NEW DELHI: Many IT companies have now gone for revocation of rolled-out offers, creating waves in the global tech ecosystem. The mood has turned sombre as employees with offer letters in hand are worried if their offers would be honoured.
Under such circumstance, fear of getting unemployed haunt them.“Everything just crumbled down within the two-minute phone call that I received,” penned a LinkedIn user in a post, talking about their job offer at Twitter being revoked.
Twitter CEO had earlier mentioned that offers will be rescinded in a tweet and recently crypto exchange Coinbase also announced its plans of extending the hiring freeze and rescinding rolled-out offers. “This is not a decision we make lightly, but is necessary to ensure we are only growing in the highest-priority areas,” it said. Several other companies have also been rolling back offers.
Social media is flooded with posts from users who were set to join these companies but have now started the job hunt again. One of the people whose offers have been rescinded said, he was ready to join the company in a week but now is unemployed and immediately needs to find a job.
“I have a home loan as well; It’s like I woke up to a nightmare,” he said. The worst off are the H-1B workers (Who are mainly Indian and Chinese) in the USA. A senior engineer with a global tech company, on the condition of anonymity, told TNIE that because of hiring freezes, the anxiety and stress is palpable, particularly among junior engineers, fresh out of college. “A layoff in this environment is a disaster if you’d have to find a job in 60 days.”
As per the regulations, H-1B workers have a 60-day grace period to stay in the USA legally without employment. They need to find new work within 60 days or leave the country. The senior engineer, who mentors other immigrant engineers in the US, said. “It takes a month to prepare for interviews. In a hiring freeze environment, it becomes exponentially harder to find jobs, particularly since you’re competing against your coworkers who are also most likely laid off.”
Legality of rescinding offer - a tricky road
According to Justin M Bharucha, Managing Partner, Bharucha & Partners, everything turns on whether or not the employment letter constitutes a binding contract. “If it is drafted such that a contract is not in force on the date of revocation or if the employment letter includes conditions which the employee must satisfy and which remain unsatisfied then a prospective employer may have full right to revoke the offer letter with no adverse consequences,” Bharucha told TNIE.
He added that revocation of an offer which does not constitute a contract may allow the affected employee to claim damages but that claim will be dependent upon the text of the offer letter and related circumstances.