INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Anshul Prakash, Kruthi N Murthy and Deeksha Malik, Khaitan & Co
For OCI cardholders who are employed by an Indian entity to render services apart from the work falling within the ambit of the special category, there is no requirement to seek prior permission from any com - petent authority or FRRO. Depending on the duration of a foreign employee’s stay in India and the nature of services proposed to be rendered, they will also have to comply with the appli - cable immigration laws for obtaining the appropriate visa (ie, a business/employment visa) to enter India. 4.2 Registration Requirements for Foreign Workers Foreign nationals entering India on an employment visa which is valid for more than 180 days are required to register themselves with the FRRO within 14 days of their arrival in India. No such registration is required if the employment visa is valid for 180 days or less. Furthermore, all OCI cardholders residing in India (including those rendering services apart from those in the special category) are required to notify the FRRO by email of any change in their permanent residen - tial address or occupation (this is not a registration requirement per se). In 2022, the government of India amended the Spe - cial Economic Zones Rules 2006 in relation to work from home arrangements for employees working out of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). A company in an SEZ may allow certain employees to work from home or from any place outside the SEZ, and needs to notify this to the Development Commissioner through an email on or before the date on which such work from home is permitted. The unit can provide an employee working from home duty-free goods, such as a laptop, a desktop and other electronic equipment, and these goods shall be allowed to be taken outside the SEZ without the payment of duty, subject to such goods being duly accounted for in the appropriate records. Apart from the above, Indian laws in their current form do not regulate and/or resolve issues that may 5. New Work 5.1 Mobile Work
arise out of employees working remotely. Most Indian labour and employment legislation is silent on the work from home/hybrid concept, and does not pro - vide any specific guidelines that may regulate the employer-employee relationship in such scenario. Accordingly, the onus is on employers to determine and notify employees of the guidelines in relation to working remotely. Employers continue to be liable for the health and safety of their employees when working remotely and should ensure that employees take relevant measures to ensure that their remote workplace is ergonomi - cally sound, clean, safe and free of obstructions and hazardous materials, and does not pose a risk to their health and safety. Employers should also require their employees to comply with all building/social codes and health and safety requirements as may be appli - cable to employees. Employers may also be required to pay compensation to employees who are injured (which includes partial or permanent disability) or die due to accidents arising out of or in the course of their employment, whether working remotely or otherwise. Indian data privacy laws and social security laws are central pieces of legislation and do not vary from state to state. Accordingly, there would be no change in the employers’ or employees’ obligations in this respect on account of working remotely. 5.2 Sabbaticals Sabbatical leave is not statutorily governed under Indian labour laws. Organisations consider and allow employees to avail themselves of sabbatical leaves at their discretion and according to mutually agreed terms and conditions. Typically, sabbatical arrange - ments are unpaid and would envisage the complete absence of any pecuniary relationship between the employer and the employee. Since no salary is paid to the employee during this period, no statutory social security contributions have to be made. However, employees may continue to be eligible for any other contractually agreed or policy-driven benefits like insurance coverage during the sabbatical period. 5.3 Other New Manifestations With remote and flexible workplaces becoming the new norm, employers have adopted (and continue to
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