ESIC or Employee State Insurance Corporation is an autonomous body created by the law under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India. It is a multi-dimensional social system that provides socio-economic protection to workers.
What is ESIC?
ESIC or Employees State Insurance Corporation is a statutory corporate body set up under the ESIC Act 1948 which provides financial coverage to workers against sickness, maternity, disablement, occupational disease, or death due to employment injury. The ESI Act encompasses health-related eventualities that workers are exposed to on a daily basis. It acts as a financial safety net for workers.
Who is Eligible for ESI?
An individual should meet certain criteria set by the committee to avail the benefits offered by Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). The ESI Scheme is applicable to:
- Any individual working in a non-seasonal factory with more than 10 employees
- Employees working in sectors such as hotels and restaurants, Newspaper establishments, road-motor transport undertakings, Cinemas, preview theatres, private educational and medical institutions with a strength of more than 20 employees
- The existing wage limit of the employee is ₹21,000 per month and if the employee has any disability, the wage limit for coverage is ₹25,000 per month
Benefits of ESIC Registration
There are a number of attractive features and benefits that the Employee State Insurance Corporation offers that are as follows:
- Medical Benefits: Provides medical benefits to the employees and their family members for coverage of medical expenses
- Disability Benefit: Provision of financial benefits in the case of temporary or permanent disability to the employee during the time of injury
- Sickness Benefits: Employees can claim 70% of their daily wages in case of any certified illness for a maximum period of 91 days during the sick leave
- Maternity Benefit: Under the ESI benefits, ESIC provides the following compensation at the time of maternity:
- 100% of the daily wages for 26 weeks from the time of going into labour
- Six weeks in case of a miscarriage
- Twelve weeks of pay is provided in the case of an adoption
- Unemployment Allowance: ESI provides a monthly cash allowance for a maximum period of 24 months in case of permanent invalidity due to a non-employment injury or involuntary loss of employment
- Death benefits: Dependants can claim 90% of the daily wages every month if the employee dies at the workplace
- Funeral Expenses: Provision of the amount of ₹15,000 for the funeral expenses to the dependents of the family or the people who perform the last rites
- Furthermore, there are several other ESI benefits the ESIC offers, which are old age care medical expenses, physical rehabilitation, confinement expenses, and vocational training
Entities covered under ESIC
As per the government notification under section 1(5) of the ESI, Act the scheme applies to:
- Shops,
- Hotels,
- Restaurants,
- Cinemas including preview theatre,
- Road motor transport undertakings and
- Newspaper establishment employing 20 or more persons
- Private Medical and Educational institutions employing 10* or more persons in certain States/UTs
*Note: However the threshold for Coverage of establishments is still 20 Employees in Maharashtra and Chandigarh.
Documents required for ESIC Registration
You need to submit the following documents while registering a company or establishment with ESIC:
- A registration certificate of the organization
- Certificate of registration in case of company, and partnership deed in case of a partnership
- Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association of the Company
- A detailed list of all employees along with their monthly compensation
- List of partners, shareholders, and directors of the company or establishment
- A canceled cheque of the bank account of the company
- PAN Card of the organization and employees
- List of directors of the company
- List of the shareholders of the company
- Address proof of the business establishment or company
- A register containing the attendance of the employees
Process of Registration
ESIC registration is completely online. Follow the below steps to register ESIC:
- Register on ESIC Portal
Click on the ‘Sign Up’ button under the ‘Employer Login’ option on the home screen of ESIC Portal. Fill in the details and submit the form.
- Confirmation Mail
Post sign up to the portal, the employer will receive a confirmation mail sent to the registered e-mail id and mobile number entered at the time of sign up. The email shall contain the username and password details for registering as an employer and employee under the ESIC scheme.
- Login using username and password received in the mail
It will redirect to the page having the option of ‘New Employer Registration’. Click on the ‘New Employer Registration’ option.
- Select the ‘Type of Unit’ from the drop-down list
Click on the ‘Submit’ button
- Fill in the details in ‘Employer Registration – Form 1’. On completion click on the ‘Submit’ button.
The Employer Registration Form-1 contains details pertaining to the unit of the employer, details of the employer and employees.
- Make payment for Registration
Post submission of the Employer Registration Form-1, the ‘Payment of Advance Contribution’ page will open. The employer will need to pay the advance contribution for 6 months. Fill in the below details:
– Amount to be paid
– Select the payment mode - Receipt of Registration Letter
– On the successful payment of six months’ advance contribution, the system-generated Registration Letter (C-11) is sent to the employer.
– It will contain a 17 digit Registration Number by the ESIC department.
– The Registration Letter (C-11) is a valid proof of registration of the employer.
FAQ
Yes. It is mandatory that an employer who falls within the eligibility bracket of the ESI scheme register themselves. The factory, company, or establishment should register with the ESIC within 15 days from the registration.
The benefit that the employee is entitled to be passed on to the insured’s dependents in case of the untimely death of the insured employee due to an injury or disease contracted from the work environment.
Every employee receives an ESI code number which is a unique 17-digit identification number of a factory or organization. The factory or organization is registered under the coverage of the Act. The ESIC portal generates the 17 digit number after the employer submits their employee’s information.
Hello @emmy
The ESI scheme is applicable to all factories and other establishments as defined in the Act with 10 or more persons employed in such establishment and the beneficiaries’ monthly wage does not exceed Rs 21,000 are covered under the scheme.
You can find all the details regarding Registration, Benefits and Process of ESI here:
Hope this helps!