Hello,
I have searched the entire forum for these questions, but the answers seem to be scattered too thinly. So, I would be grateful if someone can please answer these comprehensively and correctly (as applicable for services industry):
1. Is the appointment letter legally valid? Or does any contract have to be signed on stamp paper for it to be a valid legal contract?
2. If an employee leaves without serving the notice period, can he be legally made to do so? Does notice period automatically imply payment of equivalent salary, or does it need to be explicitly stated in the appointment letter?
3. Are service bonds legal? Is it legal and enforceable for a company to demand damages towards training, etc., from the employee who has resigned?
4. Actually, in general, I have heard that appointment letters are deemed as unfair towards the employee, and so they do not hold weight.
5. What laws govern these issues?
6. I understand that a person is legally permitted to take up any employment he wishes. If yes, then aren't all of notice period/bank guarantee/service bond/training damages/etc., inherently against this and thus automatically void?
Thank you very much in advance!
Regards,
T. Sundaresan
