HR Compliance Senior Associate

Your Journey at Crowe Starts Here:

At Crowe, you can build a meaningful and rewarding career. With real flexibility to balance work with life moments, you're trusted to deliver results and make an impact. We embrace you for who you are, care for your well-being, and nurture your career. Everyone has equitable access to opportunities for career growth and leadership. Over our 80-year history, delivering excellent service through innovation has been a core part of our DNA across our audit, tax, and consulting groups. That's why we continuously invest in innovative ideas, such as AI-enabled insights and technology-powered solutions, to enhance our services. Join us at Crowe and embark on a career where you can help shape the future of our industry.

Job Description:

Overview

The India HR Compliance Senior Associate is responsible for ensuring adherence to Indian employment laws, statutory requirements, and internal HR policies across our India operations. This role focuses on managing employment-related compliance processes, supporting policy governance as well as the employee life cycle, and mitigating risk through proactive monitoring and advisory. The position partners with HR Compliance leadership, Talent Business Advisors, and key stakeholders to ensure compliant and consistent HR practices in alignment with central and state labor laws.

This position requires strong regulatory knowledge and critical thinking skills, analytical judgement, the highest level of confidentiality and discretion, and the ability to operate effectively and efficiently in a fast-evolving compliance landscape.

Key Responsibilities

Employment Law Compliance, Reporting & Policy Governance

• Support compliance with key Indian labor law requirements, including but not limited to:
• Gratuity Act
• Shops & Establishments Act (state-specific)
• POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) Act
• Leave-related statutory provisions
• Severance and separation-related compliance
• Update and communicate HR policies, procedures, and applicable Indian labor laws (central and state-specific) to employees, managers, and HR stakeholders.
• Support the review and maintenance of the India Employee Handbook to ensure alignment with evolving legal and regulatory requirements (e.g., Shops & Establishments Acts, Industrial Employment regulations).
• Drive compliance program execution, including POSH awareness, training coordination, documentation, and audit readiness across office locations.
• Under the guidance of the India HR Compliance leader, provide support on policy interpretation in complex scenarios, ensuring alignment with statutory requirements and internal governance frameworks.
• Respond to employee and leadership queries related to HR policies, employment law, and compliance requirements.
• Identify compliance gaps and assist in drafting, updating, and implementing HR policies and procedures, and contribute to continuous improvement of compliance processes, controls, and systems.
• Ensure audit readiness for internal and external compliance reviews, audits, inspections, and compliance reporting, including maintaining accurate documentation and timely submissions.
• Assist in preparing employment-related documentation such as employment verification letters, compliance certifications, and policy communications.
• Support compliance awareness initiatives (e.g., HR Connect sessions) to promote understanding of policies and legal obligations.
  
  

Time Off (Leave) Compliance – EL / CL / SL

• Manage compliance aspects of employee time-off programs, including Earned Leave (EL), Casual Leave (CL), and Sick Leave (SL), ensuring alignment with applicable state laws and company policy.
• Support leave tracking and compliance with statutory accruals, carry-forward, and encashment rules.
• Provide guidance to employees and managers on time-off policies and ensure consistent application across the organization.
• Partner with HR systems teams to ensure accurate configuration and compliance of leave policies within HRIS platforms.
  
  

Employee Relations & HR Life Cycle Support

• Escalate and support employee relations matters under the guidance of the HR Compliance Talent Relations leader, and in partnership with the Talent Business Advisor (TBA) team.
• Partner with the Talent Relations leader and Workplace Investigations team, as applicable, to ensure adherence to legal requirements and internal protocols regarding employee relations matters.
• Support governance of and ensure compliance with exit processes and employee separations, including adherence to applicable labor laws and statutory notice requirements, documentation standards, and internal processes.
  
  

Qualifications And Requirements

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Legal Studies, or related field.
• 4-7+ years of relevant experience in HR compliance, employee relations, or HR operations within India.
• Experience within professional services, consulting, or multinational organizations preferred.
  
  

Specialized Knowledge

• Strong working knowledge of Indian labor laws and statutory frameworks, including central and state-specific regulations including Shops & Establishments Acts.
• Experience supporting compliance programs such as POSH, gratuity, leave policies, and employee lifecycle compliance.
• Ability to interpret and apply legal and policy requirements in practical business scenarios.
• Demonstrated ability to manage sensitive investigations or escalations with discretion.
• Strong attention to detail with experience in audits, documentation, and compliance tracking.
  
  

Core Competencies

• Judgement and Integrity: Demonstrates strong ethical and sound decision-making and uses the highest level of discretion and confidentiality in sensitive matters.
• Analytical & Problem-Solving: Ability to interpret complex regulations and resolve issues with minimal supervision.
• Collaboration & Communication: Builds strong cross-functional partnerships and communicates clearly, timely and effectively, both written and verbal.
• Adaptability: Operates effectively in dynamic, fast-paced, evolving regulatory environments, and is comfortable with managing ambiguity and complexity while supporting change initiatives and shifting priorities.
• Operational Excellence: Exceptional organizational, time management, and project management skills with strong attention to detail and a focus on accuracy and compliance.
• Technical Proficiency: Proficiency in HRIS (e.g., Workday), compliance reporting tools, Microsoft Office, data reporting, and AI tools.
  
  

Preferred/Additional Requirements

• Professional certification in HR compliance, employment law, or related field (e.g., HRCI, SHRM, XLRI, CCEP, etc.).
  
  

We expect the candidate to uphold Crowe's values of Care, Trust, Courage, and Stewardship. These values define who we are. We expect all of our people to act ethically and with integrity at all times.

Our Benefits:

At Crowe, we know that great people are what makes a great firm. We value our people and offer employees a comprehensive benefits package. Learn more about what working at Crowe can mean for you!

How You Can Grow:

We will nurture your talent in an inclusive culture that values diversity. You will have the chance to meet on a consistent basis with your Career Coach that will guide you in your career goals and aspirations. Learn more about where talent can prosper!

More about Crowe:

Crowe Capability Center – India, operating under the legal entity C3 India Delivery Centre LLP (formerly known as Crowe Horwath IT Services LLP) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Crowe LLP (U.S.A.), a public accounting, consulting and technology firm with offices around the world. Crowe LLP is an independent member firm of Crowe Global, one of the largest global accounting networks in the world. The network consists of more than 200 independent accounting and advisory firms in more than 130 countries around the world.

Crowe does not accept unsolicited candidates, referrals or resumes from any staffing agency, recruiting service, sourcing entity or any other third-party paid service at any time. Any referrals, resumes or candidates submitted to Crowe, or any employee or owner of Crowe without a pre-existing agreement signed by both parties covering the submission will be considered the property of Crowe, and free of charge.

We are committed to a merit-based hiring process, evaluating all candidates consistently using objective, job-related criteria such as relevant experience, demonstrated skills, measurable impact, and alignment with the role's responsibilities, and making employment decisions in a fair and inclusive manner free from discrimination.