Mohammed Sharfuddin 21 September 2023

Joining bonus

Hello

I have joined an organisation on 24 January 2022 and received a joining bonus of 50k which had a clause stating that I need to repay the full amount if I resign within 12 months of completion from my date of joining. It's indirectly a bond that's forcing employees to work for 12 months else pay back the amount (This is what I'm assuming since it has a tenure to serve). It is illegal in India to forcibly hold employees for specific tenure.

I have resigned on 9 January 2023 as there were no respective projects to the skills that i was hired on. Now I'm receiving mails from my organisation to repay the joining bonus else they will proceed legally.

So, in this case what should I act?

Is it legal to repay or not?

And if not then what is to be communicated to my organisation as they're threatening me with mails with a legal procedure.

Please help me with this query.

Thank you!

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4 Replies

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Advocate) 21 September 2023

The general understanding is that the employee is required to pay back the joining bonus in full if the resignation happens within the agreed period. However, there are instances where employees did not have to pay because they could prove the genuineness in the reasons to resign (health issues\family issues etc.).

What was the reason you quoted in your resignation letter, because that is also a vital point if you refuse to repay the joining bonus

Mohammed Sharfuddin 21 September 2023

Hello sir and thank you for the reply.

Sir I was called to Pune(Company location) in July'22 and I reported in the same month.

I had health issues in Pune because the food wasn't suitable for me as I'm habituated to my regional food.

This was the primary reason why I left Pune but till November was working remotely and in November my then manager(He was manager in July but later my manager changed) had collaborativey called in other colleagues of his team and forced me to come down to Pune even when I had no project to work as I was on bench.

Then I applied for leaves and my HR said that they'll terminate me as I wasn't coming down to Pune. Then my HR said it'll be better if I resign from my end as termination might lead to difficulties in near future and this is the reason I had to forcibly resign on 9 January 2022.

Dr. J C Vashista (Advocate ) 22 September 2023

The employer has contracted your service as per their requirement, including place of work and you have accepted the terms and conditions of appointment, which will not have any affect upon whether "food" was your choice, taste, suiting to you or not.