Can My Employer Legally Enforce a Bond If I Only Suspended My Work Activities?

Hello,

I was working with a company since December 2008. I had signed a bond which stated that if I have to leave the company prior to the bond period, I will have to reimburse the salary paid to me until that date.

Due to certain personal reasons and the immature infrastructure set up in the company, I just suspended (not resigned) my activities and informed them via email. They asked me to return the company belongings, which I did after a few days.

They had inquired via email in many ways whether my suspended activity is an intimation of resignation, which I clarified by explaining that it aligns with the vocabulary meaning for suspended acts. I am still abstaining from duty.

The bond was signed by one surety and myself upon joining, which was handed over to them. Does this bond have any legal validity?

Now, my query is, can the company legally pursue action against me for violating the bond? Please advise. Will this specific case support my argument that I only suspended activities and did not resign?

Dear,

Without reading the terms and conditions of your bond and appointment letter, it is very difficult to comment.

Thanks,
J.S. Malik

Dear Mr. Mallik,

Thank you for the update.

In my appointment letter, it is specified as follows:

Training/Probation Period:

1. You will be imparted On Job Training (OJT) for a period of 3 months from the date of your joining and will be put on probation during this period. On satisfactory completion of the probationary period, you will be confirmed in the service of the company. If your work and conduct during this period are not satisfactory, the probation period may be extended at the discretion of the management.

2. You will be required to execute a bond before joining the company under this letter of appointment, to serve the company for a minimum period of ONE year from the date of joining failing which you will refund the company the entire amount of payment made to you during the training cum probation period, besides reimbursements of all expenses incurred on account of your training with the company.

There was no dedicated training on any product channel officially. It was a fetch and collect situation.

Now, please advise whether any legal situation exists from the above offer letter picks.

Dear RSGK75,

There is no legal validity of an employee bond. The company has no right to claim any money other than loans and advances given to the employee and amounts spent on training (this should be stated in the appointment letter).

You can search my previous post on this site for details.

Regards,
SC

Dear rsgk75,

Employment bonds are generally meant to retain people of high liquidity. However, in most cases, enforcing employment bonds is not practical. It's theoretically possible but practically nearly impossible to enforce employment bonds. If your employer really wants to make you uncomfortable, they can harass you. But at the end of the day, nothing will happen.

My only advice to you is to secure your experience and relieving letters.

Regards,

Dear RSGK75,

From the Training/Probation Period clause 2 of the contract quoted by you, it appears that you had undertaken to refund any amounts spent by your employer company on training you should you leave the job before completing 1 year of employment. Given that you state that there was hardly any training provided, I do not expect that you need to worry too much about the compensation to be paid. In this regard, please note that I am also in agreement with prakunna and jay22877.

Wishing you the best of luck.

Hi,

My query here is if the person does not pay up the amount as mentioned in the bond agreement, will the company issue an experience certificate? One of my friends is in a bond for 3 years and has now completed 1 and a half years. She has completed her probation/training period too. She's looking to move abroad. Will this bond be a problem in her employment abroad or for any of her immigration processes?

Bindiya.

Dear rsgk75,

Obtaining a bond from a prospective employee is unconstitutional.

An employer can take a bond for certain years/months of service of an employee to the extent of recovering the cost of training only. This is valid for in-service employees also. To provide some training, the employer may ask for a service bond.

By calling it a "Training", the employer cannot fix a cost to "work" and claim for a bond.

During "training," the employee should "learn/train" and not "produce."

During OJT (if taken as training), the employee must work under supervision. Working independently cannot be termed as training.

Regards,
I B Mahapatra

Can anybody please highlight some case references regarding employment bonds that prove them as illegal or unconstitutional, as stated by experts in the discussion?

Thank you all, that clears the line. But please also suggest if the bond which I had signed contained the following terms as attached.

Irrespective of whatever your letter/bond contains that seems to be forcing you to stay for 1 year, if you have decided to quit, then there is nothing that can go against you. The employer cannot do anything to you legally. But apart from legal concerns, watch out for innovative ways of harassment by them; although, those will also subside after some time.

So, don't worry, be happy, and may you get a better job soon.

Prashant

Hi, I am in a really tense situation nowadays. The problem is I have signed a bond with one airline that will send me abroad for training on a particular aircraft. They have made a bond that after training, I have to serve the company for 7 years, and the bond amount is 20 lakh, which they claim is the training cost, but in reality, it is not more than 5 lakh. It has been over a month since I signed the bond, and they haven't sent me abroad for training. Luckily, I have received an offer from another airline, and therefore, I want to leave this company and join the other. However, it is stated in the bond that I can't leave or resign before 7 years from the date of appointment; otherwise, it will be considered a breach, and they have the right to claim 20 lakh from me. I have not undergone any training abroad with them to date. The total bond is one-sided, meaning everything is in their favor; if they terminate my contract or if I resign, they can still charge me 20 lakh. Can anyone advise me on how I can leave the company without facing legal actions that could harm my career? Thanks in advance.

Is this type of termination clause valid for an agreement/bond?


This sentence is correctly written, but it can be improved for clarity and formality. Here is a revised version:

"Is this type of termination clause valid for an agreement or bond?"

Hi all, This is Nikki. Two weeks ago, I joined a job by signing a 3-year bond. It specified that I should work there for 3 years. If I breach the bond, I must pay 1.5 lakh; otherwise, they would file a case against me in court. Now, I have received a good job offer from an MNC, and I want to join there. If I quit this job, will they file a case against me in court? I am just worried about that. Can anyone tell me the solution?

Thanks,
Nikki Sam