Is It Legal for Companies to Hold Original Certificates During Probation? Seeking Advice

Hi Experts, Management in my company directed us to keep the original educational certificates as security until the completion of the probation period of three months. I want to know, is it legal? Do we have any Act/Law against or in favor of this?

If we lose any of these certificates, then who will be legally accountable for this? Is it the Management who gave these directions in writing or the executive who is taking these certificates into their custody and providing an acknowledgment of the same?

Please share your thoughts on this.

Regards

Keeping original certificates is both unethical and illegal. Please click on the links in the sidebar on the right, where this topic has been covered a number of times.

Has the management given these instructions in writing?

As rightly mentioned by Simhan, it is both unethical and illegal. The company retains the original certificates not as security but to hold the employees until the employer needs them.

As rightly mentioned by Simhan, it is unethical and illegal too. The company keeps the original certificates not as security but to hold the employees until the employer's need.

Companies retain the original certificates of newly joined employees to prevent sudden exits. There are numerous cases of employment abandonment. To address this challenge, companies resort to this method. Since the certificates are held by the company, an employee who wishes to resign must adhere to the notice period or separation norms by necessity.

Retention Period for Certificates

Why retain certificates for only three months? Some companies retain certificates for as long as five years. However, once you accept the certificates, the responsibility for their custody lies with you. You need to issue an acknowledgment letter stating what kind of certificates you possess and when they will be returned.

Considerations Beyond Certificate Retention

There is another perspective to consider. If the situation necessitates retaining certificates, it highlights issues in recruitment practices, the career-consciousness of candidates, salary alignment with market standards, and, above all, the culture of your organization. Retention of educational certificates is only a temporary measure; however, you need to address the root cause, which may lie elsewhere. Investigate why people are quitting.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

Checking the original against the photocopy and thereafter returning the original is fine. Retention of the original certificates is not professional. Don't join an organization that is asking you to submit originals for their record and custody.

Concerns About Retaining Original Documents

It is really shocking that original documents were kept in the custody of an employer, which is illegal and unethical. This situation provokes the issue of bonded labor, which was completely abolished by the Government of India.

Thanks and regards,

Sumit Kumar Saxena

Understanding Employee Retention Challenges in Today's Job Market

I have gone through your post. You appear to be detached from the current realities of the job market. In the preceding generation, job opportunities were limited; hence, retaining employees was not a big challenge. Today, job opportunities are plentiful. Against this backdrop, employees play truant. To contain the sudden exit of employees, companies resort to seemingly devious means of keeping the original certificates. It acts as a hedge to ensure that the employees work as per their notice period.

In today’s world, everybody wants to work in branded companies. In that case, where will SMEs go? Getting quality manpower is a huge challenge for them. They end up with rejects or stragglers. These individuals may not be career-conscious. They do not see anything wrong with abandoning their employment.

A friend of mine who runs a photo studio was fed up with sudden staff exits. Finally, he started keeping the first month’s salary as a security deposit. He thought that at least for the sake of money, people would stay. However, this method also did not work 100%. In certain cases, employees reconciled with the loss of the security deposit and left anyway. They did not even bother to come back to claim their first month’s salary.

Ethics and Accountability in Employment

Legality aside, why should ethics apply only to employers? Shouldn’t employees also be held accountable for leaving their services without notice? Aren’t they supposed to work as per their notice period? Let’s apply ethics to both sides and not just one. The sudden exit of employees disrupts the employers’ work. To maintain work continuity, staff retention is essential. Therefore, retaining original certificates is out of compulsion and not to display high-handedness.

I hope I have presented the viewpoint from the other side. However, please do not misinterpret this as me advocating for the employers.

Thanks,

Regards,
Dinesh Divekar
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

As per Section 27 of the Indian Contract Law, it is illegal.