The employment laws in India safeguard the rights of both employers and employees working in the public, private and unorganized sectors. Employers and employees have certain rights and obligations towards each other during the course of employment. Any violation of these rights or failure to uphold any obligation can result in a legal dispute between them. Basis of any employment or the employer-employee relation is the employment agreement. Other than the statutory rights the employment agreement also gives employee rights India, employer rights India and employment rights India.
Employee rights India and their protection are most talked about but we always forget about the employer’s rights. All the employers in India including the top employers in India have been granted certain rights. The question which now arises is what is the employer’s right and how can rights of employers be protected against violation. Employment rights in India have been provided under various employment laws such as the Industrial Disputes Act, Shops and Establishments Act, etc. Let’s know about these rights of employers in this blog.
Just like there are certain fundamental duties and rights given to all employees in India, irrespective of them working in the private or public sectors, all employers in India are also entitled to certain rights. Following are the top 5 rights among the employer rights in India:
1. Right to hire or fire:
The right to employment in India provides that an employer in India has all the rights and entitlement to hire the most suitable employee for their company. An employer’s rights include his choice to select the best candidate that fits the job profile, based on a person’s qualifications, knowledge, and experience. However, an employer cannot discriminate against candidates on the basis of their caste, religion, gender or age.
Employer rights in India also provide that an employer also has absolute rights to fire an employee who fails to keep up with the company’s vision, misconducts with colleagues or seniors, violates the company’s policies or underperforms. The employer has to follow all the legal steps to fire an employee legally in India and protect the company from any unrequired legal disputes. Best Employment Lawyers can help the employer in taking care of each legal aspect involved in the process.
The right to fire off the employer’s right also includes the right to suspend, dismiss or transfer an employee. If the employer is of the opinion that an employee is not able to adjust in an office location because of any reason he may transfer the person to other departments of the same office or to a different geographical location. Suspension of an employee is generally done if a complaint against the employee is made and an investigation is going on against the said employee. However, it is the discretion of the employer to exercise his India working rights whenever he deems fit.
2. Right to confidentiality/non-disclosure:
Employer rights in India are to protect their client information and trade secrets. For this, an employer can get a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) signed by its employees. As the not only employer is dealing with client information and trade secrets but the said information is also accessible to employees especially senior and middle management of an organization. The employee has the duty to use the client’s sensitive information and the company’s trade secrets to fulfill the obligations of their job and to protect this information from leaking to a third party. This duty goes beyond the course of employment and continues even after the employee has left the job. Top Labour Lawyers can be hired to get the NDA made. There is no fixed time period of NDA. An employer can make his employee bound by the NDA even after his services has been discontinued the organization for the period mentioned in the agreement signed between employer and employee in this regard.
The employer has the right to protect the company’s Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) against any form of infringement by the employee. An employee also has to sign a Non-compete and Non-Solicit Agreement, drafted by Employment Lawyers which states that the employee cannot use the company’s IPR without permission or license, and cannot solicit company’s client or enter into a similar trade.
3. Right to implement a Work Policy:
Employer rights in India also entitle the employer and grant him/her the right to draft and implement a work/ HR policy according to the company’s requirements. An employer can define the code of conduct for employees, working hours, timings, leave policy, salary policy, conditions for termination and resignation, harassment policy and grievance redressal policy in the working policy. The HR policies of the company can be drafted with the assistance of employment Advocates.
All employees have an obligation to adhere to the provisions mentioned in this company manual, and the employer has the right to terminate the employment of an employee who fails to follow the provisions of this policy. The policies made by the employer should be in compliance with the employment and labor law applicable to a particular kind of organization.
Other than the normal HR policies relating to salary, harassment, leaves of employees, etc. employment rights in India allow employers to control the method of doing work, working hours of the company. Also, the employer has the authority to decide wages and remuneration of the employees at different levels, their promotion, and appraisal strategy. Unless and until the policy made by the employer is vague, unfair, against the law or discriminatory on the basis of sex, caste, religion or creed the policies of the employer cannot be questioned. However, it is to be kept in mind that the maternity leave provided to female employees is not discrimination between employees as the provision of maternity leave is given by the law and giving maternity leave is mandatory compliance once leave application for maternity leave has been applied by the female employee.
4. Right to receive notice of resignation:
Employer rights in India also give an employer the right to receive notice of resignation before an employee leaves the company. The employee has to serve a notice period before resigning so that the employer has sufficient time to hire a replacement. The notice period generally ranges from 1 week to 1 month depending upon the company’s HR policy. If the employee resigns without serving a notice period, the employer can send a legal notice to the employee, with the help of the best labor lawyers.
However, one thing that is to be kept in consideration that if the employment agreement does not prescribe for any notice period to be served by the employee then the employee is not bound to serve the notice. Further certain employment agreements which contains that employee has to serve notice period also provide for an option that if the employee do not wish to serve the notice period or is unable to serve the notice period then salary of employee in lieu of notice period to be paid by the employee i.e., if notice period is of one month and the employee resigns without any notice the employer can hold the employee’s salary for one month.
5. Right to be notified of employee’s leave:
Employer rights in India entitle an employer with the right to be notified before the employer takes a leave from office. The employer also has the right to reject or approve the leave application of an employee. An employer can reject the leave application if the employee constant absents them from office, fails to perform their duties, or take leaves without any substantial reason.
The employer has the right to deduct employee’s salary for every unpaid leave taken, and even terminate the employment if an employee remains absent from office without prior notification.
An employer can initiate a legal action with the help of labor advocates, against an employee who violates any of these rights. The employer can file a case in a civil court or Labour Court against an employee who fails to perform their duties and acts against an employer’s interest.
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