HR LEGAL
PACE offers end-to-end advisory and consulting legal HR services. The Indian law in relation to (HR is a complex combination of Central and State laws. Diverse laws govern the various aspects of HR, such as, employment, compensation, harassment at work, safety at workplace, termination, corrective action, policies, procedures, benefit administration and record maintenance. A multitude of compliance issues are required to be addressed by the employers from time-to-time.
At PACE, our HR legal experts understand the intricacies involved in the above mentioned HR laws and the difficulties faced by Corporations in complying and implementing a high level of corporate governance. Corporate governance broadly refers to the mechanisms, relations, and processes by which a Corporation is controlled and directed. It involves upholding the many interests of the stakeholders of a Corporation. PACE provides the following comprehensive services to the client:
Statutory Compliances
Statutory Compliance Services are precisely what businesses need to become more effective and well-managed. In simple terms it means adhering to a set of rules and regulations. Statutory Compliance in HR refers to the legal framework and guidelines that an organization should adhere to while dealing with its employees.
To ensure timely and efficient statutory compliance in an organization, the following aspects must be in place:
- Unrestricted access to local and regional expertise
- Proficient support during audits and inspections
- Follow ethical practices
- Knowledge of timelines for adherence to laws and regulations
- Updated documents and data in a centralized location which are readily available
What is contract labour compliance?
Contract Labour Act is a statutory act which deals with employment, rights, principle, contractor roles, registers and remittances of labour.
Factories Act –deals with licenses and norms to operate an industry, hazardous operations permits, safety, health, efficiency and well-being of the persons at work places, etc.
The complexity of doing business has increased tremendously and it has become very challenging to sync with the operational aspects of every business. Organizations seek the help of statutory compliance experts whose main focus is to be compliant with the ever-changing regulatory environment.
Shops and Establishment Act
To provide statutory obligation and rights to employees and employers and to regulate the conditions of work in the unorganized sector of employment i.e. shops and establishments. Every state in India has enacted the Shops and Establishments Act. The scope of the Act is applicable to all persons employed in an establishment with or without wages, except the members of the employer’s family. State government can exempt, either permanently or for a specified period, any establishment from all or any of the provisions of this Act.
PoSH
Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) is a law to prevent and to provide protection against sexual harassment of women at the workplace as well as for redressal of complaints pertaining to harassment in any form. Sexual harassment violates the fundamental rights of a woman to equality under Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India and her right to life and to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution and right to practice any profession, which includes a right to a safe environment that is free from sexual harassment. Sexual harassment at the workplace is a horrific violation of an individual’s rights.
(PoSH) was brought in to protect an individual from any harassment at work along with providing a safe, non-discriminatory environment within the workplace. It is mandatory for organizations to implement this Act and adhere to a zero-tolerance policy towards any kind of harassment of an individual
Industrial Relations
Industrial Relations (IR) is dynamic in nature. The nature of IR can be seen as an outcome of a complex set of transactions among the major players such as the employers, the employees, the trade union, and the state in a given socio-economic context. In a sense, change in the nature of IR has become synonymous with change in the socio-economic context of a country.
Legal Counselling
PACE offers legal counselling by trained attorneys on call to discuss legal situations/complications. Legal counselling may pertain to family, civil, labour, etc. Employees and members of their households (based on the contract signed) can avail this facility. Action plan based on the virtual counselling session can be drawn up based on the acceptance by both the parties involved.
Contracts
The employer-employee relationship is, and has always been in a constant state of evolution. As the nature of this relationship evolves and changes, so does the nature of disputes that arise as a result of divergent interests, which the employer and employee seek to protect in their interaction with each other and the society in general. Several laws and legislations have been drafted to create an appropriate framework to address these concerns with an objective to reasonably balance the interests of both the employers and employees. Such employment laws have a broad ambit and include in their scope all areas of the employer-employee relationship. They are not merely restricted to contractual issues and/or workplace discrimination. Like any other contract in India, an employment contract also consists of the following essential features- offer, acceptance, consideration, competent parties, legal object and free consent.
Legal & Compliance Audits
Legal Audit helps to detect non-compliance of labour and employment laws applicable to a business and take corrective measures to avoid any legal action by the regulators against the business and its management. Labour Law audit is a thorough check of the company’s policies and procedures to prevent prosecutions.
Benefits of Audit
Benefits to the Employee
- Social Security of workers/employees will get optimised.
- Ensures timely payment of wages, gratuity, bonus, overtime, compensation, etc., to the workers.
- Boosts the morale of the employees through a complete check of the processes and procedures followed.
Benefits to the Employer
- Good Corporate Governaence.
- Helps increase productivity. Higher productivity results in higher profits.
- Also helps in preventing strikes by employees, lock-outs, etc.
- Cooperation and understanding and effective communication improves employer-employee relations.
Consequences of non-compliance
In the event of non-compliance of labour laws by the organization, various penal provisions get attracted which include imprisonment/ fine or both, depending on the type of default. An independent audit limits this risk to a great extent. Labour Law is so vast and deep that no business can afford the risk of non-compliance of this law and therefore this aspect of the business is very crucial.
