IEL Elite

Overview

Khaitan & Co is an Indian powerhouse with a full-spectrum employment law offering led by Anshul Prakash in Mumbai. Team members are also based in Bengaluru, Delhi, and Kolkata.

A number of major multinational law firms regularly rely on the team to support with the Indian aspects of multi-jurisdictional issues.

The partners are very responsive.

The department is also adept at co-ordinating with external counsel on outbound cross-border work for major national entities.

Specialisms

The department is well-versed in the A to Z of employment law issues, and is able to work closely with in-house PR and comms specialists to ensure appropriate external communication of sensitive issues.

On the transactional side, the team is regularly appointed to assist with related employment matters – from those resulting from business stress sales, through to mergers and asset transfers. For example, the group acted for Franklin Resources on an employee transfer related to the outsourcing of its global transfer agency business to Fidelity National Information Services.

In another example, the team advised Kongsberg Automotive on the Indian aspects of the global sale of its Interior Comfort Systems business to Lear Corporation. Advice spanned employee transfer and staff onboarding to the new owner.

Transactional advice further extends to labour relations. This was evidenced in the assistance provided to Axis Bank on the issues relating to the highly unionised workforce of Citibank, in the context of Axis Bank’s acquisition of the latter. Advice spanned collective bargaining agreements, and the transfer of benefits and provident fund accumulations.

In addition, the team is regularly appointed to assist with workforce restructuring and reductions, and the closure of business operations.

Members of the team are also able to take on contentious issues for their clients, including internal investigations, and can pool resources from the firm’s white collar crime department to aid in particularly sensitive matters. This includes representing companies at civil and high courts, industrial tribunals, and the Supreme Court.

The team’s experience in this area was showcased in its representation of BT India at the Delhi High Court, where it successfully obtained a grant of exemption from the Employees’ Provident Funds Scheme 1952.

Another significant area of activity involves issues impacting the c-suite, and notably exits.

Other matters that clients frequently instruct the team on are secondments, social security, compensation, and built-to-operate models, as well as issues relating to D&I – including prevention of sexual harassment or discrimination.

Clients