Home/Practice/audit-and-advisoryFiled under [03] · Advisory

Audit & Advisory.

Lede

Most compliance failures we have seen were not failures of intent. They were failures of attention — accumulated quietly over years, in registers left half-kept and in vendors trusted past the point at which trust should have been verified. Audit is the discipline of looking again, before someone else does.

[i]Mandate

The posture of the firm — what we hold ourselves to, and what we ask of those who engage us.

We are not a forensic firm. We do not exist to discover wrongdoing; we exist to surface drift. The drift between what the establishment promised the regulator at registration and what it actually does today; between what a contractor invoices and what the contractor pays the worker; between the standing orders pinned to the noticeboard and the disciplinary practice that has evolved around them. Drift is quiet. By the time it announces itself, it is usually expensive.

Advisory work pairs with the audit. Once the gap report is on the table, the next question is always the same — what now. We answer in writing, in plain language, with a remediation plan that names an owner and a deadline for each item. Where the matter is on its way to tribunal we work alongside counsel; where it is on the regulator's desk we attend the hearing.

The point of the practice is not to be cleverer than the inspector. It is to make the inspector's visit a matter of register-keeping, not of negotiation.

[ii]Scope

The work,
line by line.

8 mandates form the standing scope. Bespoke additions are documented on engagement.

Labour-law diligence

On acquisition, demerger or before fundraising. Coverage of every applicable Act, with a written gap report and a remediation plan with named owners.

Vendor compliance audit

Coverage of every contract labour, security, housekeeping and logistics vendor — PF deposit verification, ESI coverage, minimum-wage adherence, contractor licence validity.

POSH compliance

Internal Committee constitution, annual report under Section 21, refresher training calendar, advisory on cases under inquiry.

Standing orders & service rules

Drafting and certification under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act for establishments crossing the workmen threshold.

Disciplinary inquiry support

Procedural advisory through chargesheet, inquiry, second-show cause and final order — drafting reviewed by counsel where the matter is likely to reach tribunal.

Tribunal & inspector representation

Appearance before the Labour Commissioner, ESI Court, EPF Appellate Tribunal and the Industrial Tribunal — advocate-led where the forum requires.

Retrenchment & closure advisory

Section V-A and V-B compliance — notice, compensation, government permission where applicable.

Management letter & audit committee briefings

Quarterly written brief on labour-law exposure, fit for circulation to the board or to investors on the next round.

[iii]Cadence

The operating
calendar.

The rhythm we hold ourselves to. Where the calendar slips, the engagement partner answers for it.

Quarter 1

Scoping, document collection, vendor coverage scan

Quarter 2

On-site sample audit and worker interviews

Quarter 3

Gap report, remediation plan with owners and deadlines

Quarter 4

Sign-off, management letter, board pack

On call

Inspection support, tribunal appearance, notice response

[iv]Frame

The statutes
we work under.

The standing reference. Where a statute does not appear, the work is not undertaken.

[01]

Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946

§ 3, § 5

Certification of standing orders for industrial establishments with one hundred or more workmen (raised to three hundred under the new Code).

[02]

Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

Chapters V-A, V-B

Retrenchment, layoffs and closure — compensation, notice, and government permission where applicable.

[03]

Sexual Harassment at Workplace (PPR) Act, 2013

§ 4, § 21

Constitution of the Internal Committee; the annual report filed with the district officer.

[04]

Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions Code, 2020

Chapters III–IV

Welfare, safety, working hours, weekly off and overtime — consolidated obligations across thirteen erstwhile Acts.

[05]

Code on Industrial Relations, 2020

§ 28, § 30

Standing-orders threshold raised to three hundred; recognised negotiating union and recognition norms.

[06]

Contract Labour (R&A) Act, 1970

§ 21, Rule 25

Principal employer's liability where the contractor defaults on wages or statutory contributions — the basis of vendor audit.

[07]

Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 / Code on Wages

§ 4, § 5

Equal pay for equal work; bar on discrimination in recruitment, promotion and pay.

[08]

Limitation Act, 1963

Article 137 (and EPF/ESI specific limitations)

The clock that runs on the regulator — which we read with reasonable precision before counselling settle-or-litigate.

References current to the Indian statute book as on filing. Where new codes consolidate or supersede the above, the firm moves with the codes — without an invoice for the migration.

[v]Frequently asked

Questions
we answer often.

The shape of an enquiry, before the partner picks up the phone.

What does a labour law compliance audit cover?

Every Act that applies to the establishment's headcount and sector — Code on Wages, EPF, ESI, contract labour, Shops & Establishment, Factories, POSH, standing orders. We deliver a written gap report with a remediation plan, with each owner named and each deadline noted.

When should a company commission a vendor compliance audit?

Before the next quarterly board pack, before an investor enters diligence, or when vendor concentration crosses a third of total contract spend. The principal employer is jointly liable under Section 21 of the Contract Labour Act — a vendor audit limits that exposure.

Is an Internal Committee mandatory under the POSH Act?

Yes — for any workplace with ten or more employees, regardless of sector. The IC must have a presiding officer, an external member, and gender balance. The annual report under Section 21 is filed with the district officer.

How do we respond to a Labour Department notice?

We read the notice against the statute it invokes, prepare the documents and registers that answer it, and appear with the establishment at the hearing. Where the matter is on its way to tribunal, we work alongside counsel.

Can the firm represent us before the Labour Tribunal or EPF Appellate Tribunal?

Yes — partner-led, with an advocate of record where the forum requires. We have appeared before the Labour Commissioner, ESI Court, EPF Appellate Tribunal and the Industrial Tribunal across Karnataka and adjoining states.

[vi]See also

Adjacent registers.

[01]Operational

Payroll & Statutory Compliance

Monthly payroll, statutory filings and the entire EPF / ESI / PT machine — across multi-state operations and headcounts from twenty-five to five thousand.

Enter the register

[02]Permitting

Registrations & Licensing

Permissions to operate — from first commencement to multi-state expansion. We take licensing as a calendar, not as a campaign.