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Gujarat founder takes ‘security cheque’ worth 1-month salary from new hires, explains why in viral LinkedIn post
A Gujarat-based founder, in a LinkedIn post, claimed that it is a recent trend among candidates to accept a job offer but not join the company.
A LinkedIn post by a Gujarat founder explaining why he takes a “security cheque” worth one month's salary from every new hire has sparked a debate about trust and corporate ethics. The entrepreneur said it is to stop last-minute job dropouts, which he claims has been a worrying trend of recent times.
“Lately, I’m seeing a strange (and worrying) trend. Candidates accept an offer. Confirm the joining date. Then… back out 1–2 days before joining,” the co-founder of a software company in Ahmedabad wrote.
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He added that the reasons given by the new hires often range from “personal things” to “something came up.” He continued, “This is becoming way too common, especially with Gen Z hires.”
What is a “security cheque” for new hires?
“We’ve started enforcing a security cheque equivalent to one month’s salary once the offer is accepted. Not to intimidate, but to set clear expectations and discipline. If you commit to a joining date, we expect you to honour it. If you back off at the last moment, the cheque gets encashed. Simple,” the founder wrote.
He added, “If it’s a genuine reason or notified early on, goes without saying the cheque is shredded. Hiring teams lose time, momentum, and real money because of last-minute dropouts. Commitment has to be a two-way street.”
He concluded the post by asking, “Any better ideas that actually work?”
What did social media say?
An individual suggested, “Curious how a security cheque is even enforceable. If you paid someone an advance joining bonus, you are well within your rights to ask for a security cheque equivalent to the amount in case they don't join, so you can recover the amount. I'm not really sure how a security check can be requested otherwise. I'm seeing a legal issue here. In addition, why would you want to arm-twist someone into honouring their commitment to join your firm? If they don't intend to join or are using it as a means to negotiate in the last minute, let them be. Sure, time would've been wasted during the hiring process. But genuinely good employees with integrity are well worth the wait. Fine-tune the interview process to gauge the person's value set, not only the skillset.” The founder replied, “Appreciate the insight, will try it for future hires.”
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Another expressed, “This is actually happening?! In this job market?!” A Nagpur-based founder commented, “That's a brilliant Idea!” To which a product manager replied, “It's stupid and illegal. At some point, someone will flag this company to the labour ministry.” The OP joined the conversation and responded, “Not sure how it might be illegal. We convey our process to candidates over email, phone and the t&c of our offer letter (signed and accepted by candidate). We only collect the cheque upon explicit acceptance from candidate, and give it back on the joining date.”
An individual wrote, “This is a real problem no doubt. But enforcing commitment through a security cheque feels like treating a trust gap with a penalty tool.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
