How to write a joining letter for offshore hires in India: A Kaamwork guide for fast, compliant onboarding

You’re hiring in India, and the first paper the new hire sees is the joining letter. It’s simple on the surface: a start date, a title, a pay figure, but it’s also the contract anchor that links your offer to payroll, benefits, tax, and legal obligations. Get that document right, and you cut risk, speed up onboarding, and give the new employee a clean first impression of your brand. Get it wrong and you can trip over statutory rules or misclassify workers.

This guide walks you through exactly how to write a joining letter for offshore hires in India: what to include, sample language you can adapt, compliance notes (PF, ESIC, gratuity, TDS explained in plain U.S. terms), common founder mistakes, and a ready-to-use template. I’ll also point to how Kaamwork helps companies move fast without spinning up a local entity. If you want a legal review, treat this as practical drafting guidance, not a substitute for counsel.

Why a joining letter matters for offshore hires

A joining letter is more than a welcome note. It’s the legal and operational bridge between your offer (often made in dollars) and Indian payroll and labor rules (usually administered in rupees). For U.S. decision-makers, think of it as the offer letter plus the contract terms HR, tax, and legal will audit on day one.

Key reasons it matters:

• It clarifies employment type (full-time, not a contractor), which affects liability and benefits.
• It connects pay and benefits to Indian statutory filings (payroll, tax withholding, and provident fund).
• It frames IP, confidentiality, and governing law, essential for product teams working with sensitive code or data.

Kaamwork’s EOR model lets companies issue employer-branded, compliant joining letters and run payroll from day zero, so teams can hire fast without forming a local entity.

Indian terms you’ll see

Short, clear translations so you can read a joining letter without surprise.

Provident Fund (PF / EPF)

A mandatory retirement savings plan where employer and employee contribute a percentage of basic pay into a government-managed account. Think of it like a 401(k) contribution with employer match; contributions are deposited monthly and build retirement savings. See EPFO details.

ESIC (Employees’ State Insurance Corporation)

A social insurance program that gives health and some short-term benefits to lower-wage employees. Employers and employees both contribute a small percentage of wages; it’s roughly the employer-side equivalent of a payroll-funded health safety net for eligible workers.

Gratuity

A lump-sum benefit paid after five or more years of continuous service, calculated as a portion of the last drawn salary. It’s similar to a long-service bonus or final-year severance payment required by federal law for qualifying employees. The Payment of Gratuity Act governs the terms and payout formula.

TDS (Tax Deducted at Source)

Employers withhold income tax from salaries and remit it to the Indian tax authority, like payroll withholding in the U.S. The Income Tax Department publishes the procedures and rates.

What a joining letter must include (the checklist)

Below is a concise checklist. Each item is a line you should see in a compliant joining letter for India hires.

• Complete name, present address, and identifying information of the candidate (PAN/Aadhaar if needed)
• Role description and designation (team, reporting manager)
• Date of start, place of employment, and remote status
• Pay: gross salary in Indian rupees, frequency (monthly), and breakdown (basic, HRA, and allowances)
• ESIC percentages, PF, or a statement that statutory deductions will be applicable are examples of statutory contributions.
• Notice period, probationary period, and frequency of performance reviews
• Resignation procedures and termination rights
• Data security, IP assignment, and confidentiality agreement
• Benefits include paid time off, parental leave when appropriate, and sick leave
• The procedure of tax paperwork and tax withholding statements (TDS)
• The dispute resolution clause and the governing law (usually Indian jurisdiction for EOR hires)
• Special requirements (assistance for visas, equipment, reimbursement, and background checks)

Kaamwork’s onboarding flow bundles these items into a ready-to-issue, employer-branded joining letter and ties the document to payroll and statutory filings so you don’t leave gaps between promise and practice.

Step-by-step: How to write a joining letter for an Indian hire

Here’s a practical sequence you can follow in 30–90 minutes once you have the offer terms.

Gather the facts

Candidate name, start date, role, manager, preferred payroll currency (you’ll convert to INR).

Set the pay structure in rupees (INR)

List gross monthly salary and break it into basic, housing allowance (HRA), and other allowances. Indian payroll runs on INR; net pay will differ after statutory deductions.

State statutory deductions and benefits as short clauses

Include a line: “Employer will make statutory contributions (Provident Fund, ESIC, gratuity) as required by Indian law. Employee contributions will be deducted from salary as applicable.” Add brief parenthetical explanations if the audience is non-Indian.

Define employment terms clearly

Probation (e.g., 6 months), notice period (e.g., 3 months post-probation), and appraisal rhythm. Keep language specific.

Add IP, confidentiality, and data handling clauses

Short, direct: “All work products created in employment are assigned to the employer; employees will sign IP assignments and NDA forms.” Kaamwork uses NDA/IP assignment aligning with U.S. standards.

Close with signature block and next steps

Include contact for HR, instructions for pre-joining checks, and onboarding schedule (equipment, e-signing, day-one introductions).

When you publish the letter, attach (or link to) the employer policy document that expands leave, reimbursement, and performance rules.

Sample joining letter (clean, adaptable)

Use this as a draft. Change the local contact information, pay scales, and firm name.

[Employer-branded letterhead from the company]

Date: [YYYY Month DD]

[Full name] is the candidate.

Position: [Title of job]

Answering to: [Name and title of manager]

Date of commencement: [DD Month YYYY]

Dear [Name],
We are pleased to confirm your appointment with [Company] as [job title] under the terms stated here. This letter and the policies that are attached include the main terms of your employment.

1. Payroll: gross INR [amount] each month, due on a monthly basis. Basic INR [x], HRA INR [y], and allowances INR [z] are the components of salary.
2. Statutory contributions: both the employer and the employee are required to make statutory contributions (Provident Fund, ESIC) in compliance with applicable Indian regulations. Tax will be deducted at the source if necessary.
3. Probation: [say, six months], with a notice period of [say, one month]. The notice time following probation is [e.g., three months].
4. Benefits: include a gratuity given under the Payment of Gratuity Act following eligible service and [the entitlement to paid vacation].
5. IP and confidentiality: All deliverables produced while working for the company are corporate property, and you will sign an NDA and IP assignment.
6. Termination: [short notice and cause clause].

To confirm acceptance, kindly sign and return this letter by [date]. We're excited for you to join.

Sincerely,

[Name]

[Title]

[Company contact]

Add an annex with salary breakup and a checklist for documents the new hire must provide (PAN, bank details, address proof).

Drafting tips that save time and cut legal risk

• State INR amounts, not USD. If you discuss dollars elsewhere, include a parenthetical approximate INR equivalent and label it “informational only.”
• Keep benefits language short and reference a full policy for details. Long, vague clauses invite disputes.
• Avoid contractor language. Use words like “employee,” “subject to employment terms,” and state that the company will handle statutory filings. Misclassification is a common trap.
• Be explicit about IP assignment and device/software ownership; those are frequent headache items when teams work cross-border.

Several founders use generic templates copied from other jurisdictions; that’s the common error. To prevent rework and compliance gaps, Kaamwork pre-builds its letters to meet employer branding and Indian regulatory wording.

Common mistakes founders make (and how to fix them)

Using a contractor template for a full-time hire

• Problem: statutory liability, missed PF/ESIC, tax issues.
• Fix: Use explicit employment wording and make payroll and statutory deductions clear.

Leaving out statutory clauses (PF, gratuity)

• Problem: penalties and arrears later.
• Fix: add a short statutory clause and tie it to payroll admin. Reference the EPFO/ESIC rules where needed.

Vague IP language

• Problem: ownership disputes on the product code.
• Fix: include an IP assignment and an NDA as part of the joining packet.

Forgetting tax withholding (TDS) language

• Problem: employee confusion on net pay; audit risk.
• Fix: add a line about TDS and link to the Income Tax Department guidance.

If these sound like a lot, know that many companies solve them by using a local EOR that issues compliant joining letters and runs payroll, saving founders hours and legal headaches. Kaamwork’s model is designed for that: branded employment from day zero, payroll and statutory filings handled, and a predictable fee model.

Digital onboarding: Best practices for 2025

The modern onboarding stack speeds things up and leaves an audit trail.

• E-signature for offer and NDA (legal in India)
• Attach policy PDFs and a short welcome video link in the offer email.
• Link the joining letter to the payroll record and the new-hire checklist in HR software.
• Set up a technical onboarding time and a 30-minute management call on the first day.

By doing these actions, first-week dropout rates are decreased, and the hire feels valued. To ensure that your financial and legal teams have the documents they require, Kaamwork allows e-signing and connects the joining letter to payroll and benefits.

Kaamwork in action: Short examples

• TripAdvisor: built a full-time India team without a local entity and scaled quickly while preserving hiring control.
• Thrasio and SimpliSafe: rapid hiring and integrated HR lifecycle support, from joining letters through payroll and retention programs. Kaamwork reports short ramp times and low attrition for those engagements.

Those case studies illustrate the point: you can keep recruitment, interviews, and performance control while offloading statutory admin and paperwork.

Quick checklist for issuing a joining letter (one-pager)

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Final checklist before you send the letter

• Is salary expressed in INR and broken down?
• Is the employment type clear (employee vs contractor)?
• Are PF, ESIC, and gratuity referenced with basic explanations?
• Is the IP assignment and NDA mentioned?
• Is there a contact for payroll/tax questions, and a clear path for the candidate to accept (signed PDF or e-sign)?

If yes, you can issue the letter. If you still feel uncertain about statutory specifics, a short consultation with local counsel or an EOR partner will remove doubt.

Conclusion: Make the first document an advantage

Here’s the plain truth: a clear joining letter reduces friction, lowers legal risk, and creates a better candidate experience. For U.S. leaders building teams in India, the document is both a legal instrument and a brand touchpoint. Write it with the right INR framing, a short statutory clause, clear IP language, and a practical onboarding checklist.

If you want an immediate, compliant draft tailored to your role and pay bands, Kaamwork’s EOR platform can generate an employer-branded joining letter and link it to payroll and statutory filings so you can hire quickly and keep full control of hiring and performance.