Employment and labour lawyers for employers

Under Section 9(1) of the POSH Act, 2013, the complaint is made to the Internal Committee within three months of the incident, or of the last incident in a series. The committee can extend this by up to three months for reasons recorded in writing. Under Section 11(4), the inquiry must be completed within ninety days.

Section 4 of the POSH Act, 2013 requires every employer to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee at each office or administrative unit. It is presided over by a senior woman employee, has at least two employee members and one member from outside, and at least half of the members must be women. Where a workplace has fewer than ten workers, or the complaint is against the employer, the complaint goes to the Local Committee under Section 6.

Yes. Section 53 of the Code on Social Security, 2020 makes gratuity payable when a fixed-term contract ends, and the five years of continuous service otherwise required is not needed. Gratuity is paid at fifteen days' wages for each completed year, and Section 2(34) entitles fixed-term employees to benefits in proportion to the service they have rendered.

Under Section 70 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, a worker with at least one year of continuous service gets one month's notice in writing with reasons, or a month's wages instead, plus retrenchment compensation of fifteen days' average pay for every completed year of service, or part of a year beyond six months. The employer also contributes fifteen days' wages to the worker re-skilling fund under Section 83. In a factory, mine or plantation that has employed 300 or more workers on average in the preceding twelve months, Section 79 requires three months' notice and the prior permission of the government.

Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 makes any agreement that restrains a person from carrying on a lawful profession, trade or business void to that extent, apart from the sale of goodwill. A negative covenant that operates only while the employment continues is generally outside Section 27, as the Supreme Court noted in Vijaya Bank v. Prashant B Narnaware, 2025 INSC 691. A restriction that operates after the employment ends is void even when it is limited in time or area, as Superintendence Co. (P) Ltd. v. Krishan Murgai, (1981) 2 SCC 246 records.

A bond that ties the employee to a minimum term of service is treated differently from a restraint on future employment. In Vijaya Bank v. Prashant B Narnaware, 2025 INSC 691, the Supreme Court upheld a clause requiring three years of service or payment of two lakh rupees, holding that it was neither a restraint of trade nor opposed to public policy. Standard-form terms that are unconscionable can still be void under Section 23, as the same judgment notes when discussing Central Inland Water Transport Corpn. v. Brojo Nath Ganguly.

Under Section 45 of the Code on Wages, 2019, a claim goes to the authority appointed by the government and must be made within three years from the date the claim arose. The authority can accept a later application on sufficient cause shown and should try to decide the claim within three months. The application can be filed by the employee, a registered trade union, or the Inspector-cum-Facilitator.

For periods and disputes that predate the labour codes, the earlier Acts still govern. Section 104 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 saves anything done or any action taken under the repealed enactments, so orders, rights and pending proceedings continue, and Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 applies to the repeal. Compliance for the current period is checked against the codes and the rules notified under them.