Pretty much the title – my company is giving me a performance bonus (we had no appraisals last year, we got end of year bonus instead) which has a clause that says that if I leave within 12 months I would need to return the bonus in full. For example if they give me a bonus of 30 rupees, dollars, whatever, I'd get (30 minus tax) in reality, but if I quit I'd need to pay them back full 30. I was planning on sticking around anyway, but now that this has happened, I don't want to.
Can I refuse this bonus? What's the best strategy to deal with this situation? I'm in India, if that helps.