A working checklist of employer obligations in India — registrations by headcount threshold, monthly contribution deadlines, the registers and records to maintain, annual returns, and the POSH requirements that are most often got wrong.
Work through this in three passes — what you must register for, what falls due each month, and what has to exist on paper if an inspector asks.
Registrations, by Trigger
| Registration | Triggered at |
|---|---|
| Shops and establishments | Commencing operations — generally within 30 days, State-specific |
| State insurance | 10 or more employees |
| Internal Committee under the POSH Act | 10 or more employees |
| Gratuity applicability | 10 or more employees |
| Factory licence | 10 or more workers with power, or 20 or more without |
| Provident fund | 20 or more employees |
| Contract labour registration (principal employer) | Above the prescribed number of contract workmen |
| Professional tax | As notified by the State |
Every Month
- Deposit provident fund contributions by the 15th, with the electronic return.
- Deposit state insurance contributions by the 15th.
- Deposit professional tax per the State schedule.
- Deduct and deposit tax at source on salary by the 7th.
- Issue payslips to every employee.
- Update attendance, leave and overtime registers.
- Verify that no employee is paid below the applicable minimum wage.
Every Year
- File the annual returns required by each applicable Act — Factories, Contract Labour, Shops and Establishments, Payment of Bonus, and others as they apply in your State.
- File the POSH annual report with the District Officer.
- Pay statutory bonus within eight months of the accounting year end.
- Review minimum wage notifications and adjust wage structures.
- Refresh gratuity nominations.
- Conduct POSH awareness training.
- Review the contract labour position and the compliance of each contractor.
Registers and Records to Maintain
- Register of employees, with dates of joining and designations.
- Attendance register.
- Wage register, showing components and deductions.
- Register of overtime.
- Leave register, with leave with wages.
- Register of fines and deductions, where applicable.
- Register of accidents, where the Factories Act applies.
- Muster roll.
- Appointment letters for every employee.
- Records of contractors engaged, with their licences and compliance evidence.
The principal employer is liable when a contractor defaults. If a contractor fails to pay wages or to deposit statutory contributions for workers deployed at your premises, the obligation falls back on you. Collect proof of each contractor's payment and deposits every month — not a certificate at year end.
POSH — the Points Most Often Missed
- The Internal Committee must include an external member. A committee without one is not validly constituted.
- The presiding officer must be a woman employed at a senior level.
- At least half the members must be women.
- The policy must be displayed at the workplace.
- The annual report must actually be filed with the District Officer, not merely prepared.
- Committee members' terms expire and need reconstitution.
- Awareness programmes must be conducted, and attendance recorded.
On Hiring and on Exit
- On hiring: appointment letter, provident fund and state insurance enrolment, nomination forms, identity and address verification, and bank details.
- On exit: full and final settlement, gratuity where five years of continuous service is complete, provident fund transfer or withdrawal support, experience and relieving letters, and return of company property.
- Notice period and settlement timelines follow the applicable State law and the contract.