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My current employer is not accepting my resignation. My official notice period is 30 days. It's been almost 10 days. I talked with my manager and he said, "I won't allow you to leave".

I already asked my new employer to extend my joining date so that I can fully serve the notice period. What should I do?

Can I leave the company without their acceptance? Can they hold my relieving letter?

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    If you search this site for "Relieving Letter", you will find many old similar questions with answers. For example, here is an old question with answers: workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/61576/…
    – Job_September_2020
    Commented Jun 14, 2022 at 6:39
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    I've never heard of a relieving letter. Don't you just inform your employer you're leaving, and then stop going in when your notice is up?
    – Omar and Lorraine
    Commented Jun 14, 2022 at 9:58
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    @OmarL In India dual employment is prohibited by law, so new company always ask for relieving letter from last employer, to see you're formally released from duty.
    – vector
    Commented Jun 14, 2022 at 10:01
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    Crikey! And I thought that US at-will employment was tough on employees. These seem like pretty dystopian employment laws.
    – RBarryYoung
    Commented Jun 14, 2022 at 15:00
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    @RBarryYoung At will sucks for workers when it lets them be fired at any time, but it does have a small upside for workers because they can quit at any time. Without notice or reason.
    – Todd Wilcox
    Commented Jun 14, 2022 at 21:32

2 Answers 2

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Just make sure that you have officially communicated the notice. Take a copy of email and save it your personal email or so. Tell the manager that you fully intend to leave and your last day is (date). Send an email after the conversation.

Take a backup of all your pay slips and any details such as tax documents. Serve the notice period truthfully.

Talk to the other company and explain the situation. They will likely accept the paystub and your resignation letter as proof of your employment and resignation. Formally request a relieving letter saying that you worked from this date to that date. Never mind if they won't provide one.

It is up to the employer to determine if they want to start the Knowledge transfer or just drag it out. This is a usual tactic to get you to stay at unfavorable circumstances. And never accept any counter offer, as it will be bad for you, as they can fire you on their own terms once replacement is found.

Also, remember that the law is on your side. Bonded labor is illegal and you have full right to leave a job you don't like.

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  • Thanks for valuable suggestion Anish, my new company is top MNC and they're going to BGV, will it impact that process? although I already told them on email and this company is not accepting my resignation, so kindly extend my joining date so that I can fully serve the notice period, still waiting for their response
    – vector
    Commented Jun 14, 2022 at 10:39
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    @vector Just be upfront to them. It shouldn't be an issue. Its much common than you think.
    – Anish Sheela
    Commented Jun 14, 2022 at 11:36
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    @RobbieGoodwin I took that as being the fairly common handoff of duties, documentation, etc. when leaving a role. Possibly also including training of a replacement.
    – Matthew Read
    Commented Jun 14, 2022 at 17:07
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    @MatthewRead That does sound logical and since I've only ever heard that called a "handover". I still wonder what exactly Anish actually meant.
    – Robbie Goodwin
    Commented Jun 14, 2022 at 17:12
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    @RobbieGoodwin Same thing. There might be specific nuances of the projects that I may know. On notice period, I share with rest of the team or replacement on what I know, how to do some common things and all. These happens when a new person joins or one with some experience leaves.
    – Anish Sheela
    Commented Jun 15, 2022 at 3:12
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Pay slips, EPF statements, Bank statements, and Form 16 for this Financial Year would all come in handy when the other company is willing is employ you without the relieving letter. Do not assume that these would save you.

But, at the same time, do not rule out that the other company might think that you have left the company without giving any notice or that you are absconding. When background verification does happen, your company might even mention that you are absconding, if a relieving letter is not provided.

Remember, you not getting a relieving letter is your problem and not the other company's. They might tolerate this excuse for a while and later on move on with other potential candidates.

What I would suggest is to reply to your resignation email asking for the release date and cc the HR manager, your department's director, and any possible person who you think can help you out with relieving. If you have made any kind of rapport with any bigshot at the company, reach out to them. They can help you out. Remember to be polite and professional in all your emails.

Leave the company with the relieving letter, FNF statement, and any possible letters which are provided to the other ex-employees.

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    Wait, so that although bonded labor is illegal, it's still on the goodwill of the company if they let you leave? You recommend asking HR and "bigshots" at the company for help, but what if they refuse? "you not getting a relieving letter is your problem" - so, if they company still refuses to give you one, you have to file a lawsuit which can possibly drag on for years, and if you don't have the financial resources to survive that, you've basically became a literal slave? And companies can then freely blackmail employees by knowing not many of them will dare to sue?
    – Val
    Commented Jun 15, 2022 at 4:15
  • @Val All I am saying is to get the relieving letter in any possible way and leave the company.
    – WonderWoman
    Commented Jun 15, 2022 at 5:03
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    @WonderWoman Sorry to say that your answer is wrong. Although relieving letter is easy to establish the fact that you worked so and so on the company, it is not mandatory. If you can establish otherwise, its not a problem. It is common to keep employee to random with threat of this and HR is aware. Just be open on what happened and you should be safe.
    – Anish Sheela
    Commented Jun 15, 2022 at 7:24
  • @AnishSheela Right or wrong is not the question. All I am saying is to get the relieving letter in all possible ways and move out of the current company. It would always come in handy. Even if the new employer is willing to consider without this, the other ones, in the future, might not. Why even take a risk?
    – WonderWoman
    Commented Jun 15, 2022 at 7:46
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    @vector Your manager is being unprofessional. Whatever you have mentioned here, about the project, your non-dependency on it, and other factors should be conveyed to other relevant management personnel who can help you move out of the company. As I had mentioned in my answer, if you know some contacts in this company, time to approach them. Else, find out who can help you out. There is no exact solution to this. Talking to your manager won't be of much use now. Move to the next person who can help you.
    – WonderWoman
    Commented Jun 15, 2022 at 8:31

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