‘Daily wagers in guise of salaried folk’: Ashneer Grover under fire for remark on hiring in India

Ashneer Grover, the ousted cofounder of BharatPe, is once again courting controversy – this time for his remarks on the issue of hiring and recruitment in India. The topic has been constantly in the news for the last few days – thanks to controversial posts from top executives like the CEO of Bombay Shaving Company and the co-founders of EaseMyTrip and Pristyn Care.

Grover waded into the controversy Wednesday when he replied to EaseMyTrip co-founder Prashant Pitti’s viral post on Twitter. In his post, Pitti had called out hired candidates who backed out at the last minute, leaving companies in a lurch.

“Prashant - In India there is no value of contract,” Ashneer Grover tweeted in reply. The former MD of BharatPe said India’s “expensive and broken” legal system meant that neither would Pitti pursue legal action against a prospective employee, and nor would the employee do the same against a company.

“Neither would you go after someone nor would they as legal system is broken and expensive. So in India it’s - ek haath le doosre haath de (give with one hand, take with the other),” he said.

Then came the bit of Grover’s tweet that has faced backlash. “Best to tone down your expectation that you employ daily wagers in guise of salaried folk,” he advised Pitti, and his choice of words found many critics.
“How do you manage to stoop so low? ‘Daily Wagers’ that's how you treat your employees,” wrote one Twitter user.

“Problem is mentality of people like Ashneer. Treat them like daily wagers and they will act and give results like a daily wagers do,” another said, pointing out that companies do not display the same ethics they preach while laying off employees to maintain profit margins.
“If someone is getting a better opportunity somewhere else, why won’t they go for it,” a third asked.

Another popular opinion on the microblogging platform: It takes two to tango. Many pointed out the several hiring mistakes that companies make, which make their employees want to quit. One issue that came up again and again was long notice periods that employees are expected to serve after resigning.