ESI For Canteen / Landscaping Contractors

Dear Folks,
If the Company is covered under ESI Act, whether ESI is applicable to its contractors who are having employees less than 20?
Can clarify?
MK Kilaru

Sir,
1. ESI Act, 1948 and rules/regulations framed thereunder do not make any distinction between regular/casual or employees engaged through contractor (immediate employer).
2. Minimum number of employees required for coverage under said Act is 10 in respect of factory and 20 in respect of certain notified establishments.

Dear Harsha
Even though contractor is having less than 20 emp[loyees, they are eligible for esi code because now the rulle is 10 employees are enough
V.Subbarao

Dear MK Kilaru ji,
Any Social Security Enactment, if it is applicable to any factory / establishment, all the employees employed by / under it including contract labours are covered under such Social Security Enactment.
Even for counting number of employees for coverage of such Social Security Enactments, all the employees including contract labours are taken in to consideration.
Accordingly, if company is covered under PF / ESI etc., contractor's labours are coverable under PF / ESI etc. Even any contractor is having only one employee, he is to be covered.

Thanks to all. If we give consultancy rather than maintenance or deploying of manpower for gardening in your work order, even though statutory obligations will be applicable?
Regards
MK Kilaru

Dear MK Kilaru ji,
You may give any nomenclature to a contract. That is not important. Important is the natural of work, work is of perennial nature or not, daily hours of work, supervision and control etc.
If we adopt the practice of consultancy everywhere, the very purpose of labour law will be defeated.

Dear all,
The ESI ACT has since been amended and the ESI Scheme is now uniformly applicable to a Factory or Estt who is employing/has employed 10 or more persons on any day in last 12 months.

Dear Mahivir Dahiya / Subbarao,
Threshold limit of number of employees for coverage of ESI is well discussed in this forum several times. Still to correct you, this threshold number is not uniformly applied throughout our country. Except in Maharashtra, Assam and HP there is an uniformity. Please find some of the discussions on this topic.
https://www.google.com/url?q=https:/...ARvw7lEm3Ppsew
https://www.google.com/url?q=https:/...J4rGaLuhm3AA9Q
https://www.google.com/url?q=https:/...-8olMqNPLf23QA

Sir(s),

1. I will like to point out to Sh. Mahabir Dhaiyaji that the provisions of section 1(5) of ESI Act, 1948 were not amended making it at par with provisions of Section 1(3). To implement ESI Scheme in selected establishments is well within the powers of the appropriate State Govt. under section 1(5). Still there are some State Governments viz.-Maharashtra which have not so far issued fresh notification under above provisions bringing coverage of certain establishments at par with the provisions of section 1(3). There may be few more such States.

2. I will also like to correct Sh. Korgaonkarji that perhaps State Govt. of Assam had issued notification u/s 1(5) in the year 2012 reducing threshold of coverage of certain establishments u/s 1(5) to 10. If desired, I will make further search on this issue. I may also submit that to my knowledge, there are certain States namely- Gujarat, Pondicherry etc. which had not issued notification u/s 1(5) covering medical or educational institutions. Therefore, in my opinion, so far as coverage of medical and educational institutions is concerned, there is no uniformity. The position is required to be verified from the concerned Regional/Sub/Divisional Office of ESIC.

The Contract employee are applicable for ESI because the factory is already covered.
As such it is immaterial that the contractor is having the workers below 10.
The ESI authorities will see the factory workers+contract workers for the purpose of ESI Coverage.
The employer has to cover in his code No. if the contractor is not having the ESI Code.