Company Keeps Half Salary Of Employee's 1st Month Returned On Completion Of 1 Year?

Our office has working hours from 9:30 to 6:30 and all Saturdays are working but timings are 9:30 to 5 pm. And also keep half salary of employee for the 1st month which is returned only after completion of 1 year. Are these valid conditions for a Pvt Ltd company.
Kindly explain.

Under Delhi Shops and Establishment Act :-
Section 8. Employment of adults, hours of work. -No adult shall be employed or allowed to work about the business of an establishment for more than nine hours on any day or 48 hours in any week and the occupier shall fix the daily periods of work accordingly.
So you are fine there.
But retention of wages is wroong both in Shops Act and Payment of Wages Act
for details

This is a kind of employee retaining strategy. Many companies are following such strategy. Apparently the company must have an agreement with the employee accepting the same before joining. Any verbal communication with regard to withholding salary amount will be null and void. However, any terms and conditions stands basis on cordial relationships with each other.

Even if there are such terms and conditions, they are null and void being opposed to public policy.

Dear Puja,
Legality of retention of half month's salary can be assessed depending how it is communicated to the employee. Suppose while issuing the appointment letter, it is mentioned that for the first month, the salary will be "X" and second month onward it will be "2X" then I do not think that it can be questioned. This is because terms and conditions of employment are specified in the appointment letter and employee accepted those. Therefore,grumbling at later stage is not worthwhile.
Going further, many employers communicate about retention of 50% salary at the time of recruitment itself and later they make this provision of deduction and disbursement after one year in the letter of appointment. Will any law prohibit doing this? As long as minimum wages are paid in the first month, everything is fine!
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

Like these classes never mentioned in the appointment letters. More over in LOCAL shop and commercial establishment never issued appointment letters. Mostly do not maintain salary records on papers. A lump-sum amount is debited in accounts books in salary/wages heads without names. These all are the verbal agreements to retain the person only in case of the satisfaction of the employer. If employer not satisfied, he kicks the employee and it is on the mercy of employer to give the retained salary or not. Person may not take any action against the employer, because there is not a written agreement and name is not show any where in the records. As such employee leave the salary retained instead of legal implications. Because legal implications spoiled the record of the person and he has to devote time for it, which is not possible for him.

In addition to the above you may see in the commercial establishments are open from 9.00 AM to late hours PM. Ask any employee whether he is paid any kind of compensation for the period more than 8 hours. This is the exploitation of workers, which should be checked by the labour department, but many times you may see the officials of the labour department off time shopping.

Duration of work mentioned is not wrong. About salary as others said, it depends as mentioned in your offer / appointment letter. Further, if you are under training for the first month, there are terms and conditions supporting the same. Even if it is not communicated to you and they have documented it in such a way and got your signature on the same during the time of recruitment "coz that is when you sing on all the papers without reading"!!

Dear Dinesh Diwakar
Any retention and deduction as you have discribed is a violation of sec 6 and 7 of the payment of wages act. Most of the shop and establishment acts also provide similar rules. Whether communicated before or not, it is illegal. These laws are intended to prevent exploitation of workers who can't stand up to employers.
The only way this would be allowed is if the appointment letter had only the 50% of salary mentioned as the actual salary and provided for a retaintion bonus of 1 years salary on completion of a year of service.