Ankita Ray

Partner

Employment & Labour

Ankita focuses on a wide range of employment matters, including benefits and compensation, employment policies, workforce restructuring and performance and disciplinary issues.

She has experience in advising international and domestic clients on day-to-day employment issues such as drafting and negotiating employment contracts, advising/strategizing on workforce reduction and severance of employment of senior management persons, advising on transfer or acquisition of workforce, assisting in handling of complaints of sexual harassment and disciplinary matters, as well as matters relating to workforce restructuring and employee benefits such as gratuity, provident fund and superannuation. She has also been advising clients on transitioning to the newly enforced Labour Code regime. Ankita’s insights on the labour and employment law landscape in India are regularly featured in national dailies. She has been recognised for her contribution to the last few editions of World Bank’s Guide on Ease of Doing Business.

Ankita has also been conducting sessions and workshops with industry bodies such as FICCI and with the National Commission of Women.

Relevant Experience:

Notably, Ankita advised the Pfizer group on employee restructuring in certain of its businesses, as well as on the cessation of operations of certain units which had a large, unionised workforce (approximately 1300 employees).

Ankita also advised The Proctor & Gamble Company in relation to employment issues on the acquisition of the consumer health business of Merck Limited, a listed Indian company having approximately 1500 employees and 700 contract workers). She has also advised on various contentious issues of sexual harassment, keeping in mind reputational risk of the clients. Ankita has been guiding companies on issues pertaining restructuring under the Labour Codes, as well as on issues pertaining to contract labour and fixed term employees.

Some of the key sectors that Ankita has been working in are IT/ITES, pharmaceutical and healthcare, banking and financial institutions, manufacturing and power projects.

Ankita has also been on secondment with the India offices of global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts for 6 months and with A.O. Smith India Water Products Private Limited for 3 months.

Bar Council of Karnataka, India

B.A. LLB., Symbiosis Law School

2010