Employee State Insurance (ESI) Registration in India

ESI stands for Employee State Insurance. It is a scheme that is managed by the autonomous authority of Employee State Insurance Corporation to offer various medical as well as monetary benefits to employees. This sector is under the umbrella of the Ministry of Labour and Employment. If your company has more than 10 employees, who get a maximum monthly salary of Rs.15,000, then it has to be registered for ESI for your employees’ benefits.

Please note that in some states the number of employees is 20.

ESI registration can be done online in three simple steps with us. Keep reading to find out more.

Benefits under ESI Registration

An ESI registration is like a safety cushion for the workers as it ensures they get the following benefits:

Medical Aid – A registered ESI member is entitled to get complete medical care and insurance starting from the very first day at work. The worker’s family is also insured under this scheme.

Maternity Aid – ESI members are entitled to maternity leave that is payable up to 26 weeks, further expandable by 30 days if medically advised. The eligibility criteria for getting maternity benefits is that the employers have to contribute their wages for seventy days in the preceding two contribution periods.

Sickness Benefit – Leaves from work can be availed for up to 91 days per year with 70% of your monthly wages.

Disability Benefit – Specially abled employees can get ninety 90% of the monthly wages under disability benefits.

Dependents Benefit – In case of an employee’s passing away during the employment, the dependents (family) of the deceased will get 90% of the monthly salary.

Funeral Expense – The family of the deceased employee can avail an additional amount of 10,000 rupees for the purpose of funeral expenses.

Confinement Expense – If an employee or an employee’s wife is confined in a place with zero medical facilities, ESI scheme extends confinement expenses.

In addition to the above mentioned facilities, there are also a few other need based benefits that can be availed. They are as follows:

Physical Rehabilitation – This benefit can be availed in case the employee gets a physical injury or suffers disability because of an occupational hazard during employment.

Vocational Rehabilitation – Insured employees who are permanently physically challenged can undergo vocational rehabilitation training under VRS.

Medical Care after Retirement – With an annual payment of Rs 120, ESI insured employees or employees with VRS/ERS can avail medical care benefits after retirement. ESI members who retire on the account of permanent disabilities can also avail the same benefits.

Extended Sickness Benefit – Any insured employee suffering from a chronic disease can avail an extended sickness benefit for up to 2 years, even after exhausting the 91 days leave. To be eligible for this extended sickness benefit, the employee should have been working for 2 years at the onset of the sickness and its diagnosis.

Enhanced Sickness Benefit – Introduced in 1976, this benefit was meant to encourage employees to get vasectomy or tubectomy for family welfare programs. The benefit is return is the eligibility for enhanced sickness benefits of 100% of the daily average wage for a period of 7 days for vasectomy and 14 days for tubectomy.

Steps Involved in the Registration for ESI

The whole registration process can be broken down into three easy steps:

Fill the Forms – Fill out the ESI registration, answer the questions, and submit the required documents.

Verification – The second step is for us to verify all the information and documents provided by you to avoid any mistakes. This process may take up to 12 days.

Submission – The third and the final step is the submission of the ESI Application with all the necessary legal documents which is done in 2 working days.

Once the Government authorities review your application, they process the registration. At this point you receive:

• A 17 digit ID code number
• A temporary identity card
• Employee insurance number

Eligibility Criteria for ESI Registration

• The presence of 10 or more employees.In some cases, the threshold is of 20 employees.
• Establishment has to be Registered with EPFO.
• The employee’s gross salary has to be up to Rs 21,000 per month.
• The contribution to ESI is 6.5% of the gross salary, which is broken up into 4.75% of the contribution by the employer and 1.75% by the employee.

Establishments covered under ESI Registration

• Shops
• Medical Institutions
• Newspaper Establishments
• Movie Theatre
• Hotels and restaurants
• Private Educational Institutions
• Roadside Motor Transport Establishments
• Cinemas

Documents required for the online ESIC Registration

There are a few documents that have to be submitted by the employer along with the application:

• The license issued by Shops and establishments Act, and Factories Act
• Receipt of rent of the occupied area
• Address proof
• Copy of PAN Card
• Copy of Bank Statement
• Copy of the latest building/property tax receipt
• Copy of Registration
• Memorandum and Articles of Association, Partnership deed or Trust deed
• Certificate of Commencement of Production
• GST/ST/CST registration number
• Two copies of family photo (to be submitted by the employee)
• Monthly pay sheet for ESI filings

Important Dates to remember for ESI

For Payment – 15th of every month

For Returns –  11th May and 11th November

Important Dates to Remember for PF

For Payment – 15th of every month

For Returns – 25th May

Documents to be submitted while Filing ESI Returns in India

Once the ESI registrations are finalised, ESI returns have to be filed compulsorily bi annually along with the following documents –

• Attendance register of the employees
• Salary register of the employees
• Form 6 register
• Monthly returns and the respective challans
• The registration of any accidents that took place in the place of business.

Some Recent Updates in Policies

• The Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) widens its health insurance coverage to Arunachal Peadesh starting 1st November, 2020.
• AGILE forms makes it easier to register for ESI starting 12th February, 2020.
• ESI Act made applicable to both aided as well as unaided educational institutions starting 30th July, 2020.
• Company Incorporation under the EPFO and ESIC, are being executed on the new MCA portal with the SPICEe+ form starting 6th March, 2020.