Contract Labour Registration: Do Employers Need Separate Registrations for Each State?

If the principal employer (PE) has branches in more than one state, then in the case of Contract Labour registration, will the PE have central registration (one registration for all Pan India branches) or will they have to register in all the states?

Each state has different rules, fees, etc. You have to register the establishment in every state where it is situated.

Best wishes,
jpratap

Thank you, jpratap, for your reply. The Contract Labour Act is central, yet the Principal Employer (PE) must register in every state. Is this mandatory? Could you please provide more insight on this?

Registration Certificate Requirements for Principal Employers

The Principal Employer must obtain the Registration Certificate on a location-wise basis and not just state-wise. If you have 10 different works in one location, then you have to obtain 10 Registration Certificates for all the works. This means that every premises must have its own Registration Certificate. When applying, they must mention the names of the Contractors who are being engaged to perform the work at the premises.

Thank you.

Although Labour Acts are enacted by the Central Government, only the "appropriate government" implements them. Look for the definition of 'appropriate government' in the relevant Acts.

Regards,
jpratap

For engaging contract labor, the principal employer as well as the contractor must obtain contract labor licenses from the concerned State Government Labor Department. Separate licenses must be obtained for each state. Even within one state, the principal employer and the contractor must acquire contract licenses for individual factory contracts. For example, if two factories are operating for the principal employer and two different factory contract works are available to the contractor, separate licenses are required for each.

Regards,
D. Gurumurthy
LL, HR & IR Consultant

I agree with Baskar and would like to add more. You have to mention the contractor's name in the RC (registration certificate). Your contractor may not be the same for all the units. So, in that case, you require separate RCs even for the nearest units.

Thanks.