Feeling Like an Employee but Hired as a Consultant: How to Address Future Job Concerns?

I have around 2.7 years of experience. I switched from my first company about 8 months ago. The offer letter states that I will be working as a consultant/partner. There's also a FAQ section that explains why they hire as consultants and not as employees. However, I feel like I am working as a regular employee, and many people have mentioned that this setup might be to avoid Indian tax laws like EPF, etc.

All this time, I believed I was working as a full-time employee, but is it any different? I am concerned now as I fear it might create problems when I switch companies in the future. A significant issue is that they are not contributing to my PF account.

Concerns about Employment Status and Future Implications

Can someone please clarify if I should be worried about this? Will this experience count? If not, how can I convince the HR of a potential new company to consider this experience? Also, my payslip mentions "Invoice/Retail."

Potential Strategies to Address the Situation

I am considering a few options:

1. Inform the recruiter upfront that I transitioned to a consultant role temporarily to work from home due to an illness (fictitious). However, I am ready to return to regular work now.

2. Initially, do not disclose to the recruiter that it's a consultant role. If asked later, attempt to explain that it's the company's policy.

Are there better strategies than these? Please advise me on the most effective approach to persuade the new HR team.

I don't know what benefit the employer is getting by designating an employee as a 'consultant'. A consultant attending to regular work is essentially an employee and is entitled to all statutory and social security benefits available to an employee of his salary band. It seems unreasonable for an employer to designate an employee as a consultant who works from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday/Saturday, following all reporting hierarchies for leaves and other HR matters. If PF is not provided, the EPFO can initiate action against the employer and recover both the employee's and employer's shares with retrospective effect, including interest and damages. If such a 'consultant' leaves the organization after five years of service, the employer is also bound to pay gratuity. If the sole intention of hiring as a consultant is to deny employee benefits, it is incorrect.

It is advisable to leave the employment as soon as possible. You should disclose the actual facts to any prospective employer, explaining that the employer designated you as a consultant to avoid statutory employee benefits, and that you realized this only later. Since you have been working under a different designation, your service or skills will be recognized by the prospective employer during the selection process.

Thank you for the advice, @Madhu. Also, another question: should I inform the potential recruiter at an early stage (during the first call stage) or later on?

You should mention the designation as "Consultant" with a detailed scope of work in the CV itself. Otherwise, the service certificate will not match your CV, and you may have to provide clarifications for that. During the initial discussions, you can brief the employer that although your designation was "Consultant," you were a full-time associate with a reporting hierarchy. When the HR person asks for details of EPF, you can explain that you were not given PF due to two reasons: your salary was above Rs 15,000, and you were designated as a Consultant.