Dear Harvindar,
Please recall if you have signed a bond that is two-sided, meaning if the company has promised you any costly training or other similar improvement programs, and you receive the same within two months.
A single-sided bond holds no value. However, if you have received a legal notice, it is better to consult legal advisory before taking any action or communicating with them.
Loeksh
From Australia
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9Please recall if you have signed a bond that is two-sided, meaning if the company has promised you any costly training or other similar improvement programs, and you receive the same within two months.
A single-sided bond holds no value. However, if you have received a legal notice, it is better to consult legal advisory before taking any action or communicating with them.
Loeksh
From Australia
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Yes, do not underestimate any employer. Spending on their legal consultants, court fees, etc. is peanuts for them. In fact, your previous employer seems to be following the "Principles of Natural Justice" by giving you ample opportunities to respond to those notices. You conveniently ignored it and took it casually, resulting in the situation you are facing today.
Who wins and who loses in this case is immaterial. My wife's sister's son joined one of the renowned IT companies, where he was asked to sign a three-year agreement. He was also asked to submit surety, where his father had to provide a xerox copy of his passbook, fixed deposit receipts, property documents, etc.
Let's not discuss whether it is legal to ask for all these papers. It is their company's policy. If you want to be hired or are keen on joining them, submit those documents; otherwise, forget it.
In the same way, would you have agreed and signed the bond? As I mentioned before, the end result is not their concern. It is the lesson they aim to teach you and send a message to other potential candidates.
Moreover, aside from handling this case, you may have to take leave whenever you are summoned by the court to appear. You can apply for leave on "personal" reasons once or twice, but when your current employer becomes aware that you are involved in a legal issue with your previous employer, they may also lose interest in having you there.
Better be careful.
V. Balaji
From India, Madras
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Who wins and who loses in this case is immaterial. My wife's sister's son joined one of the renowned IT companies, where he was asked to sign a three-year agreement. He was also asked to submit surety, where his father had to provide a xerox copy of his passbook, fixed deposit receipts, property documents, etc.
Let's not discuss whether it is legal to ask for all these papers. It is their company's policy. If you want to be hired or are keen on joining them, submit those documents; otherwise, forget it.
In the same way, would you have agreed and signed the bond? As I mentioned before, the end result is not their concern. It is the lesson they aim to teach you and send a message to other potential candidates.
Moreover, aside from handling this case, you may have to take leave whenever you are summoned by the court to appear. You can apply for leave on "personal" reasons once or twice, but when your current employer becomes aware that you are involved in a legal issue with your previous employer, they may also lose interest in having you there.
Better be careful.
V. Balaji
From India, Madras
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I too differ here. The company wants to make an example out of you and deter others who plan to break the bond. I too acted in the same way by serving notice period to two employees who broke the bond. I tried to do damage control, which helped us in the longer period.
FYI, bonds don't have much legality; there are some legal lacunas in it, which ultimately fail in the court of law, but then you have to fight it out. You need to seek legal advice, and I am sure there is a way out.
From India, Mumbai
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FYI, bonds don't have much legality; there are some legal lacunas in it, which ultimately fail in the court of law, but then you have to fight it out. You need to seek legal advice, and I am sure there is a way out.
From India, Mumbai
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Hi Harwinder,
One of our colleagues went absconding following a similar scenario. He was an outstation resident and had given his father's name as a surety.
When the company could not reach him, they tried to contact his father.
His father took a stand that he would register a formal police complaint, stating that his son was frustrated with work but could not leave the job due to the bond. Now, his son has gone missing while working at the company in another city.
As much as the company wanted to find the person, they did not want to get involved in any investigation, nor did they want the police on the premises for such an inquiry.
They had no legal liabilities with the father as he was not part of the bond, so they decided not to pursue the matter.
Such bonds have a validity period. The person showed up after the one-year validity period, and the company could not make any legal claims on him.
Anyway, this example is not to indicate how one can escape responsibility. However, there are many questions about this situation on this forum.
The moral responsibility for such matters may lie with both parties. When it is challenging to establish legal responsibility, both parties will try to find alternative solutions.
Someone with strong moral fiber would not consider such actions. But if one has already taken steps in that direction, like leaving the company ten months ago, thoughts of seeking alternative ways to gain an advantage in ambiguity and save time and money might arise.
Regards,
Amod.
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One of our colleagues went absconding following a similar scenario. He was an outstation resident and had given his father's name as a surety.
When the company could not reach him, they tried to contact his father.
His father took a stand that he would register a formal police complaint, stating that his son was frustrated with work but could not leave the job due to the bond. Now, his son has gone missing while working at the company in another city.
As much as the company wanted to find the person, they did not want to get involved in any investigation, nor did they want the police on the premises for such an inquiry.
They had no legal liabilities with the father as he was not part of the bond, so they decided not to pursue the matter.
Such bonds have a validity period. The person showed up after the one-year validity period, and the company could not make any legal claims on him.
Anyway, this example is not to indicate how one can escape responsibility. However, there are many questions about this situation on this forum.
The moral responsibility for such matters may lie with both parties. When it is challenging to establish legal responsibility, both parties will try to find alternative solutions.
Someone with strong moral fiber would not consider such actions. But if one has already taken steps in that direction, like leaving the company ten months ago, thoughts of seeking alternative ways to gain an advantage in ambiguity and save time and money might arise.
Regards,
Amod.
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Dear Sir,
Don't worry. I am sure this bond was only for Rs. 10, Rs. 50, or Rs. 100. It was valid for up to 6 months. As you mentioned, they sent you a letter or notice after 10 months. Now, it is only a piece of paper that has no value.
Secondly, when the employer made a bond, they should have had it registered and paid stamp duty on Rs. 100,000, which they did not do. Therefore, there is no chance of them recovering one lakh from you.
So, don't worry. Be happy.
With regards,
Virender
From India, New Delhi
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Don't worry. I am sure this bond was only for Rs. 10, Rs. 50, or Rs. 100. It was valid for up to 6 months. As you mentioned, they sent you a letter or notice after 10 months. Now, it is only a piece of paper that has no value.
Secondly, when the employer made a bond, they should have had it registered and paid stamp duty on Rs. 100,000, which they did not do. Therefore, there is no chance of them recovering one lakh from you.
So, don't worry. Be happy.
With regards,
Virender
From India, New Delhi
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Nopes!!!! Your assumption is wrong, and the way your company handled it is also wrong. A bond does not lose value simply because the period is over. When the candidate absconded, the period was on hold. The bond is definitely valid.
Further, the company should have taken a surety in a formal manner. If they had taken a letter of surety or made the surety a part of the bond itself, then the father would be hauled up. Few MNCs or large companies are lax in documentation. Your colleague was just purely lucky on this count.
For the MNC to get the person in trouble is very easy. All they need to do is file an FIR stating he has absconded with company property. And you have had it. His father would have had to give all details and also pay heavily to the cops (I mean cash) to avoid getting his son arrested.
One of our colleagues went absconding following a similar scenario. He was an outstation resident and had given his father's name as surety. When the company could not reach him, they tried to reach his father. His father took a stand that he would register a formal police complaint, stating that his son was frustrated with work but could not leave the job due to the bond and had now gone missing while he was working at the company in another city.
As much as the company wanted to find the person, they did not want to get involved in any such investigation, neither did they want the police on the premises for such an inquiry. They had no legal liabilities with the father as he was not part of the bond, so they decided not to pursue the matter.
Such bonds have validity. The person showed up after the validity period of 1 year in that case, and the company could not put any legal claims on him. Anyway, this example is not to indicate how you can escape from responsibility, but there are so many questions about this situation on this forum.
The moral responsibility for such things may lie with both parties, but when it is hard to establish the legal responsibility, both parties will try to find ways. Anyone with a strong moral fiber would not think of such ways, but then you have already started the path 10 months back when you left the company... :-)
And as in this example, there is nothing wrong with thinking of alternate ways to gain the upper hand in such ambiguity and save some money and time.
Regards, Amod.
From India, Mumbai
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Further, the company should have taken a surety in a formal manner. If they had taken a letter of surety or made the surety a part of the bond itself, then the father would be hauled up. Few MNCs or large companies are lax in documentation. Your colleague was just purely lucky on this count.
For the MNC to get the person in trouble is very easy. All they need to do is file an FIR stating he has absconded with company property. And you have had it. His father would have had to give all details and also pay heavily to the cops (I mean cash) to avoid getting his son arrested.
One of our colleagues went absconding following a similar scenario. He was an outstation resident and had given his father's name as surety. When the company could not reach him, they tried to reach his father. His father took a stand that he would register a formal police complaint, stating that his son was frustrated with work but could not leave the job due to the bond and had now gone missing while he was working at the company in another city.
As much as the company wanted to find the person, they did not want to get involved in any such investigation, neither did they want the police on the premises for such an inquiry. They had no legal liabilities with the father as he was not part of the bond, so they decided not to pursue the matter.
Such bonds have validity. The person showed up after the validity period of 1 year in that case, and the company could not put any legal claims on him. Anyway, this example is not to indicate how you can escape from responsibility, but there are so many questions about this situation on this forum.
The moral responsibility for such things may lie with both parties, but when it is hard to establish the legal responsibility, both parties will try to find ways. Anyone with a strong moral fiber would not think of such ways, but then you have already started the path 10 months back when you left the company... :-)
And as in this example, there is nothing wrong with thinking of alternate ways to gain the upper hand in such ambiguity and save some money and time.
Regards, Amod.
From India, Mumbai
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Wow! Who has been giving you such information? Please do not misguide people with half-baked information. A bond needs to be on a Rs. 100 stamp paper only. In case it had an indemnity clause, it would need a Rs. 500 stamp paper (this is in Mumbai, some states may have slightly different stamp rates).
There is no need to register an agreement or a bond. Registration is required for only a few monitored cases, like property agreements. And definitely, whoever told you that you need to put a Rs. 1 lakh stamp paper for a Rs. 1 lakh bond or even a Rs. 10 lakh bond is a person from whom you should avoid taking advice. Stamp duty is rarely going to be over 0.5% of the value.
The validity of the stamp paper being 6 months means the agreement must be signed within 6 months of obtaining the stamp paper; it does not affect the validity period of the agreement signed. How else do you think people sign long-term agreements if the document validity did not exceed 6 months!
From India, Mumbai
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There is no need to register an agreement or a bond. Registration is required for only a few monitored cases, like property agreements. And definitely, whoever told you that you need to put a Rs. 1 lakh stamp paper for a Rs. 1 lakh bond or even a Rs. 10 lakh bond is a person from whom you should avoid taking advice. Stamp duty is rarely going to be over 0.5% of the value.
The validity of the stamp paper being 6 months means the agreement must be signed within 6 months of obtaining the stamp paper; it does not affect the validity period of the agreement signed. How else do you think people sign long-term agreements if the document validity did not exceed 6 months!
From India, Mumbai
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Hi All,
I wanted to cite an example where the implication of bond signing and the organization taking action against the violation of employment norms.
In military services, they take a bond signed in their formats from the prospective employees. On the other hand, they fulfill whatever is committed to the employees at the time of recruitment. One important point is that I have even witnessed that they explain each clause of the service term and the bond term one by one to all the selected recruits. They even ask the prospective employees if they understood the terms or not. Looking at the system followed in military services, it is not only unlawful on the part of employees to break the bond, but it is also equally true that services provide every bit of benefit and compensation to their employees without fail. Under such circumstances, how will one dare to leave the job? Secondly, if any employee dares to abscond or leave without following the service norms, why shouldn't the services take action against such employees?
I feel that people think that merely the organizations are private concerns, and they take it for granted. Educated individuals, especially HR in the industry, must take the initiative to improve on both ends, namely employees as well as employers.
Thanks and warm regards,
BIJAY
From India, Vadodara
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I wanted to cite an example where the implication of bond signing and the organization taking action against the violation of employment norms.
In military services, they take a bond signed in their formats from the prospective employees. On the other hand, they fulfill whatever is committed to the employees at the time of recruitment. One important point is that I have even witnessed that they explain each clause of the service term and the bond term one by one to all the selected recruits. They even ask the prospective employees if they understood the terms or not. Looking at the system followed in military services, it is not only unlawful on the part of employees to break the bond, but it is also equally true that services provide every bit of benefit and compensation to their employees without fail. Under such circumstances, how will one dare to leave the job? Secondly, if any employee dares to abscond or leave without following the service norms, why shouldn't the services take action against such employees?
I feel that people think that merely the organizations are private concerns, and they take it for granted. Educated individuals, especially HR in the industry, must take the initiative to improve on both ends, namely employees as well as employers.
Thanks and warm regards,
BIJAY
From India, Vadodara
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Hi,
Any bonds of employer-employee nature are not valid in India, especially in private companies. Companies make one sign a bond to make the person committed to their stand; however, they are not legally valid. The company may try other tactics like false allegations, which you will have to defend, may not provide you with a relieving letter and experience letter.
As per Indian law, you cannot curtail an individual's growth, and a bond just does that. Therefore, no significant companies have ever won any case against the employee. However, there are some who get scared and pay the due.
Mr. Bijay, it is true what you said that legal action can be taken against a person in defense and Government organization if he or she breaks the bond, as this organization is considered crucial for the running of the Government and for the safeguard of the country. But the same law can't be applied to private companies, as they are purely profit-based and unlike government organizations, they don't take care of the employee even after retirement.
Regards,
Anita
From India, Mumbai
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Any bonds of employer-employee nature are not valid in India, especially in private companies. Companies make one sign a bond to make the person committed to their stand; however, they are not legally valid. The company may try other tactics like false allegations, which you will have to defend, may not provide you with a relieving letter and experience letter.
As per Indian law, you cannot curtail an individual's growth, and a bond just does that. Therefore, no significant companies have ever won any case against the employee. However, there are some who get scared and pay the due.
Mr. Bijay, it is true what you said that legal action can be taken against a person in defense and Government organization if he or she breaks the bond, as this organization is considered crucial for the running of the Government and for the safeguard of the country. But the same law can't be applied to private companies, as they are purely profit-based and unlike government organizations, they don't take care of the employee even after retirement.
Regards,
Anita
From India, Mumbai
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