Employer Not Giving Passport

Hi Aquariansalman,

While it is indeed illegal for employers to withhold their employees' passports, there is also a flip side to it as to why it is being done.

Often there are cases where after much hassle an employee is brought on board, from another country. Now, whether the new employee is unhappy with the place he / she has just joined, or if there is a slightly better offer financially or professionally from a competitor, then within a matter of days, week or months, the employee jumps the ship.

This would be a loss for the first employer who would have spent a considerable amount of time, effort, and money to bring the candidate over. And this would be a sure gain for the second employer who gets to reap the rewards without taking any efforts of sowing, watering, nurturing or growing the plant. They just steal the fruit from a neighbor's farm with the minimal effort.

Now, moving internally within the country has been banned without the requirement of the NOC. But joining another company anywhere else across the GCC, the Middle East, or someplace else around the globe is still possible.

The pros and cons of this are debatable. But that is not your question.

Coming to your query, an employee who has decided to bail out can and will come up with any clever excuse, including death, and marriage in the family, besides much more to get custody of his / her passport with which they can move on. And an employer would obviously be wary of these ‘reasons' – however genuine they might be. So your employer's reaction is justified.

However, if your employer feels that your reason is genuine and that you are not planning to scoot, then they should suggest what other employers in similar situations usually do – they retain something of value of their employee (which will bring them back) and hand over their passports in lieu of that guarantee – usually the employee's original educational certificates, or their due salary, or some other guarantee which the employee would not walk away from.

And lastly, you are free to go and complain against your employer's actions with the Indian Embassy / the Ministry of Manpower. But it will not be without its repercussions.