Navigating HR Rules in India: Do Service Rules Apply to Non-Manufacturing Firms?

Dear Sir or Madam, I work in a multinational company with its headquarters in Singapore for the Asian region. I am looking for your guidance regarding some HR/Admin topics for India:

- Can you please clarify which type of companies have to put the so-called "service rules" in place? Can you provide more explanation on this? Is this mandatory? My company is a distributor... No manufacturing activities, only marketing, sales, and engineering.

- Regarding employees' records to be maintained by the employer (muster roll/wages/fines/deductions/loans and advances/bonuses paid...) for 3 years, can we keep these documents in Singapore? Or do we have to keep and maintain these documents in the local office in India?

Thank you a lot in advance!

Dear seniors, there is no written provision for files; only specified registers can be sufficient in labor laws.

Regards

As you mentioned, your company is not involved in manufacturing activities; hence, it falls under the Shops and Establishment Act. In India, most multinational and local companies have a Service Rule in place instead of a standing order.

Understanding Service Rules

The Service Rule is essentially a draft standing rule, akin to a company's own by-laws. Here, you can draft your company's norms, work style, legal stance, and other parameters.

Register and Records Maintenance

You must maintain registers and records with the respective branch office in India.

Regards,
UKS
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In different countries, the service rule is maintained. For example, in my country, we have a service rule according to our country's labor rules as we employ locals even though it's a multinational corporation. You can have your HR policies according to corporate rules and establish service rules according to the country's regulations. These rules are required to be endorsed by the country's labor officer so that you can present them as proof when the labor inspector checks.

Regards,
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