As the name implies, it is a type of contract between the employer and the employee known as an employment bond. The bond generally has terms and conditions for the employee; if an employee wants to break a bond, he/she can contact the company and find a solution. In this article, we briefly understand – how to break a bond without paying money.
If this is not possible, then employees can find legal mistakes in bonds to make a bond invalid. An Employment bond can be invalid if it doesn’t have a stamp, an incorrect signature, or no signature.
It also depends on the laws in your country or state.
Table of Contents
What is Bond Period?
From a company’s perspective, a Bond is a way to secure the company financially. Many companies invest money in employees, like training them, giving free courses or books to upskill employees, etc.
That’s why they make employees sign an Employment Bond before giving a job. Once you have signed the bond, you have agreed to their terms.
Now, there are four conditions in which you can break a bond –
- An Employment Bond is invalid – If it doesn’t have the legal signatures of both the parties and the stamp.
- Health Conditions – If you suffer from a disease, you can’t work, and a company cannot force you to work. Because bonded labor is illegal in many countries.
- Abscond from Job – Abscond means leaving a job without giving any resignation notice. You will get calls and emails from your company regarding the legal consequences.
- Convince HR – This is the last legal way for you. You can convince your recruiter and explain your situation if they understand. You can go for this method.
How to Break Bond Without Paying Money?
This section briefly describes four ways to break a bond without paying money.
1. Invalid Employment Bond

It is possible for an Employment Bond to be void if it does not have a legal stamp or if neither party signs it. In India, Employment Bond are only considered legal if it has a reasonable penalty.
If the company has only invested ₹20,000 in an employee, they cannot ask for ₹1 lakh as a penalty. According to Indian laws, penalties in employment bonds should be reasonable. In many countries, there are similar laws on employment bonds.
A) The bond is invalid if both parties haven’t signed it.
Since a bond is an agreement between two parties, if anyone of the party hasn’t signed the bond, then the bond will be illegal.
B) If the bond doesn’t have stamp duty
A user asked a question on vidhikarya.com (law website), where an Intern signed a bond of 6 months, but he had to leave the company. There was no stamp on his bond paper, so he asked the lawyer if the bond was legal.
Sanjay Kumar Jha answered the question –
His answer summarizes that a Bond is illegal if it doesn’t have a legal stamp.
2. Health Conditions

An employee can break a bond and leave the company if he isn’t physically fit. During severe health conditions, a person cannot work in a natural state; hence, an employee isn’t resigning to join another company due to their health conditions.
It is legal to leave the company in a bond period due to a health crisis.
If a company forces you to work, it is called bounded labor. In many countries, bonded labor is illegal.
3. Abscond from Job (It is illegal)

Absconding from a Job means escaping the office without prior notice. Absconding from a Job is a common way to break a bond without paying money. However, it is illegal and has many legal consequences.
A company can sue you, or you need to pay a higher penalty.
Absconding from the job only works; if you aren’t getting a salary, as you discussed during the onboarding period. Or If a company hasn’t invested in your training or given you any free resources.
Although it will still be illegal, you are legally strong in the second scenario. Hence, a company will think twice before taking legal action against you.
4. Convincing the HR
Your last option is to convince HR; you must convince him that you will break the bond because of your situation. However, it depends on how your HR is in person.
FAQs – How to Break Bond Without Paying Money
1. What are Legal Ways to Break Bond Without Paying Money?
There is no way to break a bond legally; Unless you can find some legal errors in a bond, which makes it illegal. You can request your HR to accept your resignation without money.
2. How to Escape a Company in a Bond Period?
If there is no legal action specified in a bond paper for leaving the company, then you can leave the company without notice. Although it will be illegal, the company cannot take legal action since the legal actions aren’t specified in the bond.
However, in some case company can take legal action against you –
- You have taken an advance salary but aren’t working.
- The company has invested money in your training or given you free resources like insurance, a house, etc. In that case, you need to pay the penalty specified in a bond paper.
3. Is Employment Bond Legal or Illegal?
It depends on the country or state you are working. In many countries, employment bond is illegal with certain conditions. If you break a bond you have signed, then the company can act according to the local laws.
Final Words
If your company needs you, you shouldn’t break the bond. If it’s a short period, you should continue there; it’s good for your reputation as an employee.
Secondly, if a company has a problem that makes you leave, you should talk with management about the issue. If on the management level also, the problem isn’t solved, then you can think of breaking the bond.
The best way to break a bond is to find legal mistakes like incorrect signatures, stamps, bond papers, etc. You can legally break the bond if your health condition isn’t good.
I hope this article helped you make better decisions; thanks for reading!
All the images in the article are created using Canva or downloaded from Freepik.
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