Is My Brother's Employment Bond Valid and How Can He Navigate Notice Period Challenges?

Dear Team, I am writing this on behalf of my brother. He posted the same query earlier, but he could not explain his problem properly due to language issues. My brother joined a small IT company almost 1 year and 9 months ago. Upon joining, the employer mentioned a bond for 2 years, submission of original certificates, and a notice period of 3 months. He submitted his originals during joining, but no bond was signed.

After joining, he faced challenges such as no salary hikes, no weekend holidays, and pressure to deliver outcomes quickly. Initially, the employer promised an appraisal after a 6-month probation period. However, when he approached management after 6 months for a salary hike, they delayed citing the need to assess his performance. After waiting another 6 months (completing 1 year), he politely requested a salary increase, but there was no change. He then informed them that he could not continue working due to the unmet appraisal promise. This led to pressure from the employer to sign a bond worth 20 rupees, a year after joining (with a different date that he was asked to put under his signature). He was not given a copy of the bond for reference.

Feeling stressed and with only a minimal hike offered, he plans to quit and find a new job promptly. He seeks advice on the following questions:

Is the bond valid?

1) Is the bond valid considering no special training was provided, only a month of normal training before work?

Notice period during bond or after completion

2) If the bond is valid, having completed 1 year and 9 months, can he serve a 3-month notice during the bond period or after its completion?

Receiving relieving and experience letters

3) If he resigns, will he receive his relieving and experience letters on time? How can he handle potential delays or non-issuance of these documents based on past experiences shared by ex-colleagues?

Your assistance in navigating this situation is greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Employee Rights and Employer Obligations

All these issues occur primarily where employees are not organized. An employer should not mistreat an employee in this manner. If a salary hike cannot be provided, it should be based on justified grounds such as poor performance. It is both unfair and illegal to deny an employee a weekly day off. While an employee can be asked to work on their day off, it should not become a regular practice.

Legality of Employment Bonds

Asking an employee to sign a bond is illegal. I am not questioning the legality of a stamp paper valued at Rs 20, but even if it is Rs 200, it holds the same value as a paper worth 20 paise. Since the bond itself is illegal, there is no question of serving the notice period during the bond period. An employee can submit their resignation now, serve the 3-month notice period, and get relieved.

Notice Period and Certificate Collection

The clause regarding the notice period, where the notice required to terminate an employee is only 2 months, while from an employee's side it is 3 months, is an issue that should be questioned. Collecting the original certificate of an employee is another illegality in the contract of employment. An employee has every right to decide where they should work. Compelling an employee to work with one employer is against the law.

Issuance of Service Certificates

An employer is obligated to issue service certificates to employees when they leave. Though many states have yet to follow this as a rule, Kerala has advanced in this respect by amending the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, which mandates that no employer should collect the original certificates of their employees and that every employer should issue service certificates to their employees.

Advice for Resignation

My advice is to submit the resignation with a request to be relieved in 3 months and wait for the date. If not relieved, approach the Labor Officer and simultaneously lodge an FIR against the employer for collecting the certificates. Everything should proceed smoothly then.

As per your suggestion, I have submitted my resignation notice. However, management is now informing me that the 2-year bond period has not yet been completed, and I am required to serve an additional 3 months after reaching the 2-year mark. We still have 1 month remaining to complete the full 2 years.