Goa - Letter of Appointment

Employers hiring new employees must give a letter of appointment to them. This is a formal document provided by a business owner to the individuals on their recruitment. Every state in India follows their norms and practices as per the state government rules for hiring labourers. An industrialist needs to understand what should be included in this letter of appointment when he plans to open a business in Goa. We are going to cover the following points in this blog -

What is Goa Shops & Establishment Act?

The Goa Shops & Establishment Act was established in the year 1973. According to the available information, the rules of this act apply to all the shops and commercial establishments in the specific areas which have been notified by the government of Goa. This Act has been enacted to protect the rights of employees once the form is given to them by the employer.

With this Act, there are certain regulations set by the state government for the employees. These rules are related to terms of service, payment of wages, working hours, overtime work, and rest or break intervals for the employees. It also specifies the opening and closing hours of the business, holidays, and leave management schedule for the employees. Furthermore, the Act also takes care of pregnant women employees by specifying the rules for maternity leave and benefits, working conditions, accurate maintenance of records as well as the rules for employment of adults including children.

The complete Act can be read from the link: https://www.lawrbit.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/goa-daman-and-diu-shops-and-estestablishments-acts-and-rules-daman-and-diu-state.pdf

What is the Appointment Letter in Goa and who should use it?

The appointment letter is given to the employees by the employer in any commercial establishment. A commercial establishment can be said to be an establishment that successfully carries out any business, trade or profession or any work in connection with other small businesses or large corporations. The establishment in this term refers to the shop, hotel, restaurant, cafe, theatre or any other place which can be considered apt for public amusement. It also includes financial institutions for which the Act is applicable and other establishments that have been notified in the official Gazette provided by the state government of Goa.

According to available information, this appointment letter, officially known as the XXX form in Goa is given to the employee in person when he has joined a company or a business. However, it can also be sent by mail to the employee by HR after his recruitment by the company.

This formal letter is considered to be a confidential document and hence, needs to be password-protected when it is to be mailed to the newly hired employee.

The employer must take care of what things are included in the letter. As per the standard rules, the employer needs to mention the name of the employee, his address, contact number and email address. Apart from this, he must include the date of joining, job location, designation in the organization, paystub and period of probation necessary for the employment tenure.

How can employers register with the Goa state government?

If you are an employer who is newly starting a business in Goa and have no idea about what to do with the Letter of Appointment once you have hired a new employee in the company, then understand the first step is to inform the state government about the new hires. The businessman needs to notify the state government of Goa about the number of employees working in the organization and it can be done online.

The businessman needs to follow the steps given below for registering his employees with the state government -

The employer or an individual if he is a sole proprietor must register himself on the website https://goaonline.gov.in/ and log in on the page.
If a business owner wants to register his employees on this portal then he should register as an organization on the website and proceed towards logging on the channel.
The employer must then fill required details on the application form
He should attach the relevant documents for each employee
The next step is to submit the application for all the employees and maintain a record of the application numbers for all of them for the ease of tracking on the portal.

What documents are required for the Letter of Appointment?

Every employer must collect a photocopy of certain documents when he has hired a new employee in the organization. A small businessman or an industrialist in Goa can use them when he wants to open a bank account in the company’s branch or when he wants to register the employee’s name with the state government. The employer must request the following documents from a newly hired employee before giving him the appointment letter -

1. Photo (size less than 80kb)

2. Valid 15 years residence certificate (Mandatory)

3. Valid 15 years residence certificate of Spouse/parents if applicant period of residence in Goa is less than 15 years.(If applicable)

4. Educational certificate

5. Marriage certificate (If applicable)

6.Caste certificate (If applicable)

7. Form IV issued by the Directorate of sports and youth to register as a sportsperson (If applicable)

8. N.O.C. form department (For registration of Govt. Servants)

9. Experience certificate (If applicable)

10.Disability Certificate issued by GMC/Hospicio/Asilo Hospital (If applicable)

11. Freedom Fighter & Unemployment certificate (If applicable)

Why is the Appointment Letter required?

The appointment letter is a formal letter given to the candidate when he gets selected for a particular job role in the organization. The employer confirms his hiring to the organization by giving this letter to the candidate. The form needs to be signed by the candidate to designate his confirmation of the acceptance and willingness to work with the business owner.

Sample of Appointment letter

If you are an employer who has just entered the industry with a new business and has no idea about how to generate the form, then it is always a good idea to refer to some samples available on the internet. To make your job easier, here a sample is given below -

Appointment letter for employees

Date: 05/02/2022

Name

Address

Email: name.mail@email.com

Phone: xyzxyzxyz

Dear <Name>,

On behalf of ABC, we are pleased to offer you the position of JUNIOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPER. We have attached are the terms and conditions of our offer; kindly read these important details carefully, including your compensation and benefits.

Date of Appointment: Your appointment will be effective on your date of joining, which shall be as soon as possible but no later than 20th February 2022. Please contact us immediately if you require an alternative joining date. In the event of you failing to join us on or before 1st March 2022, this offer for appointment will stand automatically withdrawn/cancelled without any further obligation from our side.

Designation: Junior Software Developer

Job Location: Goa

Working Hours: Your working hours will be from 11 am to 8 pm, 5 days a week (Monday to Friday).

Emoluments: Your per month cost to the company will be INR 25000/-. Your individual remuneration is purely between yourself and the company. We expect you to preserve all the information and any changes made from time to time as personal and confidential.

Posting and Probation: Your service is transferable to any other place or branch of the company, whether now existing or still to be formed, whether in India or abroad. You may also be deputed to any of our customer’s locations. You will be on a probation period of 3 to 6 months, and the company reserves the discretion to extend your period of probation.

We welcome you to our company and wish you a long and successful career with us.

Best Wishes

Yours sincerely,

Signature
----------

I accept the offer

Name _

Signature _

Date _

Appointment order by mail

Sometimes, when the candidate is situated in a remote location, the employer needs to send the appointment letter over mail which acts as a confirmation for him to move towards the company location. Here is a sample of what an employer should write in the appointment letter through the mail -

Recipient’s mail id: name.name@email.com

Subject: Appointment Order

Dear <Name>,

Congratulations! This is to inform you that we are pleased to offer you the full-time position of Academic Counsellor at ABC, Goa. Based on your performance in the interview and your portfolio, we are looking forward to having you join us on 07/01/2022 and latest by 17/01/2022.

Owing to the conversation we had, we would like to offer you an annual compensation of INR 250,000/-. The job description is attached herewith for your reference.

You will have access to comprehensive benefits, including twelve casual leaves, HRA, travel allowance and health insurance. Kindly download the detailed offer letter attached with this mail, sign, scan and mail it to us on or before 07/01/2022 so that we can initiate the onboarding process.

Yours sincerely,

Signature

Mail id: name.email@email.com

Contact: xxxxxxxxxx

It is the duty of the HR department to send this letter to the concerned candidate and get his response to ensure a fast joining process. He is responsible for answering any queries or doubts the candidate has regarding employment with the organization.

Conclusion

Employers need to provide appointment letter to confirm a candidate’s hiring in the organization. It is considered to be an authenticate way of telling the individual that he is now a part of the employee group of the company. Once the candidate accepts and approves the form, the employer can tell about the new hiring to the government online by using the website and his login credentials by attaching appropriate documents. The application letter to the employee can be given in person or sent through mail.

How can Deskera assist you?

Managing employees and their payroll, attendance, leave management is an essential part of an organization. If you want a comprehensive and automated tool to handle all this and make recruiting as well as functioning of the company efficient, Deskera People is the tool you need.

Key Takeaways

The Goa Shops & Establishment Act is applicable to the areas that come under the jurisdiction of the state government laws. It is applicable to all businesses, big or small organisations and other commercial establishments.It is a set of regulations specified by the government for the employees.
The letter of appointment is given to the candidate once he is recruited by the employer.
The employer must request for a set of documents such as photo, residence proof, residence proof of spouse (if applicable), educational certificate, marriage certificate (if applicable), caste certificate, disability certificate, NOC, experience certificate (if applicable), freedom fighter and unemployment certificate (if applicable)
The employer must inform about the hired candidates by logging in to the Goa government website portal and fill accurate details of each employee. He must maintain a record of the application number for new hires to track their application later.
When an employer sends the form to the new recruits, it should follow the standard format. The application letter must include the employee’s name, address, position for which he has been hired, job location, work timing and salary details written in a legible format.
The appointment letter should be signed by the new recruits to display acceptance of the job offer and submitted to the employer along with the requested documents.