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Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) scheme was launched to prevent an employee and his or her family from facing financial distress arising due to employment injuries that may result in sickness, disablement or even death. ESI is a self-finance scheme which protects employees from facing such financial difficulty. ESI is managed by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), a statutory corporate body set up under the ESI Act, 1948.
The ESIC portal provides a wide range of services such as registration, online payments, information, grievance, and support to ensure that employees and employers have a hassle-free experience of using ESI facilities. The website http://www.esic.in/ is operational in English and Hindi.
Employers eligible under the Act must register online at www.esic.in within 15 days. The employer will be given a 17-digit unique employer code on successfully registering. Employers with this code are not required to apply for a new registration when they open a new branch anywhere in India. Instead, they will be issued with a sub-code for their branches opened. The sub-codes are generated only for those branches that are located outside the regional jurisdiction where the main office is located. The ESI portal is designed in a user-friendly manner. It includes all the steps for employers to be completely compliant under the Act. After successful registration, the employers can avail the following services on the portal without having to visit the ESI office:
The portal is quite user friendly and covers all compliances required under the Act. Post registration, the employer can proceed with following services under the Act without the need of visiting the ESI offices even once:
1.Registration of employers and employees.
2.Issuance of Temporary Identification Card (TIC).
3.Online payment of ESI contribution by the employers or online generation of challan for contribution payment.
4.Payment of cash benefits at branch offices.
5.Facilitation of Medical Care at hospitals.
6.Lodge grievance online and get redressal
An employer can sign in to the employer portal to register its employees as soon as they are employed. When an employee is employed for the first time, he or she has to register under the ESI scheme by providing details such as family members, residential address, and the dispensary at which they want to avail medical care. After successful registration, the employee is issued with a unique insurance number. The employees will first be issued with a Temporary Identity Card (TIC), valid for three months. Then they need to apply and obtain a Pehchan Card within this duration.
Summary of registration steps are explained below along with the screenshots:
Once you click on sign in, the screen below will appear:
Once the details are provided, the confirmation screen below will be shown:
Both employees and employers make contributions under the ESI scheme. The employer’s contribution is 4.75%, and that of an employee is 1.75% of the wage paid. Employees earning less than Rs 137 per day are exempt from making contributions. Employees that are registered by their employers can log in to the portal www.esic.in/employeeportal/login.aspx with their user ID. They can check the details of the contributions made on their behalf by employers, entitlements, benefits, and so on. The login screen is as shown below:
The scheme is applicable in certain areas and applies to all factories and establishments, as defined in the Act, employing 10 or more employees. The wage limit currently is Rs 21,000. There are many cash benefits (sickness, maternity, disablement, funeral expenses and medical bonus) and non-cash benefits (medical care for self and family) are available under this scheme for the insured. There is no limit on the expenditure of medical care.