Hi Experts,
Management in my company directed us to keep the original educational certificates as security until the completion of the probation period of three months. I want to know, is it legal? Do we have any Act/Law against or in favor of this?
If we lose any of these certificates, then who will be legally accountable for this? Is it the Management who gave these directions in writing or the executive who is taking these certificates into their custody and providing an acknowledgment of the same?
Please share your thoughts on this.
Regards
From India, Patiala
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1Management in my company directed us to keep the original educational certificates as security until the completion of the probation period of three months. I want to know, is it legal? Do we have any Act/Law against or in favor of this?
If we lose any of these certificates, then who will be legally accountable for this? Is it the Management who gave these directions in writing or the executive who is taking these certificates into their custody and providing an acknowledgment of the same?
Please share your thoughts on this.
Regards
From India, Patiala
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Dear Mandeep,
Keeping original certificates is both unethical and illegal. Please click on the links in the sidebar at the right, where this topic has been covered a number of times.
Has the management given these instructions in writing?
From United Kingdom
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Keeping original certificates is both unethical and illegal. Please click on the links in the sidebar at the right, where this topic has been covered a number of times.
Has the management given these instructions in writing?
From United Kingdom
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As rightly told by Simhan, it is unethical and illegal too, Company keeps the original certificates not as security but for to hold the employees till the employer need.
From India, Ahmadabad
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From India, Ahmadabad
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As rightly told by Simhan, it is unethical and illegal too, Company keeps the original certificates not as security but to hold the employees till the employer’s need.
From India, Ahmadabad
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From India, Ahmadabad
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Dear Mandeep,
Companies retain the original certificates of the newly joined employees to foreclose the possibility of a sudden exit. There are abundant cases of abandonment of employment. To contain this challenge, companies resort to this method. Since the certificates are held by the company, an employee who wishes to resign has to adhere to the notice period or separation norms per force.
Why retention of certificates for three months alone? Few companies retain certificates even for five long years. However, once you accept the certificates, the onus of the custody of the certificate lies with you. You need to issue an acknowledgment letter stating what kind of certificates you possess and when these will be returned.
There is another angle to look at as well. If things have come to such a pass where you need to retain the certificates, then it only sheds light on your recruitment practices, the career-consciousness of the candidates, the salary whether as per market standards, and above all, the culture of your organization. Retention of educational certificates is only a curative measure; however, you need to eradicate the real malaise, which could lie elsewhere. Find out why people are quitting.
Thanks,
Dinesh V Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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Companies retain the original certificates of the newly joined employees to foreclose the possibility of a sudden exit. There are abundant cases of abandonment of employment. To contain this challenge, companies resort to this method. Since the certificates are held by the company, an employee who wishes to resign has to adhere to the notice period or separation norms per force.
Why retention of certificates for three months alone? Few companies retain certificates even for five long years. However, once you accept the certificates, the onus of the custody of the certificate lies with you. You need to issue an acknowledgment letter stating what kind of certificates you possess and when these will be returned.
There is another angle to look at as well. If things have come to such a pass where you need to retain the certificates, then it only sheds light on your recruitment practices, the career-consciousness of the candidates, the salary whether as per market standards, and above all, the culture of your organization. Retention of educational certificates is only a curative measure; however, you need to eradicate the real malaise, which could lie elsewhere. Find out why people are quitting.
Thanks,
Dinesh V Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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Checking the original against the photocopy and thereafter returning the original is fine. Retention of the original certificates is not professional.
Don't join an organization that is asking you to submit originals for their record and custody.
From India, Mumbai
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Don't join an organization that is asking you to submit originals for their record and custody.
From India, Mumbai
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Dear Mandeep,
Greetings for the day.
It is really shocking that original documents were kept in the custody of an employer, which is illegal and unethical. This situation provokes the issue of bonded labor, which was completely abolished by the Government of India.
Thanks and regards,
Sumit Kumar Saxena
From India, Ghaziabad
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Greetings for the day.
It is really shocking that original documents were kept in the custody of an employer, which is illegal and unethical. This situation provokes the issue of bonded labor, which was completely abolished by the Government of India.
Thanks and regards,
Sumit Kumar Saxena
From India, Ghaziabad
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Dear Sumit,
I have gone through your post. You appear to be detached from the current realities of the job market. In the preceding generation, job opportunities were limited; hence, retaining employees was not a big challenge. Today, job opportunities are plentiful. Against this backdrop, employees play truant. To contain the sudden exit of employees, companies resort to seemingly devious means of keeping the original certificates. It acts as a hedge to ensure that the employees work as per their notice period.
In today's world, everybody wants to work in branded companies. In that case, where will SMEs go? Getting quality manpower is a huge challenge for them. They end up with rejects or stragglers. These individuals may not be career-conscious. They do not see anything wrong with abandoning their employment.
A friend of mine who runs a photo studio was fed up with sudden staff exits. Finally, he started keeping the first month's salary as a security deposit. He thought that at least for the sake of money, people would stay. However, this method also did not work 100%. In certain cases, employees reconciled with the loss of the security deposit and left anyway. They did not even bother to come back to claim their first month's salary.
Legality aside, why should ethics apply only to employers? Shouldn't employees also be held accountable for leaving their services without notice? Aren't they supposed to work as per their notice period? Let's apply ethics to both sides and not just one. The sudden exit of employees disrupts the employers' work. To maintain work continuity, staff retention is essential. Therefore, retaining original certificates is out of compulsion and not to display high-handedness.
I hope I have presented the viewpoint from the other side. However, please do not misinterpret this as me advocating for the employers.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
+91-9900155394
From India, Bangalore
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I have gone through your post. You appear to be detached from the current realities of the job market. In the preceding generation, job opportunities were limited; hence, retaining employees was not a big challenge. Today, job opportunities are plentiful. Against this backdrop, employees play truant. To contain the sudden exit of employees, companies resort to seemingly devious means of keeping the original certificates. It acts as a hedge to ensure that the employees work as per their notice period.
In today's world, everybody wants to work in branded companies. In that case, where will SMEs go? Getting quality manpower is a huge challenge for them. They end up with rejects or stragglers. These individuals may not be career-conscious. They do not see anything wrong with abandoning their employment.
A friend of mine who runs a photo studio was fed up with sudden staff exits. Finally, he started keeping the first month's salary as a security deposit. He thought that at least for the sake of money, people would stay. However, this method also did not work 100%. In certain cases, employees reconciled with the loss of the security deposit and left anyway. They did not even bother to come back to claim their first month's salary.
Legality aside, why should ethics apply only to employers? Shouldn't employees also be held accountable for leaving their services without notice? Aren't they supposed to work as per their notice period? Let's apply ethics to both sides and not just one. The sudden exit of employees disrupts the employers' work. To maintain work continuity, staff retention is essential. Therefore, retaining original certificates is out of compulsion and not to display high-handedness.
I hope I have presented the viewpoint from the other side. However, please do not misinterpret this as me advocating for the employers.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
+91-9900155394
From India, Bangalore
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