What to check in an offer letter as fresher

Signing an offer letter is always exciting, especially if you are fresher. But there are a few important things you need to take care of before signing an offer letter. Often, the offer letter shared by an organization does contain all the basic components and salary discussed during the interview, still, there is no harm in having a look at all points before signing an offer letter.

What to check in a call center offer letter

In today's blog, we will discuss :

•     What is an offer letter?

•     What to check in an offer letter as fresher?

What is an offer letter?

An offer letter means a contract between the employer and an employee which lists the job description, rules, and regulations for the employee, and benefits, salary, and compensation provided by the employer in lieu of the employee's job services.

There are several other letters i.e Letter of intent, appointment letter, probation letter etcetera provided by the company that should not be confused with the offer letter.

On a whole, you can understand the offer letter as the original contract between an individual and an organization.

What to check in an offer letter as fresher?

There is no better feeling than going through the long and arduous interview process and finally receiving the offer letter in hand. The moment becomes more joyful especially when you are a fresher irrespective of the industry.

Must read: Top 5 courses to get the job in a call center

However, before signing the offer letter you must ensure that the below things are mentioned in your offer letter. So, below are 5 particulars you must check in your employment contract before signing it.

1. Salary Component:

A "salary component" is a basic structure of your salary part. The salary component includes basic salary, travel allowance, HRA, PF, etc. 

Out of all these components basic salary is the most important component as it is based to calculate other salary components and also for tax saving purposes if you fall under the tax category. Often low basic salary can result in lesser tax exemption.

Also read: Salary in the call center

In addition to the basic salary, when you receive the offer letter make sure to validate the contribution of HRA, PF, and ESIC components as well, which should match with the figures discussed during the interview.

2. Leave Policy:

Leave policy is one of the key components to check in the offer letter. The leave policy is important because with the help of this document, the employee knows what benefits he or is entitled to and how he/she can avail of them, and also what if he fails to adhere to the leave policy.

The leave policy also helps the employee to make a balance between time off and productivity.

While checking the policy it is advisable to check below aspects of the leave policy:

• Maternity / Paternity leave period.

• Medical leave policy and  exemption 

• Documents required to showcase in case to apply for above-mentioned leaves.

• The number of leaves can be applied in a year.

• Expiry period of leaves and leave encashment policy.

3. Shift hours and timings:

Before signing the offer letter you must check your reporting schedule and shift hours. Ensure the shift hours are mentioned as discussed during the interview process.

Often, if you are working for an Indian company you can expect a 9 hours shift which includes a breather of 1 hour. But, if you are working for an organization that expects to follow the US/UK work schedule than you can expect a 9-10 hours shift but the shift timing could be different as compared to the Indian work schedule.

AS US/UK work schedule matches with India's evening or night slot hence you will get the working schedule as per the EST(Eastern Standard Timings) which means 6:30 AM- 3:30 AM which is the most preferable time.

4. Deduction or Penalty:

One of the major areas you need to check in the offer letter, especially if you are a fresher is the Deduction or Penalty clauses. Often experience employees know about the deduction or penalty policy but fresher often ignore this policy due to which later they have to face many problems like salary cuts.

You can understand the Penalty clause as a stipulation for the employee, in case he/she does not comply with certain agreements, policies, or certain instructions.

A Penalty clause can be invoked in the below circumstances:

In case the employee does not join on a given date then the company can initiate the "No-Show penalty clause".

In case, the company assets are lost or stolen.

Violation of rules by employees which includes but is not limited to the non-solicitation clause, confidentiality clause, data protection clause, etc.

5. Redundancy Pay:

The last important thing you must check in your offer letter is "Redundancy Pay".In recent days you must have heard of a high number of layoffs from tech giants i.e "Microsoft", "Google"," And Twitter".

These companies have paid  2-4 months (varies as per the company policy)of advance salary to the laid-off employees. This salary or sum of amount can be termed as "redundancy pay". 

Often, every employer has a separate clause for the redundancy pay which is mentioned in the offer letter. Hence as a conscious employee, you must check this section and should validate it once again with the recruiter (if required) before signing off the Offer letter.

In addition to the above-mentioned points also ensure to check the role and designation offered to you and most important the contract should not be a corporate bond.

So readers, allow me now to wrap up the article and share your views in the comment box.

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