Employee Claims Company Fines Rs 100 For Not Wearing Ethnic on Fridays: "Is This Even Legal?"

A woman shared a post on Reddit claiming her company's Human Resources department introduced a "Traditional Fridays" policy that mandates fines for non-compliance. Notably, employees at the company's head office are required to wear traditional Indian attire every Friday to promote "cultural participation at workplace." Staff who skip traditional wear are asked to pay a "fine" or "contribution" of Rs 100, while senior management members are fined Rs 500 for non-compliance.

A screenshot of the internal HR email suggests that collected amounts would be deposited into the company's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund. The employee expressed frustration at the bizarre rule, noting that she primarily owns formal office clothing and does not want to spend money on new outfits just to comply with a weekly rule.

"We had casual fridays for the first 6 months i was here. Then, they changed it to formals/traditional on fridays and i was like, okay. Most of us wear formals, including me (i just don't have simple indian wear and do not want to invest in any). They send this mail today and i lost it😭 is this even legal? Lowkey wanna show up in a lehenga and call it "traditional" to piss them off," the post read. 

See the post here:

Just got this email from my HR. Do they have nothing better to do?
byu/Beautiful-Apricot-36 inIndianWorkplace

Legal Perspectives

Legal experts and HR professionals online have raised several concerns regarding the legality of such a policy in India. Under Indian labour laws, such as the Code on Wages, 2019, wage deductions are strictly limited to specific categories like absence from duty, PF/ESI contributions, or recovery of loans. Dress code violations are not legally recognised grounds for fines.

Many Reddit users pointed out that CSR is a legal obligation for the company itself, not its employees, and forcing staff to fund it through fines may be considered coercive. For a fine to be legally binding, it generally must be outlined in an employee's signed contract or certified standing orders, which must also comply with state-specific Shops and Establishments Acts.

One user wrote, "Not legal, but they are tricky with the way they're subtly forcing you to pay to CSR contributions. I'd suggest that you wear the most formal dress and give them Rs 100 just to piss them off. And make sure you ask them to invoice you properly and give you a tax deductible slip and everything. Make it extremely detailed and emailed and everything, like the longest paper trail you can create. Ask office colleagues to do it if you wanna make it a game."

Another user, claiming to be a lawyer, said, " This is not legal. A company cannot impose fines on their employees for a certain work attire. Also, CSR is a legal obligation on a company, not its employees."

"Ask them to show research studies with actual stats proving the positive effect of this decision on productivity and employee morale and an updated contract stating this amendment. As far as I am aware, any financial penalties put forth by an employer on employee are null and void unless legally binding and clearly stated in the contract duly signed by both employer and the employee," added a third.