How Much Should an HR Service Bond Cost? Seeking Advice on Setting the Right Amount

Hi, I am working as an HR Manager. I want my employees to sign a service bond. Can anyone guide me on how much money the bond agreement should specify for signing?

Legality of Bonded Labor in India

Bonded labor is illegal in India; hence, this kind of bond or agreement to hold an employee has no legal meaning. The Supreme Court has clearly stated that one cannot prevent an employee from joining another company for their betterment. Through a bond, you can only recover the amount spent on an employee for special training, if provided, and nothing more. If you have provided any special training to the employee, then you can recover the amount equivalent to the training cost.

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The training costs should be clearly quantifiable.

Beyond that, nothing can be easily recovered from an exiting employee. As a sidelight, consider "resource" as a human employee with his/her own needs and mind.

[Employees must be treated as human beings not 'doings' | Business in the Community](http://www.bitc.org.uk/blog/post/employees-must-be-treated-human-beings-not-doings)

Legally, you can't bind an employee. If you do, and the employee challenges it by approaching legal authority, you could be in trouble.

The service bond is a gentleman's agreement. It is not valid in law.

You can take a bond according to the cadre amount reasonably decided by the management and as agreed upon by the employee while taking up employment. There is no hard and fast rule in this regard.