Employment Law and Labour Law

The Rajasthan High Court examines whether the traditional practice of Atta-Satta—a reciprocal marriage arrangement between families—can override individual consent in marriage. This case explores the intersection of customary practices with fundamental rights, addressing issues of child marriage, matrimonial cruelty, and women's dignity under Indian law.

The Punjab & Haryana High Court examines whether a single abusive expression in a workplace email constitutes sexual harassment under Section 354-A of the Indian Penal Code. This case explores the boundaries of workplace conduct and the legal threshold for criminal sexual harassment charges arising from electronic communications.

Welcome to the sixth edition of the e-Bulletin (Volume VIII) brought to you by the Employment, Labour and Benefits practice group of Khaitan & Co. This e-Bulletin covers regulatory developments, case law updates and insights into industry practices that impact businesses from a sector agnostic standpoint.

Outsourcing in India has traditionally been structured around commercial considerations such as operational flexibility, scalability, and cost efficiency, leading businesses across sectors to rely extensively on contract labour rather than direct employment on the principal employer’s payroll.

Implemented on 21st November 2025, the Labour Codes of 2020 represent a landmark reform in India’s employment law framework, consolidating 29 separate legislations into four comprehensive...

Fast forward 10 months: they now run a 20-member team across 3 cities, fully compliant, operationally efficient—and still don't have a registered entity. How? They chose a smarter India entry strategy.

The article examines the near-automatic judicial treatment of exit documentation rights in Indian employment law and traces how the Bombay High Court's ruling in Bharat Aviation Pvt. Ltd. and Ors. v. Rahul Sudhindra Soni marks the emergence of a new doctrine - the consequential document doctrine, under which such entitlements are conditioned on a lawful and complete exit from employment.

In India, many global capability centers (GCCs) have been bracing up for labour codes over the past few years. Finally, the Ministry of Labour and Employment announced the final Central Rules under all four Labour Codes on 8 May 2026

Indian courts are increasingly treating service bonds as legitimate commercial tools rather than automatic restraints on employment. When an employee leaves prematurely after receiving training or specialized benefits, can employers enforce bonds requiring compensation? This analysis examines the evolving judicial framework that determines when service bonds are valid, what evidence employers must provide, and how courts calculate recoverable damages when bonds are breached.

The Karnataka High Court has directed strict implementation of the state's menstrual leave policy, which mandates one day of paid leave per month for women employees across various sectors. While the court has ordered the government to operationalize the policy through administrative guidelines, the matter remains legally contested with pending writ petitions challenging the validity of the menstrual leave order before the Principal Bench.

Under the repealed Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995, paragraph 3(1) prescribed an employer’s contribution of 8.33% of the employee’s pay to the Pension Fund.

The Ministry of Labour & Employment has issued two significant notifications under the Code on Social Security that will impact employers across India. The first notification establishes a 12% per annum simple interest rate on overdue amounts under the SS Code, while the second sets a wage ceiling of INR 15,000 per month for Employees' Provident Fund purposes under Chapter III.