As far as I know, there is no legal definition of 'freelancer' under any Indian Acts.
Freelancer or consultants like lawyers, tax consultants, CAs, CSs etc. are treated as consultant and are not employees of the company and do not come under the purview of statutory compliance mainly because:
1. Freelancer/ consultants are independent possessing some special skills.
2. They do not have any specific working hours.
3. They charge on the amount of work done.
4. They can work for more than one company at a time.
5. They do not get a fixed salary but payment is made to them on the basis of invoice raised by them.
6. They do not need to sign attendance register, nor they have to apply for leave.
@Vinod Kumar Saini - regarding ESI, it is not applicable to consultants/ freelancers provided that the above mentioned conditions are fulfilled.
Check www.labourlawhub.com for more information.
Freelancer or consultants like lawyers, tax consultants, CAs, CSs etc. are treated as consultant and are not employees of the company and do not come under the purview of statutory compliance mainly because:
1. Freelancer/ consultants are independent possessing some special skills.
2. They do not have any specific working hours.
3. They charge on the amount of work done.
4. They can work for more than one company at a time.
5. They do not get a fixed salary but payment is made to them on the basis of invoice raised by them.
6. They do not need to sign attendance register, nor they have to apply for leave.
@Vinod Kumar Saini - regarding ESI, it is not applicable to consultants/ freelancers provided that the above mentioned conditions are fulfilled.
Check www.labourlawhub.com for more information.