The HR Policies Every Indian Company Actually Needs

Most employee handbooks are too long to read and too vague to use. The test of a policy is whether a manager facing the situation at 6pm on a Friday can find the answer and act on it.

Statutorily required

POSH policy — Prevention of Sexual Harassment. Mandatory for every establishment with 10 or more employees under the 2013 Act. Requirements are specific and non-negotiable:

• A written policy, communicated to all employees
• An Internal Committee with a presiding officer who is a woman, at least two employee members, and one external member from an NGO or with relevant legal experience
• Committee details displayed at the workplace
• Annual report filed with the district officer
• Awareness training for employees and committee members

This is the policy most commonly non-compliant in practice, usually because the committee was constituted once and never refreshed, or lacks the external member.

Maternity benefit policy. Must reflect the statutory 26 weeks for the first two children, 12 weeks thereafter, plus adoption and commissioning mother provisions, nursing breaks, and the prohibition on dismissal during maternity leave.

Equal opportunity policy. Required under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act for establishments above the prescribed threshold, with specific content and publication requirements.

Practically essential

Leave policy. State-specific entitlements, accrual, approval, carry-forward, encashment. The most frequently consulted policy you have.

Attendance and working hours. Hours, grace periods, half-day thresholds, regularisation, overtime authorisation, remote and hybrid rules.

Code of conduct. Expected behaviour, conflict of interest, confidentiality, external employment, gifts, social media.

Disciplinary and grievance procedure. This one protects you. A documented procedure with notice, an opportunity to respond, and proportionate outcomes is what makes a termination defensible. Terminations without due process are where employers lose.

Travel and expense policy. Entitlements by grade, approval, claim deadlines, documentation. Ambiguity here produces constant low-grade friction.

Exit policy. Notice periods, handover expectations, clearance process, settlement timeline, what documents are issued and when.

Data protection and acceptable use. Increasingly important as India's data protection framework takes effect, and necessary if you process customer data.

Writing policies people use

• Lead with the rule. Put the answer in the first two lines; context afterwards.
• Name the owner. Who approves, who to ask, who decides exceptions.
• Give examples. One worked example beats three paragraphs of definition.
• State the exception process. Policies without an exception route get quietly ignored instead.
• Date and version everything. "Effective from" and "last reviewed" prevent arguments about which version applied.
• Keep it short. If a policy runs beyond two pages, it contains procedure that belongs in a separate document.

Keeping the handbook alive

• Review annually, and after any relevant legal change
• Record employee acknowledgement of the current version, with a date
• Publish in self-service so there is one authoritative copy, not seven email attachments
• Communicate changes explicitly rather than silently updating
• Track which policies generate the most queries — that is where the wording is failing