Is It Legal for My Company to Force Me to Use Their Transport After 8 PM? Seeking Urgent Advice

Hi, Guys, I am facing a situation at my workplace. My company (a BPO/IT firm) provides transport facilities, with additional security for women working after 8 pm. However, the rules for women's transportation are as follows:

1. Women CANNOT use their own vehicles after 8 pm; they MUST take the company transport (two violations of the said rule are thought to lead to immediate termination).

2. If they are not using company transport, they may ONLY be allowed to leave the company premises IF they are escorted by their FATHER, BROTHER, or HUSBAND.

Now, as a woman who has been driving her own vehicle since the age of 18, I have repeatedly told the transport department and HR that I AM WILLING TO LEAVE ON MY OWN COGNIZANCE and have offered to provide them with a written letter or affidavit stating this. Instead, I have been told that as per the latest Karnataka laws, it is MANDATORY to take the company transport after 8 pm.

Is It Legal for the Company to Enforce This Rule?

Is it legal for the company to force an employee to utilize the company transport, especially when she is willing to assume all the risks of traveling on her own and is willing to provide a statement to that effect?

I have gone through the Karnataka Shops & Establishment Act and the Factories Act, and there is no mention of any guidelines pertaining to women using their own vehicles. Please let me know if there is any specific statute or law that allows me to use my vehicle.

Please provide links or reference numbers of the law/statute/circular as I will be escalating this issue.

Kindly note that getting my brother, father, or husband to escort me is out of the question as I do not have a brother, my father is deceased, and my husband's office is 20 km away from mine (one way).

Your urgent help is solicited.

Considering the cases of sexual assault on women that have taken place in the past few years, these stringent rules are made. However, their strictness needs to be verified. What are your shift timings? Where is your office located in Bangalore, and how far is your home from your office? What advantages will you get if you travel by your own vehicle? Is it a 4-wheeler or a 2-wheeler?

If you are insistent on going home on your own, then I recommend you one solution. You may find out the labor office of your area and discuss your problem with the labor officer. I foresee that he would recommend you avail company transport, yet he will tell you the exact rule circulated by the Department of Labor, Government of Karnataka. If the rule is flexible, then approach the HR department with a copy of this letter and find out what their take is on this matter.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Greetings,

This is the effect of implementing blanket rules without planning for pros and cons! Please find out if a Notary would help. I know IT Parks that need to abide by these rules, as dictated by the MIDC/Special Economic zones.

Not sure how many considerations can companies make on their own. However, a letter from a legal authority might help.

Wish you all the best!

Hi Dinesh,

Thank you for your response. My only concern is that in the interest of saving themselves, the company is resorting to Draconian measures, much like Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, I will do as you suggested.

However, if anyone finds the specific links/statutes/laws, it would be greatly appreciated. I am aiming to go back to HR with specifics so that they cannot give me a runaround.

Furthermore, I feel that if you have given women the right to vote, the right to an education, the least you can do is to credit her with the ability to assess the risks of a particular course of action.

Understanding the Context of Transportation Rules

You have written that "[My only concern is that in the interest of saving themselves, the Company is resorting to Draconian measures, much like Saudi Arabia]." It would be unfair to comment or pass judgments unless one properly understands the context under which the rules are made. As of now, you have not read the rule issued by the Department of Labor, Government of Karnataka.

When an employer runs an organization, he/she has to take into account the safety and security of all the women personnel. While forced transportation might not suit you, it could be suiting other women employees very well. Cases of sexual assault are rare; nevertheless, even one such instance becomes an ordeal for the woman employee and the employer as well.

Rules are designed keeping in mind the interests of society at large, and exceptions are ignored. Therefore, you are jumping the gun by comparing the rule with some country in the Middle East.

India is awash with news channels. To satiate their news hunger, these channels are forever looking for a mole so that they can create a mountain out of it. Employers cannot overlook this factor.

Show patience. Go to the Department of Labor, raise a Right to Information (RTI) query on the rules of transportation for women employees, and obtain a copy of the rule. Please make opinions thereafter.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Apart from the notifications, orders, and guidelines according to the prevalent labor statutes, there are several rules a company may make for the sake of legal compliance or to safeguard the interests of its employees. Rules are made for the majority of the employees, and there can be a few notable exceptions. However, it is up to the company to relent or not. In case the company thinks that it is more judicious not to allow for any exceptions, then you do not have any other choice but to comply or break free of the company. The company feels that the safety of their employees is paramount and cannot be compromised.

If the company is providing safe transport for its women employees in compliance with the laws, then one should comply rather than attempting to breach it for one's ego satisfaction or some minor gains and a few minutes of time saved.

Warm regards.

Transportation Guidelines for Women

The guidelines for the transportation of women were issued by the Karnataka government under the Police Act. The Shops and Commercial Establishments Act has not been amended, which is why you cannot find it there.

I do not think the circular or the law can prevent you from using your own car to and from work. It would be a violation of the constitutional right to freedom and the right to equality. Ask HR for a copy of the notification. Review it, and you will know what the circular actually says. Unfortunately, I have not read it.

Regards

Hi Dinesh, Thanks for your input. I am all for following the rules, which is why I am patiently seeking clarity through this forum and other channels. Sadly, most of the posts on this topic have stated that an employer must seek a waiver if a female wishes to use her own transport, with no specifics being provided: Here's what companies should do to ensure the safety of staff working in night shifts: Akshatha M - Citizen Matters, Bangalore News.

Regarding the draconian comment, it was only because I had received a "We don't want to take any chances" response from HR, without providing any factual basis (if any). Please do not jump to the conclusion that this issue is being raised for the purpose of yellow journalism, or by an angsty, hysterical female desperate to drive her shiny car.

Continuing the discussion, you have stated "Rules are designed keeping in mind the interests of the society at large and exceptions are ignored." However, those rules are not supposed to impinge on basic constitutional rights of freedom and equality. If you still think I am being a sensationalist, ask yourself, what kind of an outcry would occur if men were barred from using their vehicles after 8 pm because there is a chance that they may rape women in their vehicles?

Thanks again for your help. I am following your course of action; however, as you stated, it is a slightly drawn-out process. I assure you that till then I shall not be screaming in various channels nor picketing the office compound.

God Bless!

Further reading for those perusing this thread:
IT firms relieved as Karnataka government clarifies on security rules for female employees - timesofindia-economictimes

Update on the latest circular to provide security for women post 6:45 pm.

I agree with you. However, to say "I do not think the circular or the law can prevent you from using your own car to and from work. It would be a violation of the constitutional right to freedom and right to equality." may not be perfectly correct.

Here, there is no violation of fundamental rights involved unless any of such provisions, which are laid down by Act or rightful competent authority, are struck down by the Constitutional Bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court.

For example, the "odd and even" car rule in Delhi; does it violate anyone's fundamental right of having a duly lawfully registered vehicle and not being allowed to drive it on certain days, even if there is an emergency or disaster?

Does barring a person without tickets to travel on a train infringe on his fundamental right?

Or the policy of reservation, does it violate the Right to Equality of those who are not covered under it?

My comments are only illustrative and not meant to offend or criticize.

Warm regards.

Raj, I do not get offended by discussion.

Constitutional Concerns with the Odd-Even Rule

The odd-even rule, if it were challenged the right way, would be struck down not for the restrictions themselves but because of exemptions given to certain sections of the population. It would be struck down not on the right to freedom but on the right to equality. However, in this particular case, the restriction would be on the freedom of a certain section of the population from driving their own vehicle while allowing the rest to go ahead. It would certainly fall afoul of the constitution. Anyway, that is for lawyers to argue in court.

Uncertainty Regarding HR's Contention

In the relevant matter, without seeing the actual circular, I don't think we can really say whether the contention of HR is right that she will be terminated if she drives home on her own.

Regards

I appreciate the comments. In fact, such rules are made keeping in mind the masses and the underprivileged who may not be fortunate to have their own transport. Even though it might put a few in inconvenience, just like people driving BMWs, Audis, Toyota Land Cruisers, etc., may find the existing speed limits in India irksome and a waste of time. However, the government must think of the pedestrians and people on the pavement.

At the same time, the companies are incurring huge costs in providing such protection to women employees. I am afraid some unscrupulous companies at some point in the future may ask all women employees at the time of joining to give an undertaking that they must use their own transport and indemnify the company of any security responsibility. We must be astute enough to think beyond and also consider the potential misuse.

Warm regards.

All fundamental rights are not absolute and are subject to some reasonable restrictions. What is reasonable or not is for the court to decide. Now, this restriction of traveling in the company's vehicle with an armed security guard, as stipulated by the company, appears to be reasonable (to me), considering the sheer number of rape cases all over the country and even abroad.

What exactly offends the lady in question (apart from her freedom of action/choice) is, however, not clear.