Managing PF and ESIC Codes for Head Office Staff: Are We Legally Compliant?

Dear Colleagues and Seniors,

We are a Group company with our Head Office in Kolkata, employing a total of 200 staff members. Our overall workforce consists of 3500 employees. We have divided our staff into five groups across five different Group companies, with 50 in Group Co. 1, 30 in B, 30 in C, 40 in D, and 50 in E. We do not have a separate code for PF, nor do we have a Mother code for ESIC at the Head Office; these are managed using the Factory code itself. Contributions for staff members under different Group Companies are deposited against the respective Group company codes.

Please advise if there may be any legal complications arising from this arrangement. Additionally, we seek guidance on the governing Act/rules for our Head Office staff members. Can we establish a separate statutory code for our Head Office and enroll all Head Office staff under that code? Are there any other formalities required to administer our Head Office staff separately? We value and appreciate your opinions on this matter.

Thank you.
Bibek Banerjee

Please clarify whether your group companies are under the same name or different names. If the same name is used, you can use one code number for PF/ESI; otherwise, a separate code would be a better option. This distinction also aids in auditing and accounting purposes.

If you require further clarification, please contact me via email at chandan_chatt@yahoo.com.

CC

Mr. Chatterjee,

Thank you for your response. Earlier, all the group companies had separate names. From August '07, all these companies have been merged under one single name. We are sending the order of this merger/amalgamation to all respective authorities.

T&R Bibek Banerjee

If these 5 group companies exist within West Bengal, you can ask the PF/ESI authorities to allocate a single common code for all the group companies citing the court amalgamation order. Generally, in such cases, the ESI/PF authorities allocate the oldest code number out of the 5 group companies as the common code and cancel the remaining 4 code numbers.