preeti (Article assistant) 15 September 2014

Non payment of indemnity bond

Dear Sir,

I am currently employed with PNB. I had written IBPS for specialist officer in Feburary, 2014.After succeeding in it, I have been allotted at PNB as my recruiter. They provided me the Ten weeks induction training including six weeks On the Job Training.During these ten weeks training, I have been paid full salary as per bank’s rules & regulations. After completion of ten weeks training, I have been posted at Nagpur. I am a married girl, settled in Mumbai since past 15 years & I can’t shift to Nagpur as I have to take care of my in laws as well as my Handicapped Father in Mumbai.

During the joining formalities, HR people of PNB had compulsorily taken an indemnity bond of Rs. Two lacs from me without which I was not allowed to Join PNB. It was a surety bond,wherein my husband has been a gurantor for my service in PNB for minimum there years failing which I & him individually & jointly pay Two lacs with interest of 12 % p.a. from date of breach till the date of payment of such bond amount.In the offer letter also,they had mentioned that either of the party can resign after giving three months’ notice or three months pay in lieu thereof.In the offer letter & in the Advertisement given by IBPS, it has clearly mentioned that I might be posted anywhere across India.

At the time of writing IBPS exam I was single but after clearing IBPS, I was married.As I was aware that there is some government policy which says that if both spouses work with central govt, then they shuld be as far as possible, be posted in the same circle, nearby location. My husband is working in another PSU bank.So, I agreed to sign the indemnity bond expecting them to follow this guidelines.Recently,on 8^th August,2014 a circular was issued by dept of financial services Circular No. F.No. 4/9/1/2014-IR stating that all females whether married or unmarried should be posted as far as possible should be posted or transferred to a place where their parents or husbands are stationed or as near as possible to that place.All PSU banks were advised to frame suitable policy immediately based on this circular. Many of the banks have started following this circular but while giving the posting to me, they have not considered this circular.They had 12 vacancies in Mumbai but they didn’t allot me any despite the fact that I was fulfilling all the criteria of this circular.

Now I am in dilemma as to how to solve the situation.Can you tell me if I can file an RTI demanding why this circular has not been implemented by PNB & how it can help me to resolve my issue..Can I file a legal suit against PNB & what are my chances of winning the case.

Please let me know your valuable opinion about this matter.This is very urgent.

Thanking you in Advance,

Regards,

Preeti Mehta

Reply Follow

2 Replies

Hardeep (Business) 15 September 2014

As I read it , you are mixing up two issues :

a) Indemnity Bond : Asks you to serve minimum of three years. But the offer letter says either party can resign with three month's notice or salary in lieu off. The Indemnity Bond should have also been drafted accordingly. Depending upon when you signed the Bond - before or after the issuance of the Offer Letter - and whether it was mentioned in the Ad. against which you applied and the terms of the exam you may be able to leave with 3 month's notice, if that is what you want.

b) DFS Circular : " as far as possible " in the same makes it open ended. But citing the same, you should be able to ask them why this has not been considered in your case. Per their official reply, you may pursue the case further.

<b>DISCLAIMER </b>: General information and advice provided is without any warranties as to suitability for any use, correctness and application to any specific case. Please always take proper legal counsel . However, if it helped anyone even a little a " thanks" would be appreciated and would encourage me to keep on making efforts :-) . I am also always open to corrections and further learnings from more experienced Seniors here.

Kumar Doab (FIN) 15 September 2014

1. According to matter posted in your post the need to sign indemnity BOND was not communicated either in job advt., interview call letter, selection letter, offer letter, appointment letter, etc…………………..

However you may show all of these to your able Labor Law consultant/Service Lawyer………………….and proceed under your lawyer’s expert advice.

The Indemnity BOND is created in lieu of What:::::::: so called Training?

This training seems to be a need of employer so as to enable the employee to handle the counters of employer and is not any extra ordinary favor to employee……………………..hence it should be provided without any cost to employee!

And

It seems it does not add to any qualification of employee and it is not any certified course from any Instt.

The Training is not a venture for employer …………………..and hence is not for profit to employer thus employer can not earn from it and shall have to prove the cost………………………..that too if it succeeds to prove that it added to some qualification or extra ordinary skill of the employee.

2. Similar queries have been discussed in many threads e.g:

https://www.lawyersclubindia.com/experts/Payment-of-indemnity-bond-419196.asp#.UiNgTNKAqWM

You may pick up the relevant points………………………..

You have posted that there was no mention of BOND in the offer letter issued to you and this implies that it was placed before you after having accepted the offer.

The BOND was place before you and you were asked to sign it before handing over the appointment letter to you or after it?

You may also show the BOND and let your lawyer opine on your matter.

3. Can you attach the copy of dept of financial services Circular No. F.No. 4/9/1/2014-IR……………..?

It is certainly issued and is also updated by :

ALL INDIA PNB STAFF FEDERATION

At:

https://aipnbsf.org/files/Circular%2017_0.pdf

and can be seen at:

https://financialservices.gov.in/ncapp/Document.aspx

Hope it is the same circular referred to by you.

Therefore it does make a sense to approach the employee’s union too………………………and female bank employee’ union too……………………..and if required women commission……………..

4. Your lawyer may opine to submit a representation to good offices of appointing authority, MD, Chairman and let them stay you at your present place and do not declare you absenting, abstaining, absconding till your appeal is decided in line with essence of circular……………………………….or if required obtain stay from court of law.

The HR personnel across the industry learn tactics and apply it with impunity…………………………..and it is most likely that you will either not be given answer or you shall be getting an answer that may not fetch any relief to you or you may have to join at Nagpur…………………………………or you may be termed absconder………………………..that may be termed misconduct…………….

If you resign you shall be chased for Liquidated Damages as stated in BOND.

Hence it shall make a sense to consult in person an able Labor Law Consultant/Service lawyer NOW...............................and proceed carefully to obtain a resolution that is favorable to you.

Rest is up to you.