Has the ESIC Ceiling Increased from 15000 to 25000? Seeking Latest Updates

Dear Seniors, please let me know if the ceiling of ESIC has been increased. If yes, kindly share the notification. Thank you.

There is no notification released as of now for the increment of the ceiling limit of ESI. I guess it will be released by the end of the financial year.

Your query is very good. The present limit is Rs 15,000. Could you please share where you obtained the information that the ESIC limit is Rs 25,000 from the previous Rs 15,000?

Regards

The current wage ceiling of ESIC is ₹15,000. However, a bill was passed a few months ago to raise it to ₹25,000 (this information was circulated via the media), but it has not yet come into effect. I believe the effective date will be communicated soon.

There was news in the media that it is decided to hike the ESI ceiling limit from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000. However, to my knowledge, the notification has not been released yet.

Regards,
Abbas P.S

Kindly go through the press note for the revision of the ESIC Ceiling limit from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000. The government order may be released by the month of March 2014.

Regards,
Sathish G

The ESIC Wage Limit as of now stands at Rs. 15,000. The Central Labour Minister had made a populist announcement of raising the wage limit to Rs. 25,000. However, there is no notification to that effect as of now.

Thanks and Regards,

Dear Cite HR Fellows,

Raising the Limit for ESI Deductions: Questions and Concerns

How should corporate employees and employers accept the raising of the limit for ESI deductions? I have the following two questions:

1. Has the ESI department added additional hospitals to provide services to accommodate the possibly increased number of members?
2. Is the ESI department in agreement with the market of medical insurance providing companies or with IRDA rules regarding contribution costs?

Thank you.

I understand that the appropriate Government (Ministry of Labour & Employment, Central Government) has not yet issued a notification of its intention to amend Rule 50 of ESI (Central Rules), 1950 regarding the enhancement of the wage ceiling under the ESI Act, 1948. Therefore, to date, the wage ceiling is up to and including Rs. 15,000 per month only and has not been enhanced.

Additional Medical Facilities for Employees

The issue of additional medical facilities for employees receiving wages within the range of Rs. 15,001 to 25,000 is a very relevant matter. This aspect can be raised by the affected persons (i.e., employees, employers, and their trade unions/employers' associations) after the notification of intention is issued by the appropriate government.

Understanding the ESI Act, 1948

The ESI Act, 1948 is a mechanism through which social security benefits are provided to employees in cases of sickness, maternity, employment injury, etc. It is different from commercial insurance. The provisions of benefits under the ESI Act, 1948 have no relevance to IRDA Rules or Medical Insurance Policies as offered by different commercial insurance companies. Furthermore, the level of medical facilities provided by commercial insurance companies is limited to the extent of the contract (for which the premium is to be paid), whereas under the ESI Act, 1948 and rules/regulations framed thereunder, there is no such limit as far as medical benefits are concerned.

Thank you.

It is clear that the ESIC ceiling limit will soon increase from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000, but there is doubt about employees' benefits as a whole. In every company, there is a fixed budget for salaries, including statutory liabilities, which adversely affects employees' earnings, such as salary, incentives, bonus, group mediclaim, etc. On the other hand, the quality of services provided by ESIC is not up to the mark. Its dispensaries are limited in number and working hours. Furthermore, ESIC has no tie-up with local reputed hospitals, and there is also partiality observed in referring to private hospitals.

Let us hope for qualitative services from ESIC without any partiality.

If you are a frequent visitor of CiteHR, you will find that every week there are one or more clarifications asked by the members, and every time the answer is "NO." If you read or search this topic, you'll find TONS of clarifications provided by the seniors. Instead of seeking clarification from this forum, I advise you to please visit the ESI Local office/ESI Inspector in your area.

Regards,
Gaurav

Dear Peeteeaar, We are all wondering about the approval and the date of implementation. You mentioned the confirmed date of 01.04.2014 for its implementation (hoping for successful confirmation news from the Ministry of Labour). Could you please share the Government Notification?

Regards,
Gaurav

Before increasing the coverage limit to Rs. 25,000/- per month, the Central and state governments have to ensure that their infrastructure is improved in the following ways:

- Increasing dispensaries and model hospitals, fulfilling vacant posts of doctors (in hospitals and dispensaries), empanelment with government hospitals and good private hospitals, opening dispensaries in each industrial area, tying up with insurance companies, providing good medical treatment to the dependents living in their native places.

- Initiating a campaign so that none of the insured persons could be without a biometric card.

- Providing training to ESI staff on "customer satisfaction," quick grievance redressal, providing the right guidance, educating/counseling role of inspectors (instead of commission agents), visits of ESI inspectors for educating insured persons, etc.

All of the above are very minute points that require the attention of the top leadership.

If the mentioned improvements do not take place, it will be an injustice for both the employer and the employee, ultimately leading to an additional burden on the employer as their contribution is going to increase by 67% without any improvement in facilities.

I hope the government pays attention to this, and employers will lead this case through their associations.

Regards,
Gaurav

As of today, 4th Feb, ESIC and PF limits have not been increased.

Recent Developments in ESIC and PF Limits

Please refer to a news item published in the Economic Times yesterday:

The salary ceiling for gratuity contributions is also likely to be raised to Rs 15,000 a month, along with the PF cap, which was last revised in 2001. Minimum wages in most states are now higher than the Rs 6,500 ceiling under the EPF Act, depriving the most disadvantaged workers of social security.

Fernandes has also summoned members of the Employees' State Insurance Corporation, or ESIC, which provides medical care and unemployment insurance benefits, for a meeting in the second week of February.

The minister hopes to overcome resistance from employers and finalize a hike in the salary ceiling for ESIC benefits from Rs 15,000 per month to Rs 25,000 a month.

This could bring an additional 50 lakh employees into the ambit of ESIC, which currently covers 1.7 crore people. Employers have questioned the rationale of the state extending inefficient healthcare to employees earning Rs 15,000-25,000 a month while reducing their take-home salaries by 6.5% - the contribution rate for ESIC.

http://articles.economictimes.indiat...d-organisation

Dear All,

Currently, the ESIC ceiling limit stands at Rs. 15,000. However, in today's newspaper, I saw that it has been confirmed to be Rs. 21,000, not Rs. 25,000. The government order may be released this month, and I believe it will be effective from September 2016.

Thank you.

Is there any official circular issued from the department regarding the implementation of the increased ceiling limit from 15k to?