HR Compliance and Policy Support

Overview

HR compliance and policy support helps an employer put the basics of employment on paper and keep them in line with labour law: appointment letters, a policy handbook, leave and attendance rules, a grievance route, a workplace harassment policy and the statutory registers and registrations that follow from headcount. It is documentation and process support. It is not a legal opinion, and disputes with employees or authorities are handled by a lawyer.

Who needs it

• Startups and small businesses hiring their first employees.
• Growing companies whose headcount has crossed a statutory threshold, such as the levels that bring PF, ESI or gratuity into play.
• Employers with no written policies, or with policies copied from elsewhere that do not match how the business runs.
• Businesses preparing for investor, client or lender due diligence that asks about HR documentation.
• Employers who want a periodic health check of their HR and labour compliance.

What Zenith does

Zenith listens first. We ask about your headcount, locations, industry and existing documents, clarify what you want covered, and give a tailored quotation. A relationship manager is assigned, and you receive a checklist specific to your engagement and milestone updates until the work is handed over with an explanation.

Depending on scope, we:

• Review existing offer and appointment letters, and prepare templates covering role, pay structure, probation, notice, confidentiality and exit terms.
• Draft or update an HR policy handbook for your size and industry.
• Prepare a leave and attendance policy that reflects statutory leave and your own practice.
• Set up a grievance and escalation procedure and a code of conduct.
• Prepare the workplace sexual harassment prevention policy and help you record the committee constitution where it applies.
• Prepare an applicability checklist for PF, ESI, professional tax, gratuity, bonus and other labour laws based on your headcount, wages and state.
• Support the related registrations and returns, which are separate services under this category.

Where something needs a legal view, such as a termination dispute or a contract clause with real risk, we say so and suggest you take advice from a lawyer.

Eligibility and key rules

Public guidance recommends that employers have written policies in these areas:

Policy area	Purpose
Code of conduct and ethics	Sets expected behaviour and how to raise concerns
Equal opportunity and anti-discrimination	Fair treatment in hiring, pay and promotion
Leave and attendance	Types of leave, approvals and records
Grievance redressal	A fair, non-retaliatory way to raise concerns
Performance and appraisal	Goals, reviews and development
Sexual harassment prevention	Compliance with the 2013 Act
Health and safety	Safe workplace, accident reporting and emergencies
IT and data security	Appropriate use of systems and data

Statutory touchpoints that a policy set usually has to align with:

• Provident Fund (20 or more employees) and ESI (10 or more, 20 in some states, for wages up to ₹21,000).
• Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 for establishments with 10 or more employees; gratuity normally needs five years of continuous service, and fixed-term employees may get a pro-rata amount after one year.
• Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, as an annual obligation where it applies.
• Minimum Wages Act, 1948, with state-wise rates.
• Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, which in public guidance applies to larger establishments and requires approved standing orders.
• Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, which requires a licence for engaging contract labour in covered cases.
• Professional tax and shops and establishment rules of the state.

India's new labour codes are replacing several of these Acts in phases, so Zenith checks which rules apply on the date of your engagement.

Documents required

• Incorporation or registration certificate.
• Employee list with designation, date of joining, location and pay band.
• Existing offer or appointment letters, policies, handbook and templates, if any.
• Current leave, attendance and holiday calendar.
• Registrations held under PF, ESI, professional tax, shops and establishment and others.
• Details of contract labour or outsourced staff, if any.
• Any past notices, complaints or disputes that the policies need to take account of.

Process and timeline

1. Scoping call and quotation.
2. Document and compliance review against your headcount, state and sector.
3. A gap list with priorities.
4. Drafting of letters, policies and registers for your comments.
5. Revision after your feedback, then final copies.
6. Handover with a short walk-through for HR and management, and a calendar of recurring items.

Timelines depend on the number of documents, complexity and your feedback.

Government fees, penalties and due dates

• Drafting and reviewing documents has no government fee. Registrations that follow, such as PF, ESI or professional tax, have their own costs shown separately in the quotation.
• PF and ESI contributions are due by the 15th of the following month, with 12% interest and damages on delay.
• Gratuity must be paid within 30 days of becoming payable.
• Other labour laws have state-specific returns, registers and penalties, which Zenith lists in your compliance calendar.

Amounts and dates above reflect public sources read in October 2026 and change with notifications, so Zenith confirms the current figures in your quotation.

Common mistakes

• Issuing appointment letters that do not match the salary structure or the PF wage base.
• Copying a large company's handbook that does not fit a small team.
• Having no written leave policy, which leaves encashment and carry-forward unclear.
• Ignoring the harassment prevention policy because no complaint has been raised.
• Not tracking the headcount thresholds, so registrations arrive late.
• Treating contractors and consultants as employees, or the reverse, without checking the facts.

FAQs