Navigating Employment Bond Dispute and Legal Action for Training Cost Recovery at HCL Comnet

I left HCL Comnet on 7/6/07, exactly a year after my joining date. I signed a service agreement with them for 1 year. When I left, I was told that I needed to pay 5 Lacs; otherwise, my relieving letter would not be given. I also signed another bond when I went to the USA for project migration. That bond was called the Overseas Training Agreement Bond, which was effective from 9/06 till 9/7.

When I looked at the full and final settlement letter issued by HCL Comnet, it stated that 5 lacs were recovered towards the service agreement. How can they do that since I have completed 1 year of service with the company, and that bond is invalid?

Now, after two years, I woke up, but it's never too late. Can anyone tell me how I can proceed legally to recover 5 Lacs from that company? I don't mind losing another 1 Lakh rupees towards court expenses, but I want to know what the chances are of winning this case.

Hi Kripakaran,

Though it is late, have you brought this to the notice of HR now? If the reply from them is not convincing, send an email to the CEO. After this, you can look for a legal route.

Regards,
Sriram N

Hi Sriram and all,

Thank you - I have sent a formal notice via registered post to the head office in Noida. I have also sent a notice to the HR, Srivastav and Satish in Chennai, who have wrongly recovered from me. I will be filing a legal suit against them in August once I receive their reply.

Thank you.

Your grievance is not clear. You worked in HCL under a service bond for 1 year and then, after making another bond (overseas training bond), went to the USA and completed one year of training. Then left?

If the overseas training is for one year, then the bond may not be for that period of one year of training. If the company is sending you abroad for one-year training, the clause in the training might be that you should serve the company for 5 years, 7 years, or such longer years. That means, after completion of such overseas training, you should work with the company for at least 5/7 years, failing which Rs 5 Lakhs would be recovered as training cost. Is it so? Please clarify.

Though an employment bond is not valid, the employer can recover any cost of training which he has given to the employee if such employee leaves the employer before a stipulated period. Therefore, study the bond and get back to us.

Regards,

Madhu.T.K

Let me be very clear here - I joined HCL Comnet on 6/6/2006 all the recruitment activities happened via email.

One of the main reasons for my leaving was because of too many night and odd hour shifts. I SPECIFICALLY told before the joining date that I would not be working in full night shifts, and I got a confirmation from the recruiter saying it would not be full night shifts (See the mail thread from my Gmail for reference).

Also, see point number 2:

As a corporation, don't want to be professional & ethical, and how can they expect an individual to be professional & ethical?

1. I am expecting about *** Lacs CTC PA, and I feel the offer which I got is a little lower. Since NOIDA is too far from my hometown, I will have to spend lots of money on transportation and other expenses.
- We have given you a considerable hike; I hope you have checked the per month intake in the salary sheet. As far as relocation is concerned, it's a one-time expense that has been committed to you in a separate commitment letter.

2. I need a 30-day notice period as I cannot leave my company before they find a replacement for my position. I am currently involved in many upgrade projects, so it will be very difficult to join in such a short notice period. I would need about 30 days to join.
- 30 days of joining would not be practically possible. This will affect our project delivery. If you are concerned about the relieving letter, then we can waive off that part. Kindly shoot a resignation email to your reporting manager & keep my email ID in BCC. If I get this mail, I would not require any relieving letter.

3. It was mentioned that the job involves night shifts, but it will be very difficult for me to work in continuous night shifts as I will be getting married in about 6 months' time. (I am currently working on rotating shifts).
- It will not only be night shifts; it will be rotational.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I was sent to the USA for project transition. AGAIN, there was not a single hour of training given to me while I was in HCL Comnet. (In fact, I had taken many training sessions for the HCL Comnet employees in Lotus Notes and Domino).

About the project transition: You know the employees in the client company in the USA left or were fired once the contract was given to HCL Comnet, and hence I was all alone handling the day-to-day activities and passing on the information on the existing setup to the offshore team. I signed another bond called 'overseas training bond.' In the bond, it was mentioned that the bond is valid from the day I land in India, and so I landed in India in September.

After I landed, I was told to work in full night shifts, and I sent an email to the HR attaching the above mail from the recruiter. They told me to work in late evening shifts for 3 months (my health was significantly affected, and I was too stressed - I was actually addicted to a medicine called Stressnil (a sleeping tablet - now I don't have that habit as I started my own business and am living happily).

I handed in my resignation giving 1 month's notice, and my last day was fixed for 8/6/07, which was exactly 1 year after my joining period.

My full and final settlement letter states they recovered my service agreement bond amount, not the training bond amount, as I was not provided any training.

Let me know what you think or what additional information you require.

I have lots of email proofs that can tell I started working on the overseas project on the day one of my US arrival rather than getting trained by an overseas trainer. Almost all in that particular project left without telling or absconded due to some internal issues. I was the only one who had left properly.

Without studying all the relevant documents, it'll be hard to comment. If you are in Delhi or nearby, you could contact me - I may be able to advise you accordingly.

Regards,
H. Prasad
SR TRAINER & CONSULTANT

Hi Prasad,

My telephone number is 09789993031. Please SMS me, and I will contact you on your phone.

Still, the period of the bond is not clear. Whatever you have highlighted are your dealings with the employer. There may be a breach of contract from the employer's side. If so, you can win the battle if moved as a civil suit and not from a Labour Law point as you will not come under the definition of a workman/employee.

All the best.

Madhu.T.K

Let me be more clear about the Bond Period. I joined this company on 8th June 2006 and signed a bond called a service agreement. It was on a Rs. 20 stamp paper, I guess. After a month, I was sent to the USA for some project transition work. I was not aware of this bond before joining, but I had to sign as I had no choice. Maybe I was a little surprised to learn about my USA project work before one month of joining this company.

I signed a second bond on the day I was to travel. It was stated that the bond is valid for one year from the day I return, and I returned on 25th Sep 2006. It was said to be a training bond, but as per my experience, I received no training hours.

I left the company exactly one year after joining, on 7th June 2007. I paid 5 Lacs to obtain my relieving letter.

Two years later, I checked my full and final settlement, and it stated that my bond recovery is for the service agreement. However, the service agreement is for just one year, which I completed.

Now, is this a civil or criminal case, or is it related to labor law?

It is very simple - I joined on 8th June 2006 and signed a 1-year service agreement. I left on 7th June 2007. I signed a second bond in September 2006 before I went to the USA for work for three months on a project. This bond was said to be effective from the day I returned. This bond was called an overseas training agreement. I returned to India in September 2006, and that bond was supposed to be valid until September 2007. My full and final settlement states that they have recovered for the service agreement and not for the overseas training agreement as they did not provide any training. Now, is the second bond valid or the first bond?

In your case, it is not falling within the purview of labor law. It is to be taken up as a civil suit as it involves a breach of contract.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Yes, sir. I finally decided to take on HCL and hence filed a case in the Chennai High Court today.

I have been selected as a Trainee in HCL Comnet. The agreement bond is for 18 months. I am going to join there within 3 days. I am nervous about what you people have discussed here. I also cannot work in continuous night shifts. How is the work there?