Hi everyone,
I need some advice regarding my current situation.
I joined a company around 2 months ago through campus placement. During the offer stage, they mentioned that there would be a service agreement (18 months bond with ₹1 lakh liability), and I was aware of that.
However, on the day of joining and even after joining, they did NOT make me sign any bond or service agreement (neither physical nor digital). I only accepted the offer letter via email.
After working for around 2 months and getting practical exposure to the role, I realized that the job is not aligned with my long-term career goals and strengths.
Recently, HR asked me to sign the service agreement, but I refused because:
I already worked for 2 months and now I have clarity about the role
I am not comfortable committing to a long-term bond with financial liability
I feel it’s not right to sign now when I am planning to exit
After this:
- HR started pressuring me saying signing is “mandatory”
- They said since I accepted the offer, I have already agreed to all terms
- They even escalated to my college placement team and mentioned blacklisting the college
Now the biggest issue:
- Everyone in my team got their salary
- My salary has NOT been credited
- HR is saying salary may be held until I sign the bond or serve notice
Important points:
- I have NOT signed any service agreement or bond
- I have NOT resigned yet
- I have worked fully for the past 2 months
- They are linking salary with bond/notice period
My questions:
Can a company legally hold salary like this just because I didn’t sign a bond? ( i was aware of the bond before)
Since I have not signed the bond, can they force me to pay ₹1 lakh?
If they don’t release my salary, can I resign immediately without serving notice period?
What is the safest way to exit this situation?
Will there be any legal issue ?
I want to handle this professionally, but at the same time, I don’t want to be forced into signing something unfair.
Any guidance would be really helpful.
Thank you.