Is It Legal to Collect Original Certificates to Curb Attrition in the Oil/Gas Industry?

Hi,

I am working in the Oil/Gas Industry as an HR Officer, and due to a high attrition rate, our MD has asked to collect the Original Certificates from all our existing employees, which I personally feel is not legal.

Kindly give me some advice on these points:
- By collecting Original Certificates, can we reduce the attrition rate?
- What are the other options to reduce this attrition problem?
- Is collecting Original Certificates legal?

Please revert as this is URGENT.

Thanks,
Jyoti

Collecting original certificates is not illegal. However, candidates would be reluctant to join you once they come to know that they have to submit their originals. To reduce attrition, first find the root cause for the same. Once you find the cause, you can work towards retaining your employees.

Regards,
Dixita

Hi,

You can't reduce the attrition rate by asking for the originals. Even if you retain the originals, you can't keep them if the person leaves your organization. Using such a practice will not help you attract talent. A better option would be to implement a bond period, but for that, you would need to seek legal advice first.

Amit Goyal
9811558950

Hi Joyti,

Question: What happens if people don't want to give you their original certificates? Fire them? What are you going to do then? You can't force people to give you their personal belongings, and I think it is not illegal to ask, but it is wrong to insist.

My humble thoughts.

Regards,
Ricardo

Sorry, I missed this one out.

You have to find other ways and means to prevent or reduce the problem. Find out the real reason first, then tackle the issue.

My humble thoughts.

Regards, Ricardo

Hi,

As suggested by other members, you have to dig into the reasons for high attrition. This may be a reason for looking into your recruitment process.

a) Which positions have high attrition?
b) Are you hiring the right people for the right job?
c) Are the job descriptions clear for each position?
d) Are any false promises being made during the hiring process?

Finally, identify the managers under whom attrition is maximum and counsel/train them on retention --- People leave Managers, not organizations.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Rajeev

Hi,

I feel you should first find out the root cause of attrition. Secondly, you can't stop anyone from leaving the organization if they have decided. And you have to submit their originals once they quit. It is better to adopt a bond policy for which many candidates are not ready. So try to find the root cause of attrition.

All the best.

With warm regards,
Karuuna

Hello everyone,

In my opinion:

1. You can ask them to present their original documents; there is no need to keep them on record. Instead, you can keep photocopies duly signed by a gazetted officer.

2. It is crucial to retain potential employees, even at a high cost. It is very challenging to find these employees.

Kind regards,
HASSAN

Please suggest where it is mentioned that the original certificates can be kept by the employer. Is there any law/Act/case law suggesting this?

Thank you.

Good question by csjmohanty74,

First of all, we must understand that all testimonials of the employees or candidates appearing for an interview are their personal property. No organization can force anyone, except to verify the original authenticity of the document and ensure it's not fake, for a limited timeframe where the organization has to return the employee's documents.

Just for the interest of being employed, you cannot force an employee to sacrifice their life for your organization. Your boss is completely uncivilized and has a criminal mindset. He cannot forcibly threaten employees with termination if they do not submit the original documents; this behavior is unacceptable.

I am sharing my response with him for his information.

If you want to retain employees, you can do so by adopting good HR practices or market practices and benchmarking best practices to attract, retain, and reward employees.

Regards,
Sawant

Dear all,

Very interesting topic. Nowadays, employers are devising these kinds of unethical strategies to retain people. But do you think it's the right thing to do? There is a saying that you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink; the same applies to employees. You may keep them with you for some time by adopting such unethical practices, but eventually, they will start seeking other opportunities. Once they have decided to leave the organization, you can't stop them.

The best way to retain employees is to create a working environment so positive that people genuinely enjoy coming to work. Another relevant saying is, "If you love your job, you won't feel like you're working a single day to earn your bread and butter." I believe some employers might be browsing through this site.

Regards,

Hi,

I completely agree with Sawant. Collecting the original certificates is absurd. First, try to find out why so many people are leaving the company and try to correct that. As long as you leave the cause of attrition unsolved, you cannot control the effect of it, which is attrition. Try to check other ways of retaining people like employee engagement programs, rewards, etc. You can find loads of info on these on citehr. All the best...

Dear,

Keeping the original certificate falls under the purview of unfair labor practices and will be subject to the Bonded Labor Act of 1976. This constitutes forced labor. I have the freedom to leave any organization, whereas here, you are forcing me to stay, which goes against my constitutional rights.

Dear, please identify the root cause of attrition and work on it. Do not engage in any unlawful activities. Even if you start practicing this, no good person will join your organization.

Thank you.

J.S. Malik

Dear Malik Sir,

I have read your views across citehr regarding the submission of original certificates. I am an HR person in a mid-sized architectural firm. Please read the below situation and tell me if your views are the same.

Our Company Situation:

"In the last three years, we were facing the problem of absconding employees (no proper handover). There are very few employees who have left the company on a good note. Some employees have even hassled with the company data too. Now, these employees were all within the tenure of 1.5 years of service.

Seeing the tenure, one can understand it's a short time for employees to get fully associated with the company. The major reason for this absconding act was the mindset of these employees - casual nature, no ownership in the work, too much demanding of monetary raise, 9 to 6 working mentality, etc."

The only solution for not repeating the absconding cases in the future was as follows:

As we give security to employees about his job, career growth, salary, perks, etc Company also wants all employees to give them security for 2 years by submitting one original certificate to the company. In these 2 years, if an employee wants to leave the organization for any reason, the company will issue the document on an immediate basis. Even if anyone wants the certificate for some purpose of education or loan, etc., the company will issue it for those many days and again retain it.

"This policy was written on stamp paper, and one copy was given to the employees."

Purpose:
1. Proper handover
2. Less mental stress
3. Good relations with ex-employees
4. Talented ex-employees can be re-hired.
5. Good examples could be set over a period, and others will follow it slowly.

Now, friends, tell me if I am wrong anywhere except for the unethical and ethical aspect.

Because I know if we are giving a copy of the agreement to the employees, we know they can put a case on the company if management defaults. But the company's objective is very simple, and we don't want to do any malpractices, so only we are keeping the system transparent. Our employees even know the bank locker no. where the certificates are kept.

Your inputs, please!!!

Retaining the original certificates by the employer is not a crime or illegal. No law or act is required for it. It is just like a condition in the offer letter; like 1 or 2 months' notice period. It is not a form of bonded labor or the like. Such practices cannot be avoided in some sectors where quick turnover of employees is more common. It also helps to prevent unnecessary legal complications or expenses in cases against absconders.

BUT SAFE CUSTODY OF THE ORIGINALS IS MOST IMPORTANT

Original certificates are the property of candidates/employees. You cannot insist on keeping them in your custody as a guarantee against employment. This is a bad HR practice.

Partho

Dear Parthasarthi,

You must have heard about many HR practices of reputed companies like Infosys, Cambridge Solutions, Mahindra Satyam, etc., which have various security policies in place. For example, at Infosys, an employee may have their own Fixed Deposit (FD) of Rs 50,000 and is required to deposit all original documents related to that FD with the company. The company returns the documents after a specific tenure. Isn't this the employee's property?

However, these practices are not malevolent actions by the company. They are implemented for safe handling, transparency, and to build trust on both sides.

Our company is of medium size, and our employees may not be able to afford such deductions or deposits. Therefore, we believe that retaining original documentation for two years is the safest option for both parties.

Your comments and feedback are welcomed!

Best regards

You might as well tie down the employed in "shackles and handcuffs." Get real, MD. Do I get a sense of insecurity in you? Are you losing employees? Have you found out the reason? It is time the MDs took up enabling elements in human resource management. Shackles and handcuffs were in the era of slavery, including British administration in India. India is now independent. Give your employees the space to breathe and grow. GUARANTEED they will grow with your organization and contribute a lot more than what you expect otherwise. VALUE PEOPLE... PEOPLE WILL VALUE YOUR ORGANIZATION IN RETURN.

Original certificates are things nobody would like to give. It is not illegal. But it's a kind of coercive approach - "You guys are leaving my company? Give me your docs and see how you fly." Huh