Company gave an offer letter and now cancelling it. What to do

723 votes

did the company give any reason for cancelling the offer letter served to you.

Unfortunately, it’s generally legal unless the employer operated with deliberate fraudulent intent. There’s also something called “detrimental reliance,” where you’d argue that you relied to your detriment on their offer. However, courts haven’t generally sided with those claims, in part because since employment is usually at-will, you could have been fired on your first day without legal recourse. (Courts are starting to look a bit more favorably on these claims recently, particularly in California, but not enough that you could rely on it.)

But regardless of the law, it’s a really, really horrible thing to do to someone. You need to spell out for them exactly the situation they’ve put you in: “I resigned my job on your word that I had a job with you. I’m now unemployed as a result of this, in a terrible job market. What can be done to make this right?” Any employer with even a sliver of a conscience should, at a minimum, pay you severance or a settlement in this situation — not that that will make up for it. If they refuse, I’d say the next step is to have a lawyer try to negotiate on your behalf.

Meanwhile, is there any way to return to your previous job? If not, be straightforward with new employers about what happened; it shouldn’t reflect on you, and any normal person will be horrified and sympathetic.

Advocate Siddhant Sharma LawRato

836 votes

Please find out the grounds under which they are cancelling the offer letter. Had you signed any document with them? Once you find out why they are cancelling the offer, if the grounds are unlawful then you can send a legal notice and pursue legal action against them.

LawRato LawRato