Many of you have asked me, “Aunty, my HR told me to backdate my resignation letter because I wanted to leave early and the company agreed to waive my notice period. Is that correct?”
No, it’s not.
Backdating a resignation letter is NOT the right way to do it because creating false dates only creates inaccurate employment records.
Let me guide you the proper process.
Under the Employment Act 1955, both the employer and employee can mutually agree to waive all or part of the notice period. In other words, both parties can simply agree on an earlier last working day.
So, if an employee requests an early release and the company agrees not to demand payment in lieu of notice, the employee should formally submit a written request asking to be released earlier and for the notice period to be waived.
The company should then respond officially to approve the arrangement.
And this applies vice versa.
In some situations, the company may also request supporting documents, for example a doctor’s letter if the request is due to health reasons.
What the company should NOT do is ask employees to backdate their resignation letters to make it appear as though the notice period was served.
The employee resigned on the actual date they resigned, the company agreed to release them earlier – there is nothing wrong with that.
We just need to document the process properly.
Hope it helps.
xoxoxo, AuntyHR
