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Give it all up: At Cambridge Solutions, you need to surrender original educational certificates too</td></tr></tbody></table>BPO giants such as Infosys and Cambridge Solutions are hiring despite the slowdown, but there's a catch they are collecting deposits and undated cheques from recruitsu00a0 Some of Bangalore's most famous outsourcing firms are offering jobs against blank cheques or 'caution deposits'. The practice is illegal. Cambridge Solutions, a knowledge process outsourcing giant, is collecting blank cheques, while IT bellwether Infosys is demanding a deposit of between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh from each recruit. It is mandatory, in both firms, for recruits to surrender original certificates. Cambridge Solutions recruited 160 employees last month. If they quit before they complete a year, they face legal action. "I came out of the interview the moment I heard their terms," said a candidate. The company also tells its recruits to move house to within 20 km from the office. Nimish Soni, CEO of Cambridge Solutions Limited, said, "We believe these steps are necessary to create a focused and dependable workforce and a professional culture." The company invests time and manpower to train new recruits, he told MiD DAY in an email, and hence the cheques and the restrictions. He said the cheques protected the company against attrition, which impacts clients and "confidence levels about outsourcing more work to India." Cambridge also wants to ensure that it hires candidates "who are not just good, but also committed to a career with us". Soni said the Rs 50,000 would offset training expenses if the recruit chose to leave, but admitted cheques by themselves were no deterrent. "Employees could empty their bank accounts before quitting... (so) we also collect educational certificates which are kept in safe custody," he explained. Mum on policy Infosys BPO similarly wants employees to stay at least for a year. K Raghavendra, vice-president and HR head, Infosys BPO, said, "I am not authorised to comment on the issue. We are in a silent period prior to the quarterly results and we can't spell out HR policy issues." Infosys demands a security deposit and a bond because it feels the company adds value to the candidate's profile, a company source said. The security deposit goes into the employees' ICICI Bank accounts, and is returned with interest once the year-long term is done. Legal experts say the practice can be challenged in the courts. "According to the Negotiable Instruments Act, a cheque can be taken as security only against a dischargeable debt," said Shankar Hegde, management consultant and labour law expert. "Taking a cheque as security deposit for a job is a punishable offence." An HR expert said the practice affects employee morale. "This is a negative strategy," said Madan Padki, co-founder and CEO, MeritTrack, India's largest skill assessment company and HR consultant. "An employee should not be forced to stay in a place where he is not interested in workingu00a0... Efficiency takes a hit. And moreover, it is unethical," he said. Just like Dowry, says union Bangalore's best-known IT workers' union ridiculed the demand for a deposit, saying it was like collecting dowry. "We are totally against it," said Kartik Shekar, general secretary, Unites. He said employer-employee relations must be based on trust. "There has to be transparency in these matters, and the practice needs to be banned," he urged. Karnataka's labour minister B N Bache Gowda didn't have a clue about the row. "I will look into it once I consult my officials," he told MiD DAY.

BPO giants such as Infosys and Cambridge Solutions are hiring despite the slowdown, but there's a catch they are collecting deposits and undated cheques from recruits

Give cheque, take job

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Give cheque, take job

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