Compliance Confusion: Do Contractors Need a Wage Register for Salaried Site Employees?

Can any auditor from the Principal employer give the contractor (C) negative marks on compliance because 'C' is not maintaining Wage Register under BOCW Act, as 'C' has sublet all the work to a Sub Contractor and has hired only Engineers to oversee the construction? Is there any rule specifying such?

There is no confusion. If the inspecting staff marked it as not done, take it as not done. No contradiction, please.

Role of Subcontractors in Construction

Subcontractors work in the name of the tender-participated and tender-approved main contractor. Even in an additional agreement with the principal employer, the main contractor declares who his subcontractors are. In some field works on the worksite, many subcontractors, unnotified, also complete the given contract work. So, nothing new... only the pretense of the main contractor not knowing anything about his subcontractors more than he found in the work field.

Challenges in Construction Work

It's an open secret. Some engaged engineers cannot by themselves complete the obtained tender work. Construction work is always completed by building construction workers only. All their wages are legal, and they are not unpaid waged workers. They are all authenticated workers of the main contractor through subcontractors, like a small number of engineers.

Compliance and Legal Obligations

There is no escape from maintaining all such registers and records and providing insurance scheme memberships, safety precautions, and ambulance medical aids as per the number of workers engaged. The BOCWW Act clearly mentions following at least the main features like wages of construction workers, safety insurance, and health conditions.

Take care of your normal workers on the construction site. All the best, sir.

No, I don't have any intention to suggest evading responsibility. The contractor in question here has hired a subcontractor who is in charge of labor and all other compliances. The subcontractor is regularly audited.

Now, does the contractor need to maintain wage and other such registers for the engineers as well, who are salaried employees on the company payroll? Please quote from the actual law if possible.

Inclusion of Employees in Registers Under the BOCW Act

You mean to say some company-salaried employees are working at the worksite on deputation. Should their names also be shown in the registers? Yes, maintain their records. What is the loss there? Mention that all salaries are being paid by the company opposite their names. Your query is related to the BOCW Act, so follow it. All workers at the construction site should be included in these act-related registers. It's common, simple information—please, general knowledge.

Try to avoid tricky thoughts of subcontractors. For example, in a construction site owned by some L&T Company, engineers are working. Should their names be mentioned in the BOCW Act registers? Yes. If any untoward incident happens to engineers or laborers, who is responsible? Usually, all involved try to escape. So, it's necessary to maintain all names of engaged workers daily, monthly, or in the payroll of another company based on facts. A general wage register is maintainable as per the act.