Responsibility of Principal employer with wages of Out-Worker

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 who are engaged by the contractor for getting the tasks done for the principal employer are paid on time, and their PF, ESI, and other statutory payments are made by the contractor. This applies even if the workers are deployed outside the factory premises but are working on the premises of the contractor.

The responsibility of a Principal employer is to ensure 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, the workers cannot be deployed in production or processes of a continuous nature if the contractor is engaged in what is considered a sham contract.