Seminar organized to aware private school employers about the benefits of registering their schools under the Employees’ State Insurance Scheme

Mr. Sugan Lal Meena, Regional Director, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, Haryana Regional Office, organized a seminar under the auspices of the Faridabad Progressive School Conference, and informed school officials and school owners about the various beneficial policies introduced by the government. He explained that provisions of the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923 and the Maternity Benefit Act 1961 are applicable on all the establishments,if not registered under the ESI Act. These acts provide protection to employees against accidents, death, and maternity and employers are required to provide the benefits envisaged in these acts to their employees. These acts can lead to unexpected financial liabilities. Therefore, employers should register with the Employees’ State Insurance Scheme to protect themselves from such financial losses. The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation will not only provide relief from liabilities under these two acts but will also provide the gift of health to their employees.

The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948, applies to every school, factory, institution, shop, clinic, hospital or establishment employing 10 or more employees. These establishments are required to register their employees under the ESI scheme within 15 days of employing 10 persons. After registering, employers are also required to register their employees under the scheme and pay their contributions as per the rules. It has been observed that many school owners have been eligible and obligated to register with ESIC for years, yet they have not done so, depriving their employees of the various social security benefits provided by ESIC. If caught, such institutions are required to pay years’ worth of contributions, interest, and penalties. This fear leads many establishment owners to avoid registration, fearing that their past records will be scrutinized and they will be subject to heavy fines.

Information was given about the scheme called SPREE 2025 (Scheme to Promote Registration of Employers and Employees) being run by the Government of India for employers and employees. By registering under the SPREE 2025 scheme, the past records of the establishments will not be checked or inspected. Nor will any past liabilities be demanded. The registration of the establishment owner will be considered from the date of registration. Some employees of already registered institutions / factories / schools / hospitals may yet to be registered under the ESI scheme. If such employees are also registered under the scheme now, then past contributions, interest and compensation will not be demanded from them and no legal action will be taken against them. After coverage, such workers can avail social security benefits provided by ESIC such as medical benefits, sickness benefits, maternity benefits, permanent disability benefits (pension), dependent benefits (pension), funeral expenses, other cash benefits such as unemployment allowance, Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana, maternity expenses, vocational training, physical rehabilitation, vocational rehabilitation and skill development, etc. This scheme will remain in effect until December 31, 2025.

All establishment owners can contact the helpline number 0129-2222980 / 981 for redressal of their problems. Their problems will be resolved immediately or promptly.

In the awareness programme, about 40 employers/employees were present including Mr. T.S. Dalal Chief Patron, Mr. Narendra Parmar President, Mr. Rajdeep Singh General Secretary, Mr. Bharat Bhushan Treasurer, Mr. Narayan Dagar, Mr. Saket Bhatia, Mr. Rakesh Bansal, Mr. Anubhav Maheshwari, Mr. Tulsi Ji, Mr. Vinay Goyal, Mr. Vinod, Mr. Mohan, Mr. Bhagwan Singh etc.