Labour & Employment
TLA [Tree of Life Associates], founded in 2009, a multi-vertical boutique law firm with depth of understanding and domain expertise in Labour & Employment law matters (other specialized practice verticals include Technology & Outsourcing law, IP law, Privacy law, Sports law and Start-Up legal offerings). TLA is amongst the few firms in India with a focused and specialized employment law practice, with pure-play employment law clients.
TLA’s employment law practice comprises extensive advice to trans-border and domestic employers, on their HR and employment legal infrastructure, covering all stages of the HR and employment lifecycle. TLA’s labour and employment law advice is pre-emptive, proactive and pragmatic, and very often strategic. TLA’s lawyers ensure synergy between client global HR ethos, policy and strategic imperatives and Indian employment law and practice.
Mr. Sheahan Verghese, with over 20 years of cumulative experience heads the Employment Law practice at TLA. Mr. Verghese has been ranked as one of the leading individuals in employment law in India by Chambers & Partners, a leading global legal ranking and publication house in their annual ‘Chambers Asia Pacific’ rankings from 2014 (since the firm first submitted its entry) till date.
Agreements with manpower consultants, data privacy issues in job application, pre-employment NDAs, streamlining interview and hiring process to avoid unintended firm job offer construal.
Including offer letters, appointment letters/employment contracts, NDAs, IP assignment agreements, Key management (executive) contracts, and HR policies. Extensive advice on the legal viability of employment and post-employment covenants, including non-competition, non- solicitation, confidentiality and employment bonds.
TLA advises extensively on wage and benefits restructuring in anticipation of India’s proposed labour codes. TLA also advises on issues relating to leave encashment, PF and international workers, social security and totalization agreements, structuring of employee stock incentives including ESOP, ESPP, RSA, RSU, phantom stock, employee trust closures, etc.
Legal structuring and associated tax issues.
Drafting and review of code of conduct, disciplinary policies, advice on workplace harassment (including sexual harassment), anti-discrimination laws (including relating to the LGBTQI community, disabled persons, transgenders) and workplace conduct (nature and impact of misconduct, workplace pornography, best practices for conducting disciplinary proceedings, etc.). Advice in structuring performance management, lay-offs, termination, and closure.
TLA also advises on trade union matters, collective bargaining situations and industrial relations in the manufacturing sector.
TLA regularly conducts independent and impartial workplace and ER investigations for its clients, either where there is need for an external, impartial investigator or where the client does not have an HR/ER functionary within the organization to do so. Such investigations include fact finding, witness interviewing, evidence collection and analyses with case review and solutioning. TLA investigates a range of workplace complaints including allegations relating to ethics and code of conduct violations, prevention of sexual and other harassment policy violations, and other policy or service rules violations.
TLA advises clients on all aspects of India’s extant prevention of sexual harassment law, including compliance, putting in place best practices and POSH policies, and conduct of training workshops for ICC and employees that is based on case study. TLA’s advice extends to representing both the ICC and employers in appellate and other actions filed by employees against ICC decisions or employer actions. From time to time, TLA also represents victims of sexual harassment in appellate and other actions both under POSH law and other relevant law. TLA’s lawyers also act as independent POSH committee members for clients when not otherwise acting as labour and employment counsel for such clients.
TLA extensively advises its clients on employee termination across multiple scenarios including reductions-in-force (RIF), performance-linked termination and misconduct. At times, TLA conducts the RIF process on behalf of the client.
Advice on related employment issues, including transfer of undertaking, employee transfers and impact on wages, benefits and compensation and HR culture and policy.
TLA has a strong labour audit and compliance practice that works in tandem with client compliance ethos and is pre-emptive. The firm also conducts staffing vendor audits to minimize client exposure. TLA assesses labour issues in terms of legal risk mapping and risk analysis and then evolves risk mitigation strategies that synergise with client business and HR environments. The labour compliance support is ongoing and ensures early warning systems to achieve optimal compliance.
Contracts with manpower/staffing vendors, advice on legal issues arising from contingent work force, including regularization and compliance risk and structuring contingent workforce engagement to reduce such risks.
TLA’s employment lawyers in tandem with the IP team, extensively advise on employment IP, IP audit and management in an employment environment, trade secrets and data protection in India, and protection of confidential information at the employee and corporatelevel.
The firm’s privacy practice group work with the firm’s employment lawyers to advise clients on the implications of India’s recent data privacy regulations in the workplace and employee expectation of privacy. The firm conducts compliance audits to align employer practices with these regulations, specifically in terms of employee monitoring and external data transfers.
TLA supports its clients in all labour and employment litigation matters. It has assisted some of its MNC clients in defending regularization and wage and benefit claims from contingent and regular workforce as well as represented clients in labour conciliation matters and labour suits around wrongful termination as well as litigation relating to sexual harassment matters. TLA has also assisted clients in labour office actions, appeals against adverse orders from social security and statutory benefit agencies (Provident Fund, etc.) and other labour statutory authorities.
TLA has been extensively advising its clients on the impact of the proposed labour codes, including on wages, benefits and compensation, contingent workforce engagement and other impact areas. Such advice includes compensation structure reviews and restructuring, workforce engagement models and ER and termination practices and systems.