Company forcing bond after 1 year and increase notice to 90 days

deepanker-singh1
Hi all,

I joined an IT facilities management company last year with the agreed terms of a 1-month notice period in case I decide to leave. Initially, I was posted with a different company on third-party payroll, and I have been working there for 1.4 years now. After completing one year, they appraised me and are now insisting on a clause that requires me to sign a bond. This bond states that I cannot leave the company for the next year, and if I do decide to leave, I have to provide a 90-day notice and make a payment if the notice is not given. They justify this by claiming they have invested heavily in training, although apart from basic job understanding, no substantial training has been provided to me during my 1.4-year tenure. When I questioned this, they mentioned that they would start providing training after another 6 months, and so on.

I have several questions and seek advice:
1. Is it legal for them to require me to sign a bond?
2. Can the company unilaterally change the notice period after one year?
3. What should I do if I am reluctant to sign the bond, especially considering my pay grade is at 35k/month?
4. They claim that I signed a one-year contract with the company I was posted with, which included a confirmation that I would not leave their company.
5. What course of action do you recommend I take in this situation? Please advise.
Madhu.T.K
Compelling an employee to sign a bond is illegal. It is also wrong to increase the notice period without following the mandatory provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, which state that service conditions cannot be changed without notice. However, in the case of an employee who is not a workman, the above rule shall not apply. A workman is one who does not have any subordinates reporting to them. Despite these general laws, companies often engage in such illegal practices in a labor market that is highly elastic. Simultaneously, concerning employees with special skills, they are willing to compromise on any policy.
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