Is it mandatory for the company to take an insurance policy for staff who are not eligible under ESIC?

Is it mandatory for the company to take an insurance policy for staff who are not eligible under ESIC?

It is not at all mandatory, but medical insurance is a prerequisite that many employers provide to partly take care of the medical needs of employees not covered by the ESI Act of 1948.

In our company, only three persons have a salary below 21,000/-. Kindly advise if they are eligible for ESI coverage.

Jegadesh.S

Every employee is considered a workman under the ESIC Act, where the total number of employees is 10 or more. However, employees drawing average wages of 21000 or more are excluded, and the rest are covered under ESIC.

Dear Timmu,

The lofty purpose behind the statutory requirement of insurance under the ESI Act, 1948, is to provide certain benefits to employees in case of sickness, maternity, and employment injury so that the employer stands relieved of his liability in this regard. Due to the salary limit, if some employees escape the coverage of the ESI Act, 1948, the liability of the employer to compensate such employees in respect of death or injuries due to any employment accident or contracting of any occupational disease remains still at large under the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923. Though it is not mandatory under the EC Act, 1923, it is always safe to take employees' compensation insurance policy in respect of those employees not covered by the ESI Act, 1948, but falling under the definition of an employee u/s 2(dd) of the ECA, 1923.

It is not mandatory for the company to take an insurance policy for staff who are not eligible under ESIC, but it is advisable to avail medical insurance policies for staff who are out of ESI.

If your company is providing the facility of medical reimbursement for domiciliary treatment to such staff, the limit of coverage under medical insurance can be decided by the management.