Dear Colleague,
There are few key definitions under the Act - Who is a Contractor? Who is Principal Employer? Who is Contract Worker?
On examination of these definitions as well as other provisions it is to be understood that when the Principal employer when engages overall 20 contract workers in total by collectively adding all those Contractors' workers of different contractors A, B, C, D and so on then if it touches 20 (after excluding persons who are mainly doing Managerial or Administrative jobs or Supervisors who are drawing wages above the threshold limit mentioned under the Act or Out Workers) then, the Registration to be done.
In case of Contractor as and when he reaches 20 under his single contract (after excluding persons who are mainly doing Managerial or Administrative jobs or Supervisors who are drawing wages above the threshold limit mentioned under the Act or Out Workers -who are doing some work outside the premises of the principal employer not the premises under his direct control etc), then the contractor has to go for license process.
In the eye of Law there is One Principal Employer and other service providers are all Contractors who undertake to produce given result for the establishment of the Principal employer. If a Principal who is doing only a mere supply of goods or articles then such principals are only excluded form the definition of contract labour. Hence a careful examination in this aspect is needed before concluding.
Sharing relevant definitions for reading as provided under CLRA Act:
2(c) “contractor”, in relation to an establishment, means a person who undertakes to produce a
given result for the establishment, other than a mere supply of goods or articles of manufacture to
such establishment, through contract labour or who supplies contract labour for any work of the
establishment and includes a sub-contractor;
2(g) “principal employer” means—
(i)........
(ii) in a factory, the owner or occupier of the factory and where a person has been named as
the manager of the factory under the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948), the person so named,
(iii) in a mine, the owner or agent of the mine and where a person has been named as the
manager of the mine, the person so named,
(iv) in any other establishment, any person responsible for the supervision and control of the
establishment.
2(i) “workman” means any person employed in or in connection with the work of any
establishment to do any skilled, semi-skilled or un-skilled manual, supervisory, technical or clerical work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, but does not include any such person—
(A) who is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity; or
(B) who, being employed in a supervisory capacity draws wages exceeding ......rupees per mensem or exercises, either by the nature of the duties attached to the office or by reason of the powers vested in him, functions mainly of a managerial nature; or
(C) who is an out-worker, that is to say, a person to whom any articles or materials are given
out by or on behalf of the principal employer to be made up, cleaned, washed, altered, ornamented, finished, repaired, adapted or otherwise processed for sale for the purposes of the
trade or business of the principal employer and the process is to be carried out either in the home
of the out-worker or in some other premises, not being premises under the control and
management of the principal employer.