Is My Cousin Liable for the Full Surety Bond After Resigning Early from His IT Job?

Dear HR Professionals,

My cousin, who is working with an IT company, has recently resigned for a valid reason. His surety bond is for 18 months, and he has completed just 10 months. As per the contract, it is definitely a breach of contract. He has resigned and is now serving his notice period. Would he be liable to pay the entire bond amount for the said period? He has received training for just one month or so. Please advise.

You have given a reply in your post itself. The letter of appointment is a contract between the employer and the employee. If a contract is signed, then contractual obligations need to be fulfilled. Has it been mentioned in the appointment letter that if the resignation is for valid reasons, then no bond payment needs to be made? Secondly, how do we assess the validity of the reason(s) for the resignation?

Earlier, there were posts that stated that taking a bond from an employee is illegal. Please check this forum and find out whether you can locate that thread. Also, your cousin needs to be prepared to fight the case in court to prove that the terms of the appointment letter were illegal. Is he ready for that?

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

I have gone through the same situation. It is a service agreement between the two parties, with a mention of surety in the letter of undertaking. Such agreements are new to me. He can resign if unable to discharge duties, but it clearly states that he is liable to pay damages to the company, and a certain lump sum is mentioned. He will certainly not fight the matter in legal court. They have elaborated so much on training, and I have checked with him. Since he has completed just 10 months, the training was just for 3 weeks.

Negotiating the Surety Bond

How well can he negotiate on this surety bond? I have read the previous threads, but people have absconded, and he has not. What is the best way out here?

Regards