Workforce, secondment and mobility legal for US employers in India.
Employing or seconding people into India exposes an American employer to Indian employment law, the four labour codes as they are notified, expatriate tax and social-security rules, and — importantly — permanent-establishment and GST risk from secondment itself. The Supreme Court in Northern Operating Systems (2022) confirmed that a secondment can be a taxable supply of manpower, which makes the structure of any intra-group deputation a legal question, not just an HR one.
AMLEGALS advises American employers on compliant employment and secondment structures, drafts contracts and policies aligned to the labour codes, and manages expatriate provident-fund and social-security totalisation, visas and the cross-border equity and payroll position. The objective is a workforce model that is compliant, tax-efficient and does not inadvertently create a permanent establishment of the American group.
Choosing between direct employment by the Indian entity and secondment, and structuring secondment to manage the Northern Operating Systems GST and PE exposure.
Drafting employment contracts, handbooks and the labour-code-aligned policy set (wages, conditions, social security, industrial relations).
Advising on expatriate income tax, provident-fund coverage and social-security totalisation where an agreement applies to the American home country.
Advising on employment visas and the intra-company-transfer route for American personnel deployed to India.
Structuring ESOP, RSU and payroll arrangements between the American parent and the Indian workforce in compliance with FEMA and tax.
Managing terminations under the Industrial Relations Code framework, POSH Act compliance and the ongoing labour-compliance calendar.
Employing staff in India generally requires an Indian legal presence, because a foreign company without an establishment cannot easily run compliant payroll, provident fund and tax withholding. Employer-of-record models exist but carry permanent-establishment, co-employment and compliance risk. AMLEGALS advises on the compliant options for the American employer’s specific plans.
It can be. The Supreme Court in Northern Operating Systems (2022) held that seconded employees can amount to a taxable supply of manpower, attracting GST, and a secondment can also create a permanent establishment and payroll-withholding obligations. The documentation and economic reality of the secondment determine the outcome, so structure matters.
International workers are generally covered by Indian provident-fund rules unless they come from a country with a social-security agreement (totalisation agreement) with India and hold a certificate of coverage. AMLEGALS checks whether an agreement covers the American home country and structures contributions accordingly.
Workforce reductions are governed by the industrial-relations framework (the Industrial Relations Code 2020 as notified, replacing the Industrial Disputes Act 1947), which prescribes notice, compensation and, for larger establishments, government permission for retrenchment and closure. AMLEGALS structures reductions to be compliant and defensible.
No. No engagement is treated as accepted until conflicts, scope and terms are confirmed in writing. An initial discussion is confidential and is used only to understand the matter and assess fit.
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