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I'm working for a manufacturing company as an Engineer. I was hand picked by the senior manager and relocated to another plant from a plant which was close to my house. While I was getting relocated I was informally told I would be working in the future projects of the company and would have high growth.

Even though I had promotions in consecutive years, I'm not put in the project as of now. It's been almost a year since I was relocated and now I got a high paying job at a smaller company in a different field.

Initially my employer (Head office Senior HR) didn't accept my resignation and promised that they would work out a way soon to fulfill all my needs. Later after continuous requests from my side they accepted it. Now senior HRs are contacting me to reconsider my decision and have put a hold on furthering the process from their side.

  • Is it good to stay in a company after giving resignation ?
  • How much can I trust these offers from HR ? ( its from a quite senior HR )
  • Will they contact my new employer and ask to hold my offer ? ( unknowingly I revealed my offers and company name )

I'm pretty confused and my joining date is also nearing. Somebody please advice me how to tackle this situation.

David K
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San_man
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    Never trust what HR says--only what they give you in writing. – DA. Sep 29 '15 at 09:05
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    Country? The Indian "relieving letter" system institutionalizes this kind of abuse, but in most countries you can walk out after a few weeks' delay -- or immediately if you want to be rude about it -- and the worst they can do is not give you a recommendation. – keshlam Sep 29 '15 at 14:50
  • Your question and title don't quite match up - did your boss deny your resignation, forcing you to stay, or did did your boss just request that you stay, leaving the decision up to you? – David K Sep 29 '15 at 16:13
  • @David K initially they hadn't accept my resignation. Later after continuous request from my side they accepted but now later senior HRs are contacting me to reconsider my decision and have put hold on to the further process from their side. – San_man Sep 29 '15 at 16:17
  • @SanoopJNair I edited that info into your question and also added the tags for India and Relieving Letters. If those are inaccurate, feel free to edit your question. – David K Sep 29 '15 at 16:22
  • @David K Thanks for the edit and just loving this forum and suck wonderful people like you for helping me. – San_man Sep 29 '15 at 16:23
  • Please can I ask one question - If you got an offer in the bag, done the got the last pay check - what will happen if not turning up again? – Ed Heal Sep 29 '15 at 18:55
  • @Ed Heal Its unprofessional way of doing things. Moreover I would need a relieving letter from my previous employer in order to join my new company. – San_man Sep 29 '15 at 18:58
  • I am not sure of that if the new company is able/want to employ you without one. Surely this occurs for various reasons. As to unprofessional they are not being so. – Ed Heal Sep 29 '15 at 19:00
  • @Ed Heal Relieving letter is one of the important doc which is to be submitted to my new employer while joining the company. And as for my old company, I have great respect and inclination towards the organisation as whole. It's only that few individuals who are not acting unprofessional for which even I can't act the same way they do. This will downgrade me to their standards which I prefer not to. Anyway thanks for the advice :) – San_man Sep 29 '15 at 19:06
  • But the question remains - Are you prepared to continue to work for a company under duress. Do all companies require this letter? Surely there are circumstances that this is not possible. Bankruptcy for example. – Ed Heal Sep 29 '15 at 19:11
  • @Ed Heal I'm not prepared for staying and I told my manager clearly about my decision. I was reluctant to speak to the Senior HR as I was not expecting a call ( he called to my personal phone while off from work ) and he was hardly listening to my words. And for the bankruptcy, I never thought of such a situation as the company which I'm taking about is one of a top manufacturing company in Asia. – San_man Sep 29 '15 at 19:16
  • @SanoopJNair - There must be people that have to leave a company due to the company downing bankrupt. So how can they give the new employer a "relieving" letter? If the new company is very interested in you they can overlook that - surely. – Ed Heal Sep 29 '15 at 19:18
  • @Ed Heal Yeah you are probably right, I just wanna say that's not my case – San_man Sep 29 '15 at 19:21
  • @SanoopJNair - In the worst case (in your view) you do not have that letter - can you start the new job? I would imagine that you can. – Ed Heal Sep 29 '15 at 19:23
  • @Ed Heal I haven't thought of such a situation as of now. I have full confidence that my current employer wouldn't go to that level. – San_man Sep 29 '15 at 19:26
  • @SanoopJNair - Good luck - but perhaps check with the new employer - they may understand. – Ed Heal Sep 29 '15 at 19:29
  • Thanks :) and yeah I ll post here once I get relieved from my current company – San_man Sep 29 '15 at 19:31
  • For the US folks: see http://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/20945/what-is-a-relieving-letter-what-are-the-consequences-of-not-having-one – Hilmar Sep 29 '15 at 20:28

3 Answers3

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I'm not sure how it works in your country, but I would be very surprised if your current employer can tell a future employer not to hire you. I would be very, very surprised if they could prevent you from resigning as that effectively becomes slavery.

As far as what to do, we tell you which you should choose, but a good rule of thumb is that once you have decided to leave an organisation, then leave. But this must be enitrely your choice based on your personal circumstances.

Jane S
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    well, they can certainly talk to colleagues, friends, associates at other companies and spread the word that you're not a good hire... But yes, they can't very likely legally prevent you from quitting. – jwenting Sep 29 '15 at 07:59
  • @jwenting yeah that's what I was worried of, is it a good idea to convey all these inflation to my manager at new company ? Will it bring a bad impression on me ? – San_man Sep 29 '15 at 08:12
  • @SanoopJNair it's never good to leave a job in a conflict situation, it tends to reflect poorly on you even if the conflict is not of your making. Use judgment, if there's a very high turnover at your old company they may well be known for such things in the industry, but I'd still be wary of mentioning it explicitly. – jwenting Sep 29 '15 at 08:18
  • @jwenting I assume it's better to leave it and wait until my new manager ask me explicitly about the issue. I strongly believe and hope things don't go to that extend. Figures crossed – San_man Sep 29 '15 at 08:23
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    Everyone needs to read up on India and its labor practices. Some of this advice is inaccurate at best. The company holds almost all of the cards. They can refuse to give the relieving letter, without which the employee cannot be legally hired by the next company. – CGCampbell Sep 29 '15 at 17:21
  • I've learned to ignore most questions tagged "India", because I don't know and have concluded that I don't want to know. Luckily my own company's Indian office is run more sanely. – keshlam Sep 29 '15 at 19:25
  • Jane, you will definitely want to read this post - the new company legally can't hire you until your old company has provided proof that you have successfully completed your tenure there. Also, prepare to be very, very surprised. I know I was. – corsiKa Sep 29 '15 at 20:24
  • @corsiKa Wow. Just... wow. I do note in the comments of that thread that the Labour Court is there and could force a previous company to provide the relieving letter, but it sounds like it's cultural to not do this. – Jane S Sep 29 '15 at 20:51
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You have two possibilities here:

  1. Either you take the offer from your new employer, and you hand your resignation to your current employer. Check your local laws on how to write & post such a resignation, and what elements have to be defined (date of your last workday – look up how long they can legally force you to keep working there)
  2. Or, you decide to decline the offer and stay with your current employer. I would advise you to at least get a counteroffer in writing, effective in the very near future: it looks like your employer is always promising you things, but never actually delivering. Tell them you will leave if your situation doesn’t change. Be prepared to negotiate: if they are not prepared to relocate you or add you to another project now, maybe a raise or extra paid vacation days are possible?
Konerak
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  • yeah I will have to ask for a written offer from them in that case. The thing is they are just dragging and my joining date at the new company is getting delayed. Hope things fall in place soon. Thanks for your advice. – San_man Sep 29 '15 at 08:10
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    A date is negotiable too. You can tell them: "if you would like for me to keep working here, I would like a counteroffer on paper by october 8th - else I hand in my formal resignation on october 9th, making my last day of work november 20th". They then have a simple choice, and you avoid dragging. – Konerak Sep 29 '15 at 09:34
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Here's the thing you'll have to consider. They already promised you a new position and by the sounds of it they're very slowly giving that to you since you said you recently got paid higher but not the new projects you were promised.

With that said, you already know what to expect from your current employer. Unless they can give it to you in writing, I would not consider it as a counter offer. If you decide to stay, and you are never promoted to your expectations, then you lose two jobs in the end: the one you declined, and the one you're about to leave. If you leave now, you gain a job since you are leaving conditions not to your expectations.

Dan
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  • yeah quite logical I had decide to leave as you said. Thanks for the advice – San_man Sep 29 '15 at 14:46
  • I would go further: Even if they can give it to you in writing, I would still move on. It won't be long before the company breaks other verbal promises, which they don't seem to take seriously. Tell the HR person that you appreciate the offer, but you've made your decision, and please process your departure paperwork. – stannius Sep 29 '15 at 18:23
  • Dan, you're not getting it - in India, they don't have to let you leave your job. I mean you can go to court to dispute it, but it's a time consuming process that may cost you both money and reputation if things don't go perfectly your way. – corsiKa Sep 29 '15 at 20:46