Is It Legal for Employers to Demand Both Notice and Payment? Seeking Advice on Bond Agreements

My question pertains to the organization where my friend is working. At the time of joining, he executed a bond for 2 years, deposited his SSC (10th) certificate, and was made to sign a 100 Rs bond paper. The statement on it indicates that if the employee wishes to leave the organization at any point during these 2 years, they must pay 3 months' basic salary to the organization. Additionally, a xerox copy of the bond was not provided to him.

However, his appointment letter mentioned that he could leave the organization with a 2 months' prior notice. Now, after working for 1 year, he has submitted his resignation, agreeing to give a 2 months' notice as per the appointment letter. Yet, his employer is insisting on both a 2 months' notice period and payment of 3 months' basic salary.

My request is for advice on how to proceed in this situation. Is this type of bonding process legal?

Best regards,
Prakaash

A recent judgment by the court of law has declared bonds as illegal in India. The employer can sue your friend, but at the end of the trial, it does not provide any relief. Hence, your friend's employer would likely not take this step. Your friend should cite some personal reasons for leaving the organization; otherwise, the organization may ask for compensation from him. He must resign in the proper format, giving a two-month notice period as per the appointment terms.

He can seek advice from someone familiar with the labor court who can send a notice to the employer to clear your friend's dues according to the appointment terms. The employer can only sue your friend in the court of law if they have incurred any training expenses.

Regards,
Taru

The very first thing I would suggest for your friend is to go and ask the employer for copies of the bond, which is his right, and he must obtain this.

Second, if his appointment letter states that he can provide two months' notice and leave after the completion of the notice period, he should do so while paying any loss to the employer as per the terms of the appointment letter and bond.

Third, there is no need to comply with any conditions imposed on him except those outlined in the appointment letter, which are what actually matter here. If he has the original copy of the appointment letter, I would suggest he request them by sending an email (a polite request via personal email) with an attached scanned copy of the appointment letter, stating that he is adhering to the terms and conditions written in the appointment letter and that the day of completion of the notice period would be his last day of employment.

Nothing more needs to be done as this is a completely ethical and professional step he can take here.

Resignation & Notice

Resignation and notice always create many confusions, problems, and misunderstandings/communications, which often bother both employee and employer badly. However, the employee must always take ethical and professional steps.

Regarding the bond, he should not worry about it because it can't bother him if he is sincerely and seriously obeying the terms of the appointment letter. I agree with Ms./Mrs. Taru that this bond obligation is just a professional act that helps both employee and employer follow an ethical employment culture and has no legal entity in India; therefore, it can't bother him.

SSC Certification

About the SSC certification that is with the company, you can also ask them to return it, as it is your right, and they have no right to keep it. I'm sure there are no terms and conditions in the bond or appointment letter that allow them to do this.

Ask them, and they have to return this to you; otherwise, you can seek legal help if they deny it in any case. I will provide further procedures after receiving your response in this regard.

Best of luck.

Problem with SSC Certificate Retention

The problem is that his SSC Certificate is with the company. It looks like he is stuck. I never approve of employers who keep certificates with them as it gives them superb leverage. If you do not do what the employer wants (and what he is saying is illegal), then your friend should approach the SSC Board for a duplicate of his certificate.

Regards

No employer is entitled to hold the certificates of any employee. Please go and fearlessly lodge a police complaint regarding it for the unlawful detention of your certificate. Secondly, I suppose that your friend has not received any type of training in lieu of which that bond was executed. Please understand that these types of fake bonds are not enforceable under Indian Law. On the contrary, you may seek police help against them. Go lodge an FIR against the employer. You will certainly get the remedy.

Thank you very much. I will ask him to follow your suggestions.

Moreover, friends, these situations happen to so many people, and I feel it is up to us to think carefully before executing these types of bonds to avoid getting stuck in such a difficult scenario.

Please check the following URLs for detailed discussions on the validity and applicability of employee bonds:

- [Employee Bonds Validity & Applicability](https://www.citehr.com/25557-employee-bonds-validity-applicability.html)
- [Validity of Bond in Service Agreement on Company's Letterhead per Indian Stamp Act](https://www.citehr.com/132733-validity-bond-service-aggrement-companys-letter-head-per-indian-stampact.html)
- [How valid are these employee contracts/bonds?](https://www.citehr.com/31082-how-valid-these-employee-contracts-bonds-2.html)
- [Legal Validity of Employment Bond](https://www.citehr.com/162292-legal-validity-employment-bond-2.html)

These threads discuss the same subject in a detailed manner. I hope you find them useful and that they guide you effectively.

Regards,

Dear Prakaash,

Just do not succumb to illegal pressure. We all should condemn this kind of practice and report such practices to the police. The bonded labor system is prohibited in India. All we need is to educate people about their rights.

Moreover, friends, these situations happen to so many people, and I feel it is up to us to think over and over before executing these types of bonds and not to get stuck in this worst scenario.

Regards,