Can Employees Over 58 in Hazardous Jobs Get ESI Without PF Enrollment?

Dear Sir,

Greetings. I have recently joined a company as an HR officer. There are a few employees above 58 years of age, and there are no PF and ESI contributions paid for them. However, they are engaged in hazardous operations and work as drivers in our company. Can they avail ESI coverage without PF enrollment?

Thank you.

ESI and EPF Coverage for Employees Over 58

For coverage of ESI and EPF, there is no age limit. If the employee is aged more than 58 but comes under the ESI Act due to his salary being less than Rs 21,000, he should be registered forthwith. At the same time, if this person is a PF pensioner, then you can exclude him from EPF. However, if he had no PF with his previous employer, or he was employed in government service, Indian Railways, or PSUs and retired and is now receiving a pension from the government, Railways, or concerned PSUs, then you should cover him under PF and contribute to PF without contributing to the Pension fund.

Thank you for the information. However, the 58-year-old employees who have completed their years of service have not shown interest in contributing to the EPF, even though their salary is below 15,000 (as they were not previous members of EPF). The company intends to cover them under ESI alone to prevent losses during dangerous processes.

Is it legal to only cover them under ESI?

If so, what are the procedures to avoid EPF enrollment?

Regards, Ramesh B

Since his salary is not more than Rs. 15,000 and he is not an excluded employee, he should be given PF as well. There is no way that he can be excluded from the PF. If his salary (the salary on which you deduct the PF of all other employees, whether it be Basic salary or Gross salary) is more than Rs. 15,000, he can be excluded by stating that this is his first employment, but his salary exceeds Rs. 15,000.