Can the reason for resignation be stated on the resignation certificate?

2023 12/20

Question raising 


Zhang was terminated from his employment contract by the company for violating rules and regulations. The "Resignation Certificate" issued by the company stated that the reason for his resignation was "serious violation of the company's rules and regulations". Zhang filed a lawsuit in court, believing that the resignation certificate was illegal and that the reason for resignation should not be written on it. His negative evaluation affected his ability to seek employment again. Therefore, he requested the company to issue a new resignation certificate and compensate for the income loss caused by his inability to smoothly join other companies due to the impact on his job search.


Lawyer Interpretation


Article 24 of the Implementation Regulations of the Labor Contract Law stipulates that the certificate issued by the employer for the termination or termination of the labor contract shall specify the term of the labor contract, the date of termination or termination, the job position, and the length of service in the employer.


The above-mentioned laws stipulate the contents that should be stated on the resignation certificate, but there is no clear provision in the law regarding whether the unit can add other contents such as the reason for resignation on the resignation certificate. In practice, courts usually focus on examining whether the objective facts recorded on the reasons for resignation are true in such cases.


If, after trial, it is found that the reason for resignation stated on the resignation certificate does not match the objective facts, for example, if the court finds that the employee does not have "serious violations of rules and regulations" or "incompetence in the job position", the court usually requires the unit to reissue the "Resignation Certificate" on the grounds that the reason for resignation does not match the objective facts and the individual is at fault. If it is determined through review that the employee does indeed have the situation recorded on the resignation certificate. For example, if an employee has been continuously absent from work and their labor contract has been terminated by the company, or if they have not passed the company's assessment, the court considers that the law does not exclude the right of the company to add other content to the resignation certificate, and the recorded content is consistent with the facts, thus rejecting the employee's request to reissue the resignation certificate.


For units that are judged to need to issue a new resignation certificate, if an employee requests compensation for the employment losses caused by the original resignation certificate, they usually need to provide evidence to prove the causal relationship between failure to be rehired and the resignation certificate, as well as the basis for calculating losses. For example, the new company's "Letter of Intent for Employment", chat records of the new company not being hired due to the content of the resignation certificate, etc. The court will make a judgment based on factors such as causality and the evidential power of the evidence. In practice, there are cases where the court takes into account factors such as the fault of the unit in issuing the resignation certificate and provides employees with certain compensation at their discretion.


In summary, in order to avoid disputes when issuing a resignation certificate, it is recommended that the relevant matters be stated as much as possible in accordance with the aforementioned legal provisions. If the resignation certificate needs to reflect other information beyond legal provisions, attention should be paid to its authenticity, rationality, and legitimacy