Principal Employer's Role in Wages and Compliance for Off-Site Workers: What's Your Take?

Greetings to all seniors! I have one query regarding the responsibility of a principal employer concerning wages and statutory compliance of workmen deployed in production or process, if the contractor is not directly working inside the premises under the direct control of the principal employer.

It is the responsibility of the principal employer to ensure that the workers engaged by the contractor for tasks related to the principal employer are paid on time. Additionally, the contractor must make their PF, ESI, and other statutory payments. This responsibility applies even if the workers are deployed outside the factory premises but are working on the contractor's premises.

The responsibility of a Principal Employer is to ensure the timely payment of wages by the contractor, as well as to ensure that statutory compliances are being met. Further, it is the liability of the Principal Employer to ensure compliance if the contractor fails to do so. According to the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, workers cannot be deployed in production or processes of a continuous nature if the contractor is engaged in what is considered a sham contract.