Building an HR Policy Framework for Your India Team

A common pattern: a US startup hires its first five India engineers via EOR. The EOR provides compliant offer letters and manages payroll. But the company hasn't written an India-specific employee handbook, so when an Indian engineer asks about leave encashment on resignation, or about whether the POSH policy applies to remote incidents, there are no clear answers.

HR policies for your India team don't need to be elaborate. But they need to exist, be India-specific (not just a localisation of your US handbook), and cover both the mandatory items and the cultural context that makes them effective.

Mandatory Policies

These policies are required by law for Indian employees, regardless of company size:

• POSH Policy (Sexual Harassment Prevention): Mandatory for establishments with 10+ employees. Must include definitions, ICC composition, complaint procedure, and annual awareness commitment.
• Leave Policy: Must comply with the applicable Shops & Establishments Act and state-specific leave rules. Must specify earned leave, sick leave, casual leave, and maternity leave entitlements.
• Working Hours and Overtime Policy: Must comply with local S&E Act limits (typically 48 hours/week, 9 hours/day). Overtime rate and payment procedure must be specified.
• Disciplinary and Termination Procedure: Terminations in India are legally constrained. Your policy must describe the warning and show-cause process before termination. Wrongful termination claims are costly and time-consuming.

High-Value Best Practice Policies

Not legally required for small teams, but strongly recommended to protect the company and retain employees:

• Grievance Redressal Policy: A formal mechanism for employees to raise concerns. Reduces the risk of issues escalating to labour authorities.
• Code of Conduct: Covers conflicts of interest, gifts and entertainment, confidentiality, and acceptable use of company resources.
• Data Protection Policy: India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act (2023) imposes obligations on employers who process employee data. A DPDP-compliant data policy is increasingly important.
• Remote Work / WFH Policy: India's traditional Shops & Establishments law was written for office environments. A clear WFH policy sets expectations on availability, equipment, and expense reimbursement.

Localising Global Policies

If your company has a global HR policy document written for the US or UK context, don't simply localise it for India — rewrite the India section from scratch. The differences are substantive: US at-will employment doesn't exist in India; UK gardening leave concepts translate differently; US 401(k) plans don't map to PF in useful ways for explanation purposes.

The best India employee handbooks we've seen are written as if for a reader who knows nothing about the company's home country employment practices — not as addendums to a global policy document.