Advocate Mohammad Kamran
- 10+ Years of Legal Experience
- Enrolled with the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh
- Certificate of Practice holder
Employment Agreement Drafting in Lucknow
Appointment letters, employment agreements and the policies that sit behind them.
Corporate and Contracts
What this covers
An employment document does more work than most employers expect. It records the role and the remuneration, but it also fixes probation, notice on either side, what happens to confidential information and work product, and what the employee may and may not do after leaving. When an exit turns difficult, those are the clauses that are read.
One point is worth stating clearly because it is so frequently got wrong. Under the Indian Contract Act, 1872, agreements in restraint of trade are treated restrictively, and a general clause preventing a former employee from working for a competitor after employment ends is difficult to enforce in India. Confidentiality obligations and non-solicitation of clients and staff stand on a different footing. Documents copied from foreign precedents routinely miss this distinction.
Who this may assist
Who this service may assist
If your situation is not listed, it does not mean it cannot be dealt with. It means it should be discussed.
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Employers hiring
You need an appointment letter or employment agreement that is fit for use in India.
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Growing businesses
Headcount has increased and the documentation has not kept up.
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Employers with confidentiality concerns
Employees have access to client information, pricing or technical material.
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Employers facing an exit
An employee is leaving and the contractual position on notice, dues and confidentiality has to be assessed.
Scope
Typical matters handled
- Appointment letters and full employment agreements
- Probation, confirmation, notice periods and termination provisions
- Confidentiality, assignment of work product and intellectual property clauses
- Non-solicitation of clients and staff, drafted with enforceability in mind
- Workplace policies, including on conduct, leave and the use of company systems
- Consultant and retainer agreements where the engagement is not one of employment
Process
How the work generally proceeds
The sequence varies with the facts and the forum. This is the usual shape of it.
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Step 01
Establishing the nature of the engagement
Whether the relationship is one of employment or of an independent contractor, since much follows from that and it cannot be fixed by a label alone.
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Step 02
Settling the commercial terms
Role, remuneration and its components, working arrangements, probation and notice on either side.
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Step 03
Drafting the protective clauses
Confidentiality, ownership of work product, and non-solicitation drafted to be reasonable and therefore usable.
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Step 04
Aligning the policies
The agreement is read together with the policies it refers to, so that the two do not contradict each other.
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Step 05
Issue and acknowledgement
The document is issued and a signed acknowledgement is retained on the personnel file.
Preparation
Documents commonly required
Bringing what you have makes the first discussion considerably more useful. Missing items can be obtained later.
- The offer or role description, with the remuneration structure
- Existing appointment letter or template, where one is being replaced
- Any workplace policies currently in force
- Details of registrations the business holds relevant to employment
- Details of confidential information or systems to which access will be given
- The organisational reporting structure, where duties are to be defined by reference to it
Cautions
Common risks and mistakes
- Relying on a post-employment non-competeA broad restraint after employment ends is difficult to enforce in India. Drafting as though it were enforceable can leave the employer without workable protection.
- Labelling an employee a consultantWhether a relationship is employment is determined by its substance. A label does not by itself displace the obligations that attach to employment.
- Asymmetric notice periodsA long notice period for the employee and a short one for the employer looks unreasonable and is more likely to be resisted.
- Not obtaining acknowledgementAn agreement never signed or acknowledged is an obvious weakness when it has to be relied on.
- Policies inconsistent with the agreementWhere the two conflict, the conflict is resolved against the party who drafted both.
See also
Related services
Reading
Related Guides
General information notes on this area. They are not legal advice.
The practice
Advocates
Each advocate of the firm is enrolled with the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh and holds a Certificate of Practice.
Advocate Hamid Razzaq
- 15+ Years of Legal Experience
- Enrolled with the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh
- Certificate of Practice holder
Advocate Mohd. Mateen
- 20+ Years of Legal Experience
- Enrolled with the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh
- Certificate of Practice holder
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Generally not by a broad non-compete, because restraints of trade operating after employment ends are treated restrictively under the Indian Contract Act, 1872. Confidentiality obligations and reasonable non-solicitation clauses are a more realistic form of protection and should be drafted with care.
Long enough to allow a handover, and reciprocal. Notice periods that are very long, or that apply only to the employee, attract objection and are harder to enforce in practice.
Not usually, if the employment agreement contains adequate confidentiality provisions. A separate agreement can be useful where a person is given access to particularly sensitive material or where the engagement is not one of employment.
For many roles a well-drafted appointment letter, referring to the applicable policies, is sufficient. A fuller agreement is worth having for senior roles and wherever confidential information, client relationships or work product are significant.
Where the firm works
Lucknow and Uttar Pradesh Coverage
The firm's office is in Lucknow. Matters arising in other districts of Uttar Pradesh are conducted from Lucknow before the court, tribunal or authority that has jurisdiction over them. There is no branch office elsewhere. Which forum will hear a particular matter depends on its subject, its value and where the cause of action arose, and is confirmed before anything is filed.
This page is general information about an area of practice. It is not legal advice, and it is not an advertisement or a solicitation of work. Reading it creates no advocate–client relationship.
Procedures, limitation periods, court fees, stamp duty and government charges change, and what applies depends on the facts of the particular matter. Nothing here should be acted on without advice on your own documents, and no outcome is promised or predicted.
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