Zoho People is Zoho’s HR management platform covering the employee lifecycle from onboarding to exit. For Indian companies, it handles leave management, attendance tracking, shift scheduling, and performance appraisals with India-specific leave types and holiday calendars.

India-specific leave configuration in Zoho People

Core HR Features

Zoho People manages: employee database (personal details, documents, employment history), organisation hierarchy, department and designation structure, and employee self-service for leave requests, attendance, and document access.

Employee documents such as offer letters, appointment letters, PAN cards, Aadhaar copies, educational certificates, and experience letters are stored against each employee’s profile, with version control and expiry date tracking that is useful for passports and visa documents belonging to employees on international assignments.

For related guidance, see our Zoho One India guide.

For related guidance, see our Zoho Desk setup guide.

Leave Management for India

Configure India-specific leave types: Earned Leave (EL), Casual Leave (CL), Sick Leave (SL), Compensatory Off, and Leave Without Pay. Set accrual rules (EL accrues monthly, CL credited annually), carry-forward limits, and encashment policies. The leave calendar shows public holidays per state, Maharashtra and Karnataka have different holiday lists.

Maternity Leave under the Maternity Benefit Act is set up as its own leave type alongside these. Each leave policy, once configured with its accrual, carry-forward, and encashment rules, applies automatically to every employee assigned to it, so HR does not need to repeat the setup for individual employees.

For related guidance, see our Zoho implementation consulting.

For related guidance, see our Zoho Analytics guide.

Attendance and Shift Management

Track attendance via web check-in, mobile GPS check-in (for field staff), biometric device integration, or IP-restricted check-in. For companies with multiple shifts (common in manufacturing and BPO), configure shift patterns and rotate employees across shifts automatically.

Biometric and access control integration covers devices from manufacturers such as eSSL and Realtime. When employees swipe in and out, Zoho People captures the data and computes attendance, overtime, and shift compliance automatically. For remote employees or those in field roles, GPS-based mobile check-in gives HR visibility into where attendance is being logged from.

Quarterly performance review in Zoho People

Onboarding Workflows

When a new employee joins, trigger an onboarding workflow: IT creates their accounts, HR collects documents (Aadhaar, PAN, bank details), the manager assigns a buddy, and training tasks are created. All tracked in one checklist with due dates and ownership.

The checklist triggers automatically as soon as a new employee’s record is created, and assigns tasks to the employee (submit documents), HR (verify and upload), and IT (create accounts), each with its own due date and assignee. HR gets a consolidated onboarding status view across all current joiners, which matters when several people join in the same week.

Performance Management

Run quarterly or annual appraisals with configurable review forms, self-assessment, manager assessment, and 360-degree feedback. Link performance ratings to goals and KPIs. The appraisal cycle runs within Zoho People and produces a rating that feeds into salary revision decisions.

Objectives are set using the KRA (Key Result Area) framework: employees self-rate their performance, managers add their own ratings, and both sides can attach qualitative comments through the cycle. For Indian companies running appraisals in March or April, Zoho People supports running cycles simultaneously across departments, with HR tracking completion rates and sending automated reminders to managers who have not finished their reviews. Final ratings can be exported, and salary revision letters can also be generated directly from Zoho People.

Integration with Zoho Payroll

Zoho People syncs attendance and leave data to Zoho Payroll for accurate salary processing. LOP (Loss of Pay) days, overtime hours, and shift allowances flow from People to Zoho Payroll and statutory compliance without manual entry.

The monthly attendance summary determines the number of payable days for each employee and calculates any LOP deductions for unauthorised absences, so payroll processing does not need a separate manual reconciliation step.

For IT teams managing Microsoft infrastructure, the Zoho People and Azure AD integration guide covers automated user provisioning, SSO setup, and deprovisioning workflows for companies using Microsoft 365.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Zoho People handle Indian labour law compliance?
Zoho People supports India-specific leave policies and attendance rules. For statutory compliance (PF, ESI, minimum wages), Zoho Payroll handles the calculations. People and Payroll together cover HR and payroll compliance for Indian companies.
Can employees submit expense claims through Zoho People?
Basic expense claims can be managed in Zoho People. For full expense management with receipt OCR, policy enforcement, and accounting integration, use Zoho Expense alongside Zoho People.
Is Zoho People available on mobile?
Yes. The Zoho People mobile app (Android and iOS) supports attendance check-in with GPS, leave requests, approvals, and employee directory access. Field staff and remote workers use the mobile app for daily attendance marking.
How does Zoho People compare to greytHR?
Both are popular HR tools in India. greytHR has stronger payroll features built in. Zoho People has better integration with the Zoho ecosystem (CRM, Books, Desk). If you are on Zoho One, Zoho People + Zoho Payroll together match greytHR’s capabilities at no additional cost.
Does Zoho People handle shift scheduling for manufacturing or BPO companies?
Yes. Zoho People supports multiple shift schedules and rotational shift management. You can define shifts with start and end times, assign employees to shifts individually or in bulk, and set rotation patterns. Overtime calculation for employees working beyond their shift hours is handled automatically based on the overtime policy you configure.
Can Zoho People handle the statutory Form 16 and Form 12B requirements?
Form 16 (TDS certificate for salary) is generated through Zoho Payroll, which integrates with Zoho People. Form 12B (investment declaration for new joiners) can be submitted by employees through Zoho People’s employee self-service portal at the start of the financial year or when they join mid-year. The declared amounts flow into payroll for TDS calculation.
What is the cost of Zoho People for a 50-person company?
Zoho People uses per-employee pricing. The Essential plan covers attendance and leave management at around Rs 48 per employee per month. The Professional plan adds performance management and workflows at Rs 80 per employee per month. The Premium plan includes learning management and advanced analytics at Rs 120 per employee per month. For 50 employees, the Essential plan costs approximately Rs 2,400 per month billed annually.