Can We Replace ESI Deductions with Group Insurance in Our BPO? Seeking Advice!

Dear Friends,

I am an HR EXECUTIVE in a medical billing BPO company. We are deducting ESI for employees, but none of the employees are utilizing ESI facilities. Therefore, we have planned to implement employee group insurance. By implementing group insurance, we can avoid ESI deductions for both employees and employers. Is this possible?

Kindly guide me.

Thanks and regards,

Jayabalan.k
9944588733

Hi Jayabalan,

You are right that BPO employees are not availing ESIC benefits. Employee group insurance is good; however, ESIC is regulatory. If you calculate company expenses, it does not affect by opting for employee group insurance. On the other hand, employees will not get that many benefits by employee group insurance.

In your company, employees are eligible for ESIC, which means they are earning below 10,000/-. I think going with ESIC will be beneficial for employees as they may get good benefits like 'leave with pay' and 'low-cost medical services' by the Government of India.

Regards, Compliancewhizz

Hi,

Thank you for your reply. I am well aware of ESIC benefits, but it seems that our employees are not utilizing them properly. None of them are going to an ESIC hospital for any treatment. As a result, I feel that money is being wasted on both sides. That's why we are considering group insurance.

Someone else suggested looking into workman's compensation, but I am not familiar with this. Could you please provide a brief explanation or guide me on this matter?

Thank you and regards,
Jayabalaln.k

Dear Friend,

ESI is a statutory liability and not a choice. If it is applicable in your organization, then you cannot opt to avoid it, especially if you are not providing better facilities than ESI. You cannot even go for a WC Policy.

Regards