Dharaa
letterexecuted: issued

Relieving & Experience Letter

The letter an employer issues when someone leaves: it certifies the dates and designation of the employment, confirms the employee stands relieved and that dues are settled, and — where the employer chooses — records what they were responsible for and how they conducted themselves. Issued as a combined relieving cum experience certificate, which is how these are most often given in India. Signed by the employer alone.

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What this document contains

5 clauses every relieving & experience letter carries, plus 1 you can add.

  1. 01

    Who the letter is from and to

    The head of the letter: the place and date it bears, the employer it issues from, and the person it is addressed to. The addressee comes from the document's context rather than the party picker — the employer signs this letter alone, and a person who signs nothing is not a party to it.

  2. 02

    Subject

    The one line the letter is filed and found by. Written by the employer rather than composed from the particulars — those live on other clauses, and a clause cannot read another clause's data.

  3. 03

    The employment

    Who the employee was, what they did, and between which dates. These are facts from the employer's records, and they are what a next employer or a background check actually verifies. Nothing here computes the length of service from the dates.

  4. 04

    Relieving

    The operative paragraph: the employment has ended and the employee is released. This is what a next employer is actually looking for, because it is the statement that the person is free to join elsewhere.

  5. 05

    Issued by

    How the certificate closes. Signed by the employer alone — the employee is named in it but signs nothing, which is what makes this a declaration rather than an agreement.

Optional clauses

  • Experience and conduct

    What the employee did and how they conducted themselves. Optional, and this is what turns a bare relieving letter into a relieving cum experience certificate — which is how these are most often issued in India. Every word of it is the employer's: Dharaa supplies no adjectives about anybody's character.

    Worth adding when: the employer wants the letter to serve as an experience certificate as well

What the law requires

Some States require a service certificate
A number of State Shops and Establishments Acts oblige an employer to give an employee a certificate of service when the employment ends, and some prescribe what it must state. Whether such an obligation applies, and what it requires, depends on the State the establishment is in.
The applicable State Shops and Establishments Act
Relieving and settlement are different statements
That an employee stands relieved says they are free to take other employment. That dues are settled says the employer owes them nothing. Both are commonly stated in the same letter, and an employer who confirms the second while wages remain unpaid has created a document that will be produced against them.
Code on Wages 2019 (payment of wages on separation)
Withholding this letter is a separate grievance
A relieving letter or experience certificate withheld can prevent a person taking their next job, and the claim for it does not depend on whether money is also owed. An employer's obligation to issue one arises from the contract and, in several States, from the Shops and Establishments Act.
The appointment letter or employment agreement; the applicable State Shops and Establishments Act
What is written about conduct can be actionable
A certificate is a document the employee will show to others, and an adverse statement in it about their conduct or performance is capable of being actionable if it is untrue. An employer states what they are prepared to stand behind, or states nothing.
General law of defamation; the law of employment references