Are Management Trainees on Stipend Eligible for EPF? Seeking Advice from HR Peers

Hi, in my plant, there are 120 management trainees working on a stipend basis. Are these trainees eligible for EPF? Please advise me.

With regards,
Shyam

EPF Coverage for Management Trainees

Management trainees are to be covered under EPF. Only those trainees who are engaged under the Apprentice Act, which pertains to trade apprentices, and those engaged following the provisions of certified Standing Orders are excluded from coverage.

In order to engage 12 management trainees, there should be at least 4 or 5 times the number of managers who can train these trainees. Simply put, there is a proportion of trainees to permanent employees, and any trainee exceeding this will invariably be regarded as employees within the scope of labor Acts.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Madhu TK is right. Management trainees fall under the category of workmen, except apprentices. All categories that are considered workmen are eligible for EPF.

Thanks & Regards,
Sumit Kumar Saxena

Thank you for your posts; they always guide us. I have a query: Who is eligible to engage under the Apprentice Act? Can a hospital be registered under the Apprentice Act, and what positions can we include? Recently, I heard that the Apprentice Act is also included in the purview of EPF and ESI. Is it true?

Thanks for your support.

Apprentice Trades and Coverage Under Labor Laws

There are different trades notified by the government in which we can engage apprentice trainees. In the past, it was confined only to technical apprentices who came out from ITIs and Engineering Colleges. But now, other areas have also been included in the list of trades.

Please go through the attachment which speaks about trades under the Apprentice Act. I am not sure whether nurses and other hospital staff are also included. You can contact the Apprentice Adviser at the Related Instruction Centre, which functions at the district level, for details. Apprentices engaged under the Apprentice Act are still out of coverage of ESI, EPF, and other labor enactments, like the Payment of Bonus Act, Payment of Gratuity Act, Minimum Wages Act, etc.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K