Dear Amrita,
Here is the legal position regarding keeping the original documents of the employees. It is totally illegal and falls under the catagory of Bonded Labour System. Which is illegal in India and punishable with jail term or fine or both. Please understand to get those document from an employer the employee need to lodge FIR with Police. After which the police will arrest the CEO or the person incharge for keeping the documents of an employee unlawfully (unlaful confinement). Even if the employer gets bail he will have to face charges which if prooved may land him in Jail.
My Opinion to you would be to discontinue the same without wasting any further time and return all the documents to all the employees.
I am surprised that some employer give receipt against the documents so unlafully detained. It is like a Kidnapper gives you receipt for keeping you unlawfully detained.
From India, New Delhi
314Here is the legal position regarding keeping the original documents of the employees. It is totally illegal and falls under the catagory of Bonded Labour System. Which is illegal in India and punishable with jail term or fine or both. Please understand to get those document from an employer the employee need to lodge FIR with Police. After which the police will arrest the CEO or the person incharge for keeping the documents of an employee unlawfully (unlaful confinement). Even if the employer gets bail he will have to face charges which if prooved may land him in Jail.
My Opinion to you would be to discontinue the same without wasting any further time and return all the documents to all the employees.
I am surprised that some employer give receipt against the documents so unlafully detained. It is like a Kidnapper gives you receipt for keeping you unlawfully detained.
From India, New Delhi
Dear Friends,
This practice of withholding documents during initial bond period is quite common in IT industry. Many of the Companies which recruit freshers and then train them hold their documents unless they complete two years service. It may looks harsh and may cause lots of problems to the employee but just think honestly a fresh graduate BE does not have much knowledge of work and the company which employ him / her as a fresher has to train the person, I have come across few companies where they impart real class room training for 6 months and that too without any work, then in next 6 months they provide on job training where productivity is just negligible. In this period they provide a stipend of Rs.20000/Pm and accommodation along with free lunch and some other benefits.
Once the training is finished they pay full market salary to the employee. But the employee has to work at least for one/two year and during this period they hold the certificates in their custody. Employee can leave them at will but has to pay training cost to the Company which is mentioned in the offer letter itself. After two years employee can get his papers back but still he has to serve the notice period in case of resignation or buy the notice period.
Dear friends you can't call this an illegal act as every thing is done as per contract. Which was offered to employee with having an option to accept or refuse. Once a person accept the terms and conditions he has to follow it. The Companies who hold documents are holding them legally and as per the contract where both the parties are signatories and proper consideration is mentioned. The documents are being kept as a security
The practice of holding original certificates is even used by most of the professional colleges. I remember long back the people employed by Private banks and Companies had to provide some cash security. So when law does not prohibit the Bond period. How will it object the holding documents. If Government Of India can recover Bond period Salary / Expanses from Aam Aadmi Party President Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, which law can stop the same action of companies against an ordinary individual.
So legally I am sure there is no problem although on moral grounds it may be something unwanted but again dear every one has the right to protect his interests. So if your Company too wish to hold documents ask them to get a proper offer letter drafted with clearly mentioning all the terms and conditions applicable to new employees and then they can hold the documents legally.
From India, Delhi
This practice of withholding documents during initial bond period is quite common in IT industry. Many of the Companies which recruit freshers and then train them hold their documents unless they complete two years service. It may looks harsh and may cause lots of problems to the employee but just think honestly a fresh graduate BE does not have much knowledge of work and the company which employ him / her as a fresher has to train the person, I have come across few companies where they impart real class room training for 6 months and that too without any work, then in next 6 months they provide on job training where productivity is just negligible. In this period they provide a stipend of Rs.20000/Pm and accommodation along with free lunch and some other benefits.
Once the training is finished they pay full market salary to the employee. But the employee has to work at least for one/two year and during this period they hold the certificates in their custody. Employee can leave them at will but has to pay training cost to the Company which is mentioned in the offer letter itself. After two years employee can get his papers back but still he has to serve the notice period in case of resignation or buy the notice period.
Dear friends you can't call this an illegal act as every thing is done as per contract. Which was offered to employee with having an option to accept or refuse. Once a person accept the terms and conditions he has to follow it. The Companies who hold documents are holding them legally and as per the contract where both the parties are signatories and proper consideration is mentioned. The documents are being kept as a security
The practice of holding original certificates is even used by most of the professional colleges. I remember long back the people employed by Private banks and Companies had to provide some cash security. So when law does not prohibit the Bond period. How will it object the holding documents. If Government Of India can recover Bond period Salary / Expanses from Aam Aadmi Party President Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, which law can stop the same action of companies against an ordinary individual.
So legally I am sure there is no problem although on moral grounds it may be something unwanted but again dear every one has the right to protect his interests. So if your Company too wish to hold documents ask them to get a proper offer letter drafted with clearly mentioning all the terms and conditions applicable to new employees and then they can hold the documents legally.
From India, Delhi
Dear Navneet,
If an employer gives training to an employee to raise his skill level, he may ask the employee to sign a bond to serve him for a certain time and that would be legal and enforceable. If that employee do not want to serve the bond period he have to pay for the training cost to the employer and if he does not pay that can be recovered through court. However to detain his document and forcing him to serve the bond period is illegal. Employer cannot force any employee to compulsorily serve him although he is entitled to receive the bond amount.
Whether you like it or not keeping somebody's documents with an intention to make him work for you comes under forced labour, which is illegal and punishable by law. There are ways to do it legally and we should not resort to such illegal things.
Also for you information Mr. Kejriwal had returned a loan, he took from the government and not the bond period amount. Every person has his legal rights and those are as important as that of some VIP's.
From India, New Delhi
If an employer gives training to an employee to raise his skill level, he may ask the employee to sign a bond to serve him for a certain time and that would be legal and enforceable. If that employee do not want to serve the bond period he have to pay for the training cost to the employer and if he does not pay that can be recovered through court. However to detain his document and forcing him to serve the bond period is illegal. Employer cannot force any employee to compulsorily serve him although he is entitled to receive the bond amount.
Whether you like it or not keeping somebody's documents with an intention to make him work for you comes under forced labour, which is illegal and punishable by law. There are ways to do it legally and we should not resort to such illegal things.
Also for you information Mr. Kejriwal had returned a loan, he took from the government and not the bond period amount. Every person has his legal rights and those are as important as that of some VIP's.
From India, New Delhi
What Navneet has written sounds convincing, but let his contention be debated by Legal experts so that others can benefit from the outcome of this discussion.
I, as an individual, can appreciate that IT companies spend a lot of funds on training the freshers with a view to utilize trained people for company's business. If after training, someone suddenly quits by breaking the agreement, the company has no means to trace the individual & recover the cost of training. Withholding the original certificates can at least ensure that an employee does not abscond. His/ her Certificates shall be returned immediately as the dues are settled as per the employment contract. To legal experts this argument may not be convincing, but would they have some solution to offer to the affected companies, who may be facing such problems repeatedly?
Surely, their solution can not be to file an FIR, engage an advocate & carry on with the legal battle. Such an approach may sound one sided, that is employee focused. How does law protect the interests of the employer?
From India, Delhi
I, as an individual, can appreciate that IT companies spend a lot of funds on training the freshers with a view to utilize trained people for company's business. If after training, someone suddenly quits by breaking the agreement, the company has no means to trace the individual & recover the cost of training. Withholding the original certificates can at least ensure that an employee does not abscond. His/ her Certificates shall be returned immediately as the dues are settled as per the employment contract. To legal experts this argument may not be convincing, but would they have some solution to offer to the affected companies, who may be facing such problems repeatedly?
Surely, their solution can not be to file an FIR, engage an advocate & carry on with the legal battle. Such an approach may sound one sided, that is employee focused. How does law protect the interests of the employer?
From India, Delhi
Dear Mr. Bhatia,
I have given the solution in the post above yours. Everybody has rights, employers also have right to get the bond signed if they spend considerable amount on some employees training and to get it enforced against the employee if he do honour the bond.
From India, New Delhi
I have given the solution in the post above yours. Everybody has rights, employers also have right to get the bond signed if they spend considerable amount on some employees training and to get it enforced against the employee if he do honour the bond.
From India, New Delhi
Hello, Mr Kamal Kant Tyagi
Your solution does not indicate how to trace an absconding employee to recover the amount spent on training (as per the employment agreement). And that, perhaps,is the problem of an employer today. Are you suggesting, by any chance, that the employer should now invest funds & feed the lawyers to extract the training cost? Are you sure that the legal process in our country will not entail double the expenditure of the training cost which the employer intends to recover? And how much time will it take to close each case?
Therefore, I would prefer a solution from the legal experts on how to protect the interests of the employer when an employee suddenly vanishes after completing his/ her training (in spite of having signed a bond to refund the training cost). I regret to say that my comments have not been read/ understood by you; you seem to have responded in haste.
From India, Delhi
Your solution does not indicate how to trace an absconding employee to recover the amount spent on training (as per the employment agreement). And that, perhaps,is the problem of an employer today. Are you suggesting, by any chance, that the employer should now invest funds & feed the lawyers to extract the training cost? Are you sure that the legal process in our country will not entail double the expenditure of the training cost which the employer intends to recover? And how much time will it take to close each case?
Therefore, I would prefer a solution from the legal experts on how to protect the interests of the employer when an employee suddenly vanishes after completing his/ her training (in spite of having signed a bond to refund the training cost). I regret to say that my comments have not been read/ understood by you; you seem to have responded in haste.
From India, Delhi
Hi Amrita,
Which documents are you talking about?
Educational qualification certificates? birth/marriage certificates? passport? property documents? Driving license? Aadhar cards?
The employer companies DO NOT have any authority to withhold any of these documents, even by giving back written receipts. Actually companies do not have authority to give written receipts for these documents.
Examples:
The educational qualification certificates / Passports can be taken by some country consulates for visa validation purpose only, based on power given to them by the foreign ministry.
The driving license can be taken by RTO officer, by the power given to him by RTO rules.
The Passports can be taken by police authorities by power given to them by law & inforcement department.
The Property documents can be taken by other financial institutes against loan (Mortgage only!), by the power given by RBI rules.
Certificates issued by municipal corporations like birth certificates are given in multiple copies & you can ask for original to be kept with company forever; But this will not solve your problems..
Identity documents like Aadhar cards / PAN Cards / Ration cards cannot be withheld by any organization, for whatsoever reason.
Which of these powers does your company exercise?
It is not only against the laws, but also a very bad practice towards good human resource management. Please do not fall for such temptations in rush of improving the retention.
I am sure you will come up with better reasoning for poor retention; & subsequently better plans to resolve it properly.
Best Regards,
Amod.
Which documents are you talking about?
Educational qualification certificates? birth/marriage certificates? passport? property documents? Driving license? Aadhar cards?
The employer companies DO NOT have any authority to withhold any of these documents, even by giving back written receipts. Actually companies do not have authority to give written receipts for these documents.
Examples:
The educational qualification certificates / Passports can be taken by some country consulates for visa validation purpose only, based on power given to them by the foreign ministry.
The driving license can be taken by RTO officer, by the power given to him by RTO rules.
The Passports can be taken by police authorities by power given to them by law & inforcement department.
The Property documents can be taken by other financial institutes against loan (Mortgage only!), by the power given by RBI rules.
Certificates issued by municipal corporations like birth certificates are given in multiple copies & you can ask for original to be kept with company forever; But this will not solve your problems..
Identity documents like Aadhar cards / PAN Cards / Ration cards cannot be withheld by any organization, for whatsoever reason.
Which of these powers does your company exercise?
It is not only against the laws, but also a very bad practice towards good human resource management. Please do not fall for such temptations in rush of improving the retention.
I am sure you will come up with better reasoning for poor retention; & subsequently better plans to resolve it properly.
Best Regards,
Amod.
Dear Mr. Bhatia,
I think i am not an expert in tracing an absconded employee.
But as far as the solution as to how to enforce the bond is concerned i may tell you and belive me there are no shortcuts to that. Keeping the documents of an employee is not an option. I may tell you this by vertiue of my day to day practice of Labour Laws itself.
In case you want to enforce the bond against any employee who is absconded. First you have to send a Demand letter to him on the address available with the management asking him to report to duty and honour the bond. If he does not respond you may take help from an advocate to file a recovery suit against such employee and do not worry about feeding a lawyer you may recover the expences so done from the opposite party. However if you resort to some illegal means that would not only weaken your position but also land you in legal trouble. We cannot opine anybody to do any illegal act.
Please fell free to revert in case of any specific doubt.
From India, New Delhi
I think i am not an expert in tracing an absconded employee.
But as far as the solution as to how to enforce the bond is concerned i may tell you and belive me there are no shortcuts to that. Keeping the documents of an employee is not an option. I may tell you this by vertiue of my day to day practice of Labour Laws itself.
In case you want to enforce the bond against any employee who is absconded. First you have to send a Demand letter to him on the address available with the management asking him to report to duty and honour the bond. If he does not respond you may take help from an advocate to file a recovery suit against such employee and do not worry about feeding a lawyer you may recover the expences so done from the opposite party. However if you resort to some illegal means that would not only weaken your position but also land you in legal trouble. We cannot opine anybody to do any illegal act.
Please fell free to revert in case of any specific doubt.
From India, New Delhi
Please note, Mr Tyagi, that in my comments earlier I had expressed that holding the documents is illegal. So there are no issues on this subject since this requires legal compliance. My concern was the management of an absconding employee & you have given your views which are respected. Thanks
From India, Delhi
From India, Delhi
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