Why does the company ask for a signed resignation letter?
Andrew Grepe, partner at GLZ Abogados and specialist in labor law, states that if the employee’s desire is to terminate the employment relationship, verbal resignation is not enough to prove this situation either.
It is essential to sign the document and ratify its content, since signing the resignation accepts the voluntary separation from the job and the payment of benefits that by law correspond to a settlement, not a liquidation.
“The lack of this document poses a risk for the employer because in bad faith the worker can claim the payment of compensation concepts before the labor authority or request reinstatement at the source of work,” says Grepe.
Without a letter of resignation, the company runs the risk that the worker’s initial decision to resign will be understood as unfair dismissal, leaving the company without elements to prove the worker’s will and autonomy to resign.
Can they force me to sign my resignation if I do not agree with my settlement?
When the worker resigns, he only receives payment for the days worked, the proportional part of the bonus, vacations, vacation premium and seniority premium, while in unjustified dismissal the employer must reinstate or, where appropriate, compensate the worker with three months of salary , in addition to the benefits mentioned above.
But there are times when the calculations made by the companies are lower than what would correspond to the worker by law.
Eduardo Hernández, Legal Director of ManpowerGroup for Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America, says that if the person considers that his settlement is not well calculated or because he is owed the payment of some labor benefit, it is important that he knows that he is fully entitled to Don’t sign your resignation letter.
What to do if the settlement or liquidation is incorrectly calculated?
If a person does not sign the resignation and the employer stops paying him, it is up to the worker to go to the labor authorities to request payment of the benefits to which he is a creditor, if he argues that it was an unjustified dismissal that was tried to be simulated as a voluntary resignation.
The lawyer recommends first approaching the employer to clarify the differences or doubts that you have in this regard, and if you do not reach an agreement, go to PROFEDET (Federal Attorney for Labor Defense), which is a social representation where they provide free advice and personalized, in order to reconcile differences with the employer.
“If the parties do not reach a conciliation agreement before PROFEDET, your next option would be to file a labor lawsuit before the competent court to resolve the dispute,” he says.
According to Hernandez, the right to claim the benefits owed prescribes in one yearcounted from the date on which the benefit is due, and for unjustified dismissal, the term to file the labor claim is two months from the day following the date of separation.