parminder ahluwalia
2

Dear Seniors,
i want to know your expert opinion on below:
a) is appointment letter clauses are enforceable in court of law?
b) Termination on mere ground of employer discretion can be justified and if not what can i employee can do.
c) when a employee not join after accepting offer letter or even appointment letter is we can do anything.
Regards
Parminder

From India, Chandigarh
rajeevdixit
111

Hi ,
I am NOT an expert but i will try to answer your questions .
Termination on mere ground of employer discretion can NOT be justified .
The termination can be challenged in the labour court .And if the employer
does not have evidences to prove or justify the termination the termination
will be considered as illegal .
If the appointment letter / agreement is duly signed by the employer and
accepted by the employee it is enforceable in the court of law .
An offer is given before joining the duty . In offer letter mostly the valid date
of offer is mentioned. If the employee does Not join it is his wish and nothing
needs to be done.
Regards
Rajeev Dixit

From India, Bangalore
NK SUNDARAM
581

An appointment letter, the clauses and conditions of which, if accepted by a candidate is legally tenable. The moment you sign and handover the duplicate copy of the letter, mentioning that you agree to the terms and conditions, you are a party to the bilateral agreement ! Whether the clauses are in accordance with law or not, has to be debated, depending upon the clause itself. Without knowing the conditions we cannot comment on it here and now.
From India
hreducare@gmail.com
Hi,
Appointment letter will not hold any leagal value,it is just mutual understanding between employee and the company.
No agreements allowed between employee & company in terms of employment [As per the Abolition on the bond / contrcat employee]
Employer has to treat & work with his employees in accordance with the law of the nation.
Regards.

From India, Bangalore
B R Grover
7

Apppointment letter accepted by you is a contract between you and your employer. If it contravenes any law, it is superceded by the legal provisions to that effect.
There are legal provisions protecting the categoy of employees which fall under the category of workmen. This clause is superceded by those provisions in their case.
In case of employees outside the purview of the definition of workmen, the contract prevails. Generally, the appointment letter has a provision of notice period. Employer can terminate the services without assigning any reason by giving notice as per appointment letter much as the same way as you can resign by giving one months's notice without assigning any reason. In case of non workmen, parties are treated equally as per contact.
B R Grover

From India, Delhi
parminder ahluwalia
2

Dear Sir,
Thanks, please advise if an employee coming in out preview of workmen does not give one month notice before leaving the company can we legally hold his salary as he has sign a appointment letter which has a clause of one month notice period.
Regards
Parminder Singh

From India, Chandigarh
Watve Ravindra
2

Hi,

Appointment letter is terms and conditions agreed by and between the employer and employee, called as employment contract.The basic two elements involved are offer and acceptance, rather offer and acceptance becomes contract. However if any clause / es are contrary to provision made under the law.The contract will be void.

In more simple terms

My reply to your query (a) Yes, subject to clauses within the frame work of laws applicable.

Query ( b) Normally equal opportunity is given to employee, means employee can also give notice of termination of as per terms notice period mentioned in the Appointment letter.

Query(c) If employee do not join even after accepting offer letter or appointment letter, you can not take any legal action . Since he is not in effective employment.

.

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From India, Pune
tsivasankaran
368

There are three questions asked and Mr Grover has answered most of them well. For more clarity, I am elaborationg here.

There are two categories of employees in any establishment in India. 1. Workmen as defined under Industrial Disputes Act. 2. Other employees who are not covered under this definition(generally termed as Management staff/supervisory staff etc)

1. Workmen as defined under ID Act are covered by ID Act, Standing orders Act and the appointment letter

2. Other employees will be covered by he terms of appointment and other circulars issued in the organisation and are guided by Indian Contract Act

Now let us examine all these three questions.

A) Is appointment letter clauses are enforceable in court of law?

As explained by Mr Grover appointment letter vlauses are enforceable in a court of law. In case of workmen, it will be examined by a Labour Court and

the process to approach Labour Court is through conciliation.In case of other employees, the remedy has to be obtained through civil suits under

Contract Act

B) Termination on mere ground of employer discretion can be justified and if not what can i employee can do.

Termination on discretion is not legally correct. Termination on grounds of misconduct must precede by enquiry and principles of natural justice must

have been complied with.Termination at the end of probation is legally correct both in respect of workmen and management staff.If a workman not

satisfied with termination can approach conciliation officer under Sec 2(A) of ID Act and through this process can approach Labour Court.Other

employees not covered under ID Act can file a suit in the concerned Civil Court. Civil suits takes longer duration but there is no other option

available.Employees of Public Sector undertakings can approach High Courts by a writ but this recourse is not available for other employees working in

private sector.

C) when an employee does not join after accepting offer letter or even appointment letter is we can do anything.

Offer letter and acceptance of an offer technically completes a contract. Unfortunately most companies mention "if you do not join on or (date) this

offer stands withdrawn" If this is the clause, then management can not have any recourse through legal means as the clause clearly says that

non-compliance will only end in management withdrawing the offer. Altenatively, if management introduces new clause specifying certain financial loss

which are reasonable, then approaching the court is possible. However, no Management generally would like to resort to such clauses as it will not

attarct new talents even to appear for interview. Legal clauses do not help always.

The original poster has also raised another question

please advise if an employee coming in out preview of workmen does not give one month notice before leaving the company can we legally hold his

salary as he has sign a appointment letter which has a clause of one month notice period

Holding notice period salary is legally correct for all employees. In respect of workmen covered under ID Act, companies certified standing orders will

be applicable more than the offer letter/appointment letter. If there is nrtified Standing Orders, then Model Standing Orders wiull be applicable and

most of the model standing orders provide for 15 days notice period. However kindly check the model standing orders in your State.

For other employees, whatever is specified in offer letter/appointment letter/or any subsequent circular which has been duly acknoldeged by the

employees will be applicable and it is legal to hold/deduct notice period salary from final dues payable.

From India, Chennai
meenugreen
26

Dear Parminder
Yes, clauses mentioned on the company’s letter head -appointment letter can be enforceable in court of Law?
Secondly: - Termination clauses are mentioned in the appointment letter any employee should aware of these clauses. Clauses are applicable on both employee and employer.
Thirdly:- If any employee do not join the job after the acceptance of offer letter then there is not punishment for him/ her.
With regards,
Meenu Singh

From India, New Delhi
attorney24x7@gmail.com
4

Appointment letter’s clauses are enforceable to the extent till they are not violating the statutorieslaw/ i.e Act/Rules/Ordinance etc.
From India, Delhi
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