Labour and Employment
Dedicated practice with a focused team that advises top domestic and multinational companies on Indian labour and employment laws.
Our Labour and Employment practice is one of the most comprehensive in the country and has been the go-to resource for clients across varied sectors, including several Fortune 500 companies, who value our long-standing experience and expertise in handholding them through difficult employment situations and disputes, policy decisions and implementation, and changes in the constantly developing legislative environment. It is consistently rated as one of India’s best labour and employment practices by agencies such as Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, IBLJ, IDEX, Asian Legal Business, Who’s Who Legal, and Asialaw.
Our employment practice is acknowledged for its attention to detail and depth of knowledge across all key aspects of engaging human capital in India, covering varied industries. It regularly works with clients in the IT/ITES, Banking and Finance, FinTech, Hospitality, Automotive, Pharmaceutical and many other sectors.
The practice regularly advises on matters of employee compensation and benefits, structuring bespoke remuneration and retention policies, compliance with social security laws, leave entitlements, wage and hour regulations, senior management hiring and exits, workforce reorganisations and right-sizing exercises, closure of businesses, diligences and employee transfers in business acquisitions, structuring varying forms of employment contracts and engagement models, arrangements with contract workers and contingent workforce, separation and exit documentation, restrictive covenants, employee handbooks and policies, conducting statutory and other workplace training, disciplinary matters, trade union disputes and settlements, representation before provident fund and other regulatory authorities, immigration issues and more.
The practice is routinely involved in labour audits for clients and frequently assists with conducting disciplinary inquiries and white-collar employee investigations.
The practice is known for its abilities and expertise in matters of industrial relations and assists several significant manufacturing sector clients to navigate their union relationships, settlements, and approach towards contentious actions like closures and relocations.
The firm has built a reputation for its sexual harassment advisory practice and has worked with several clients in managing sexual harassment complaints, reviewing and creating best-practice sexual harassment policies and comprehensive guidelines for committee members.
Our Labour and Employment Practice works in close association with several significant industry bodies such as the NASSCOM, CII, USIBC, UKIBC, IFCCI, etc., and actively engages with the government on legislative developments.
Select Representative Experience/Clients
- Successfully handheld a major Nordic packaging and labelling company in reorganising its manufacturing operations in India, involving a shift of operations to a different state, negotiating with trade unions, defending legal actions attempted by the unions and achieving the reorganisation without significant disruptions or delays
- Successfully defended a major microblogging and social networking site in defending against prosecution attempted against it by the National Commission for Women wrongfully alleging non-compliance with the Indian Sexual Harassment prevention law
- Handheld a significant European auto major in conducting a detailed investigation into allegations of workplace corrupt practices. Engaged and worked alongside US counsel to assess risks and mitigants from a US FCPA perspective, and provided detailed recommendations on corrective measures, including support on the exit of errant employees
- Advised Prosus Ventures on all employment law aspects of its USD 4.7 billion acquisition by PayU of Billdesk, the largest such acquisition in India’s digital payments landscape
- Successfully defended a telecom giant in a high-stakes inquiry before the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, resulting in the authorities rectifying their calculations and reducing the cumulative levy of arrears, interest and damages by around USD 1,700,000
- Assisted a luxury automobile brand in a high-profile investigation and disciplinary inquiry against its senior staff in relation to forged invoices and advised on mitigating exposure and corporate liability for the client due to the acts of its employees
- Assisted Orkla ASA and its subsidiary MTR Foods with the labour law diligence and advisory during its acquisition of 67.82% shareholding of Eastern Foods, a company that employed over 3000 employees across 12 large manufacturing units in India
- Assisted Prosus Ventures in a USD 350 million investment in ‘PharmEasy’ (API Holdings Pvt Ltd)
Some of our other clients include:
- Indigo
- Accenture
- General Motors
- Vodafone
- British Gas
- CA Technologies
- Verizon
- E-Bay
