What legal actions can my employer take against me?

what is the language of the agreement.

it says that I am liable to pay a certain sum of amount if I leave the organisation before the stipulated time frame.

Since you have signed the service agreement by your free will and have breached the agreement and notice period clause company can proceed to recover the amounts/damages stated in the agreement and appointment letter.

The company can also claim loss due to abrupt termination or due to non service of full notice period tendered by you and ask for compensation as determined by it and pull you to arbitrator/court of law as per clauses of the agreements signed by you.

If you receive summons from court of law you should appear. The court of law shall decide the reasonableness of the matter and reasonable amounts if any.

Other view point is that since company was probably not conducting appraisal, awarding increments or you were not satisfied with conduct/work culture/profile etc you had preferred to resign and upon resignation since company was inclined to retain you it offered increments/increase in salary. This increment might be pending at the end of company for long time.

The bond/service agreement was created in lieu of which consideration by company or special favor by the company to employee?

 The days of bonded labor are over.

Did the company provide any highly specialized training that added to some exceptional skill or qualification of the employee?

If employer has provided some training for its products, policies, how to handle its counter that should not justify as some training in lieu of which a bond for specials favors from employee can be asked for.

Such training should be provided by employer without any cost to employee.

The employee should not ask to sign for a simple reason that it is has agreed to pay wages for work done by employee.

Such bonds may not stand the test of law and may be termed unconscionable, unreasonable, unenforceable, void………….

The company may tactfully decline to issue acceptance of resignation, service certificate, relieving letter, FNF statement/settlement, release Gratuity, attest PF forms etc…………….

The company is under obligation to supply the service certificate to all employees.

Relieving letter implies nothing is due towards employee………………………..and if you have completed the tasks, handed overt the charge, company property and bond is also void then nothing is due towards you.

Without wasting time you may show the job advertisement, job application, interview call letter, selection letter, offer letter, appointment letter, Bond, standing orders applicable to the company, resignation, and any other communication that you may have to a lawyer specializing in labor/service matters and proceed under the expert advice of your lawyer.

If the service agreement is void and no task/assignment was pending at your end company should relieve you properly and settle your account.

In the meantime you may go thru attachments and you may find these useful.

 In future do not sign on dotted line in haste. Consult elders in the family and your lawyer well in time.

It is always better to consult before hand than to repent later.

Thank you for information..however a major mistake I made was that I left without serving the proper notice period and handover. As I just wanted to leave as soon as possible and I was told that I could not be relieved as long as my replacement resource is not hired and I do not give him or her a proper handover.

From your post it is believed that you have full understanding of your matter at your hands.

Instead of posting in bits and pieces if you post entire matter in one post, point wise, and  it shall be of great help to you.

You have posted that:

------“I left without serving the proper notice period and handover.”

Your conduct is bad.

The company thru its promoters, HR Mangers, Line managers has enough reason to turn vindictive and initieate actions that may be as good as stepping on your toes.

They may feel that even if they loose in court of law let you be dumped in courts of law. The litigation can be lengthy and stressful for many employees. The litigation itself is perceived as penalty and punishment by many of the employers.

These are civil suites and employers get away without being put behind bars.

------“I was told that I could not be relieved as long as my replacement resource is not hired and I do not give him or her a proper handover.”

The notice period or period to relieve can not be infinite.

You may take a stance accordingly. You may find relief in such statement.

Such statements should be recorded and should be placed on record.

Have you minuted this statement made to you by company’s employees in HR, Lien manager or employer etc……………..????

Had you stated so in writing in notice of resignation/subsequent communication and had you added that you can not be held infinitely and such statement is violation of standing orders/appointment letter…………….

 and that you affirm to handover the charge…………………..

 and company should agree to relieve you in reasonable time……………………

This should have positively rescued you from unpleasant situation and it would certainly have transferred the onus on employer.

-----“I was told that apart from my core work I would be required to do work related with other department so as to keep me completely occupied for 9 hours.”

What were these other jobs? Did it commensurate with your experience, qualification, profile and were these menial jobs?

Your lawyer shall handle it.

>>>>> Companies are known to claim that it had sent the communication by normal post.

 Employee can also send communications y normal post and keep copies in record.

At an appropriate time if your lawyer agrees, you may concur to tender notice pay@ Basic+DA or as inserted in standing orders, may demand to supply you the certified copy of Standing Orders applicable to the establishment.

The service agreement place before you to sign may be violative of standing orders of the establishment.

>>>> Designation alone does not decide employee is a ‘Workman’ as in ID Act, ‘Employee’ as in Shops and Commercial Establishments Act.

>>>> You may confirm if the agreement to service for…………………months or to pay liquidated damages of………………Rs…………….was stated in increment letter itself or it was separate and what was the date on both, date on which both were placed before you to sign and date on which both were signed by you.

You may fine tune the information as suitable to you.

Without wasting time you may show the job advertisement, job application, interview call letter, selection letter, offer letter, appointment letter, Bond, standing orders applicable to the company, resignation, and any other communication that you may have to a lawyer specializing in labor/service matters and proceed under the expert advice of your lawyer. The lawyer that has seen all of your docs and has analyzed your inputs in person can advice you the best.