't suggest a resolution for because I am not aware of your work or the ability of you and the replacement. Again, for that, you need to speak to your operations manager and take her help. She will know what can be done to complete the transfer quickly. She would be more interested in the replacement than in you. Naturally, the company is not going to bother increasing your notice period and incurring more on salary for someone who is no longer interested in working for the company.

The rest of your posts about why you left sound suspect to me. Genpact is large and has access to a huge set of skills. They would not be desperate to retain you unless you are someone special. The only thing the manager would be unhappy about is the retraining cost and learning curve. Probably she didn’t want you to leave because she realized you would be better off here. Maybe the failure to get an internal transfer is because you are not good enough. We can’t give any comment either way because we are not there.

Further, this all has nothing to do with the company act. Your action may have been correct or wrong. It is now immaterial. You should reflect and see what you actually did wrong. Wanting to change a job for whatever reason is not wrong or illegal. So long as you are willing to complete the notice period and proper handover possible in the notice period, it is enough. You need to reflect on this only because you don’t want this to happen in the future wherever you are.

I know it's a very good company with good people, that's why I spent a significant amount of time here. The management always supported me even when I made lots of mistakes. However, now I am unable to understand what they want, which is why I decided to resign.

Dear Mr. Keshav, The poster had mentioned his name and company name in one of his posts but was advised to post anonymously. The poster then hid his identity in anonymous mode. The common thread in many posts is absconding from jobs, not receiving relieving letters or experience certificates, and companies not following their own offer letter conditions. The only way out for all these malpractices is for both employees and employers to be more ethical in their approach. Employees need to be meticulous in their work, and companies need to be more employee-friendly. However, this may only happen in a utopian world. Until then, employees need to ensure they are doing their jobs the right way.

Issuing a service certificate by the employer to an employee who has worked for more than 3 months is mandatory as per the standing orders rules emanating from Industrial Employment (Standing Orders).

Shrikant Prabhudesai

As per my suggestion, first of all, you should prepare all the reports (do extra hours, if needed), submit them to the concerned HOD, and apologize for the delay in submission. Try to keep HR in the loop.