Sir
As such you are deploying with 28 number of employees, i have gone through all of the posts, i would like to draw the attention of all of the readers to the following provisions separately for ESI as well for Provident Fund.
Applicability of the ESI Act, 1948
Pursuance to the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, there are two sections stipulated in the Act are section 1(3) which is concerned with the applicability of the act upon factories where any type of manufacturing activity is carried out.
the other section is section 1 (5) which empower the Central Government to extend all or any of the provisions of the Act to any other establishment or class of establishments, industrial, commercial agricultural or otherwise in the said State, after giving one month’s notice of its intention of so doing by notification in the Official Gazette. The Commercial establishments are also covered under this section including, school, colleges, Hospitals, Contractors.
Now a day, it has been made mandatory to the employer to get covered his establishment if is deploying with 10 or more than 10 employees in this establishment whether the employees are directly employed or employed through a third party including contractors. Hence it is clear that the provisions of the Act will be applicable upon all such establishments wherein 10 and more employees are employed irrespective of their wages, designation. Hence you Company is legally bond to make compliance under the ESI Act and further bond to deduct ESI contribution pursuance to be a contributory scheme on the part of employees as well as employer.
Applicability of EPF and MP Act, 1952.
section 1 (3) of the EPF and MP Act, 1952 make it compulsory to all of the employers to cover his/her establishment if he/she is deploying/employing with 20 number of employees in his/her establishment irrespective of the wage and other employment conditions. All of the employees including regular, casual, temporary, badli, probationers, permanent as well as contractual employees will be counted for applicability of the act.
Similarly section 1 (4) of the Act, make provisions for coverage of the establishment voluntarily even in case of lesser employees as prescribed in section 1 (3) of the Act subject to the condition there should be consent of both the parties employees as well as employer, on their consent the act shall be applicable upon lesser number of employees.
If any employer who is employing with number of person exceeding or equivalent to the limit as prescribed under the respective shall be prosecuted in accordance with the provisions madeout in the acts'.
Regards
R B Rao
Advocate