The Code on Wages, the Industrial Relations Code, the Code on Social Security, and the Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions together reshape how Indian employers must structure compensation, classify workers, calculate gratuity and provident fund contributions, manage retrenchments and layoffs, and comply with workplace safety standards. For businesses operating across multiple states, the interaction between central Code provisions and state-specific rules creates a compliance matrix that most HR teams are not equipped to navigate without legal support.
Goldschmidt Pallonji's Labour and Employment practice covers the full spectrum of employment law from the boardroom to the factory floor — from senior executive employment contracts and ESOP schemes through to industrial disputes and retrenchment proceedings before Labour Courts and Industrial Tribunals. For the technology, financial services, and professional services sectors that make up a substantial part of GP's client base, the employment law issues are predominantly white-collar: wrongful termination claims, POSH committee compliance, non-compete enforceability, and confidentiality and IP ownership disputes.
For international businesses — foreign companies entering India and Indian companies with overseas workforces — GP provides the cross-border employment law advice that local firms cannot. An Australian company hiring its first Indian employees faces Indian PF, gratuity, and labour law requirements that are entirely different from Fair Work obligations. An Indian IT company deploying employees to Australia, Singapore, or the GCC faces local employment law and immigration compliance in each jurisdiction. GP advises on both directions simultaneously — because the employment law mistakes that are most expensive are the ones made before the first employee starts.
Employment contracts to industrial disputes — Labour Code compliance to global mobility — POSH to non-compete enforcement. A complete employment law capability for Indian and international employers.
Drafting and review of employment agreements for all levels — senior executives through to floor-level employees — that are compliant with the Labour Codes, enforceable under Indian contract law, and protective of the employer's legitimate interests in confidentiality, intellectual property, and post-termination restrictions. HR policy manuals — POSH policy, code of conduct, IT and data use policy, leave and attendance policy, performance management framework — drafted in compliance with applicable legislation and with the enforceability of each policy in a dispute context specifically considered.
Learn More →Termination advice for employers — managing the process, the documentation, and the risk at every level of seniority. Retrenchment planning for businesses downsizing — the industrial law procedure under the Industrial Relations Code, the notice and compensation requirements, the prior permission requirements for establishments above the threshold. Negotiated separation agreements that provide certainty to both employer and employee, with tax-efficient structuring of the separation payment. Defence of wrongful termination claims before Labour Courts, Industrial Tribunals, High Courts, and in civil suits.
Learn More →POSH Act compliance for employers — drafting the mandatory sexual harassment policy, constituting and training the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), and ensuring the annual report obligation is met. POSH inquiry support — advising employers, ICCs, and complainants on the inquiry process, the principles of natural justice that govern it, and the remedies available. External Member services for ICCs where companies need an independent legal presence on the committee. POSH compliance audits for businesses that have not reviewed their implementation since the Act's enactment.
Learn More →Employment law advice for Indian companies deploying employees to Australia, Singapore, the GCC, and the UK — and for foreign companies hiring in India. Secondment agreements, split-payroll structuring, social security compliance, work visa and immigration support. For Indian IT and professional services companies with Australia or Singapore operations — Fair Work Act compliance for locally-engaged employees, and the employment law differences between Australian permanent employees and Indian secondees. The employment law structure that avoids a Fair Work claim or a Singapore MOM enforcement action must be in place before the employee starts work, not after the complaint is filed.
Learn More →ESOP scheme design for Indian companies under SEBI guidelines (for listed companies) and the Companies Act (for unlisted companies) — vesting schedules, exercise mechanics, the perquisite tax on exercise, capital gains on sale, and the treatment of unvested options on termination. For startups with a global employee base, structuring the ESOP plan to comply with Indian law while accommodating the tax and regulatory requirements of employees in Australia, Singapore, the GCC, and the UK. ESOP plan administration and management of the annual disclosure requirements.
Learn More →Industrial dispute management — conciliation proceedings before the Conciliation Officer, adjudication before Labour Courts and Industrial Tribunals, and appellate proceedings before High Courts. Strikes and lockouts — the legal framework for declaring and managing a lockout, and the employer's rights and obligations during a strike. Contract labour compliance under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act and the new Code on Occupational Safety. Labour inspector proceedings and enforcement actions. For manufacturing businesses with unionised workforces, GP manages the full employment law cycle from wage negotiation to industrial action response.
Learn More →A foreign company establishing its first Indian operation — whether as a wholly-owned subsidiary, a branch, a liaison office, or through a Employer of Record arrangement — faces Indian employment law requirements that are entirely unlike those in Australia, Singapore, or the UAE. PF registration is mandatory above the threshold — and the employer contribution rate applies from the first employee in the registered entity. Gratuity accrues from year one. The Shops and Establishments Act in each state governs working hours, leave, and registration requirements. The POSH Act applies from the tenth employee. GP provides a complete employment law setup for foreign companies entering India — contract templates, PF/ESI registration, POSH structure, and ongoing compliance management.
An Indian IT company deploying employees to Australia on a project basis faces two concurrent employment law frameworks: the Indian employment contract, PF, and gratuity obligations, and the Australian Fair Work Act obligations that apply from the day the employee starts work in Australia. The interaction between the two — which obligations fall under which jurisdiction, which employment conditions cannot be watered down below the Australian National Employment Standards, and how the secondment agreement is structured to protect the employer in both jurisdictions — requires legal advice that understands both frameworks. GP provides this advice from the same team.
Senior executive terminations in India fail for predictable reasons: the employment contract does not have a payment in lieu of notice clause, the separation agreement is signed without independent legal advice and is later challenged, the employee is classified as a workman under the Industrial Disputes Act (which triggers procedural protections the employer did not expect), or the POSH complaint is filed after the termination in a transparent attempt to reverse it. GP advises employers on all of these risks before the termination letter is issued — because the decisions made in the 48 hours before the termination determine whether the termination is clean or years of litigation.
Employment law and employment tax are inseparable. The wage structure that is compliant under the Code on Wages has direct PF, gratuity, income tax, and employer cost implications. The ESOP that is structured correctly for Indian law has tax consequences for the employee in India and in any overseas jurisdiction where the employee is resident. GP handles both dimensions — the employment law and the employment tax — from one team, ensuring the employment structure is simultaneously legally compliant and tax-efficient for both employer and employee.
GP's corridor expertise — Australia, Singapore, GCC, Hong Kong, UK — means that cross-border employment matters are handled by practitioners who understand both the Indian law and the counterparty jurisdiction's employment law. The secondment agreement for an Indian employee deploying to Sydney is drafted to protect the employer under both Indian law and the Australian Fair Work Act. The employment contract for a foreign company's first Indian hire is structured to comply with both Indian labour law and the foreign company's global employment framework. No separate local advisers. No conflicting advice.
GP's employment practice is built around prevention — the employment contract that prevents the dispute, the termination process that prevents the litigation, the POSH structure that prevents the enforcement action. But GP is fully equipped for employment litigation when it is unavoidable — Labour Court and Industrial Tribunal appearances, High Court writs, and civil suits for injunction and damages. The same team that advises on the employment contract will argue the unfair dismissal claim if it arises — with the institutional knowledge of the employment relationship that no separate litigation firm can replicate.
Complete confidentiality maintained.
Conducted a comprehensive Labour Code compliance audit for a 600-employee technology company that had not reviewed its salary structure and PF calculation methodology since before the Code on Wages. GP's audit identified that the company's allowance structure — which excluded a significant proportion of monthly salary from the PF wage calculation — was non-compliant with the Code on Wages definition of wages. The shortfall in PF contributions, accumulated over 32 months since the Code's effective date, totalled Rs.4.2 crore in employer and employee contributions. GP structured a remediation plan — salary restructuring, corrected PF filings, and negotiated settlement with the EPFO — that resolved the liability without triggering a formal enforcement proceeding.
Defended a financial services company in an unfair dismissal claim by a terminated Vice President — who argued before the Labour Court that, despite his VP title and Rs.28 lakh annual salary, he was a workman under the Industrial Disputes Act and entitled to its protections. GP's defence demonstrated that the claimant's role involved managerial functions — budgetary authority, performance appraisal power, and policy formulation — that took him outside the workman definition under the Industrial Relations Code. The Labour Court accepted GP's argument and dismissed the workman status claim, enabling the termination to be treated as a contract matter rather than an industrial dispute.
Advised a 4,000-person Indian IT services company on the employment law framework for deploying 120 employees to Australian client sites on a project basis. GP established a secondment agreement structure that maintained Indian employment (PF, gratuity, Indian income tax residency management) while ensuring compliance with the Australian National Employment Standards for hours, leave, and termination notice — addressing the Fair Work Act obligations that apply from day one of work in Australia. Simultaneously advised on the social security totalisation agreement between India and Australia to prevent double social security contribution. The framework was implemented before the first deployment and has operated without a Fair Work complaint since establishment.
The practice is led by a senior employment lawyer with experience across white-collar employment, Labour Code compliance, POSH, and industrial relations — supported by POSH-certified External Members for ICC appointments, a CA team for employment tax and ESOP structuring, and corridor specialists for cross-border employment matters. The practice maintains dedicated POSH advisory and ICC external membership services as a standalone offering for businesses that need only this component.
For manufacturing and industrial clients, the practice coordinates with GP's Insolvency practice where retrenchment proceedings intersect with corporate restructuring, and with our Commercial Litigation practice for employment disputes that escalate to High Court.
How the Code on Wages has changed the definition of wages for PF and gratuity, which employers are most at risk, and what a compliance audit covers — including a self-assessment checklist for HR and finance teams.
Read Alert →Workman status, POSH risk, separation agreement enforceability, and the payment structure that minimises tax for both parties — a step-by-step guide for HR and legal teams managing senior executive departures.
Read Guide →Whether you need a Labour Code compliance audit, employment contracts reviewed, POSH structure established, a termination managed, or cross-border employment advice for India or overseas — our team responds within 24 hours.
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