Section 2 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
The benefit Chapters of the Code on Social Security, 2020 (ESI, maternity benefit and employee's compensation) rest on a cluster of definitions in section 2. Who counts as "family" or "dependant", what "employment injury" covers and how disablement is classified decides who gets what. This article covers s.2(13), (18), (23), (24), (28), (33), (44), (45), (47), (48), (51), (55), (56), (77), (78), (83) and (91).
Employment injury is personal injury by accident or occupational disease arising out of and in the course of employment, and it counts even if it occurs outside India. Dependant and family are different lists: "dependant" is a relative of a deceased employee; "family" is a relative of a living employee or unorganised worker. For Chapter IV (ESI), the age limits for sons and daughters in the dependant definition are stretched to twenty-five. Permanent total disablement is deemed from every injury in Part I of the Fourth Schedule.
Employment injury and occupational disease: s.2(28) and (51)
"Employment injury" means a personal injury to an employee, caused by accident or an occupational disease, as the case may be, arising out of and in the course of employment. The place does not matter:
- for Chapter IV, if the employee is an insured or insurable employee under s.28, whether the accident occurs or the disease is contracted within or outside the territorial limits of India; and
- for Chapter VII, likewise within or outside India.
An occupational disease (s.2(51)) is a disease specified in the Third Schedule as a disease peculiar to the employment of the employee. See our article on the Third Schedule and on sections 34 and 35 for how accidents are treated as arising in the course of employment.
If you want to check how an employee injury is treated for ESI and compensation, our labour law compliance team can help.
Disablement: s.2(83), (55) and (56)
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Temporary disablement (2(83)) | A condition resulting from an employment injury which requires medical treatment and renders the employee temporarily incapable of doing the work he was doing before or at the time of injury |
| Permanent partial disablement (2(55)) | Permanent disablement that reduces the earning capacity of the employee in every employment he could undertake at the time of the accident. Every injury specified in Part II of the Fourth Schedule is deemed to result in permanent partial disablement |
| Permanent total disablement (2(56)) | Permanent disablement that incapacitates the employee for all work he could perform at the time. It is deemed to result from every injury in Part I of the Fourth Schedule, or any combination of Part II injuries where the aggregate loss of earning capacity shown in Part II amounts to one hundred per cent. |
The Fourth Schedule lists the injuries; see our article on it. The compensation amounts are in section 76.
Dependant: s.2(24)
"Dependant" means any of the following relatives of a deceased employee:
| Category | Relatives |
|---|---|
| (a) Always | A widow, a minor legitimate or adopted son, an unmarried legitimate or adopted daughter, or a widowed mother. For Chapter IV, a legitimate adopted son who has not attained twenty-five years is a dependant |
| (b) If wholly dependent on earnings at death | A legitimate or adopted son or daughter who has attained eighteen and is infirm; for Chapter IV, "eighteen" reads as "twenty-five" |
| (c) If wholly or partly dependent at death | A widower; a parent other than a widowed mother; a minor illegitimate son, an unmarried illegitimate daughter, or a daughter legitimate, illegitimate or adopted if married and a minor or widowed and a minor; a minor brother or an unmarried or widowed minor sister; a widowed daughter-in-law; a minor child of a pre-deceased son; a minor child of a pre-deceased daughter where no parent of the child is alive; a grandparent if no parent of the employee is alive |
The Explanation says references to son, daughter or child in (b) and in items (vi) and (vii) of (c) include adopted ones.
Family: s.2(33)
"Family" means all or any of the following relatives of an employee or an unorganised worker:
| Clause | Relative |
|---|---|
| (a) | A spouse |
| (b) | A minor legitimate or adopted child dependent on the employee or unorganised worker |
| (c) | A child wholly dependent on the earnings who is receiving education till twenty-one, and an unmarried daughter |
| (d) | A child who is infirm by reason of physical or mental abnormality or injury and wholly dependent, as long as the infirmity continues |
| (e) | Dependent parents (including the father-in-law and mother-in-law of a woman employee) whose income from all sources does not exceed the income the Central Government prescribes |
| (f) | If the employee or unorganised worker is unmarried and the parents are not alive, a minor brother or sister wholly dependent on the earnings |
The income cap in (e) is prescribed by the Central Government. Rule 4 of the Central Rules deals with the income of dependent parents; see rules 3 and 4. The Central Rules apply where the Central Government is the appropriate Government; State rules apply otherwise.
Example. An insured employee dies in a work accident, leaving a widow, a 27-year-old son who is infirm and wholly dependent on the employee's earnings, and a father who partly depends on his earnings. For Chapter IV, the widow is a dependant under (a); the infirm son, who has attained the age of twenty-five (the figure read in for "eighteen"), is a dependant under (b); the father is a dependant under (c)(ii) as a parent other than a widowed mother, being partly dependent.
Sickness, social security and medical terms
| Clause | Term | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 2(77) | Sickness | A condition which requires medical treatment and attendance and necessitates abstention from work on medical ground |
| 2(78) | Social security | Measures of protection afforded to employees, unorganised workers, gig workers and platform workers to ensure access to health care and to provide income security, particularly in cases of old age, unemployment, sickness, invalidity, work injury, maternity or loss of a breadwinner, by means of rights conferred and schemes framed under the Code |
| 2(44) | Medical practitioner | A person registered under any law in force, or any person the State Government declares qualified by notification; the Central Government may notify classes for Chapter IV and the appropriate Government for other Chapters |
| 2(47) | Minor | A person who has not attained eighteen years |
Maternity terms
| Clause | Term | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 2(18) | Confinement | Labour resulting in the issue of a living child, or labour after twenty-six weeks of pregnancy resulting in the issue of a child, alive or dead |
| 2(23) | Delivery | The birth of a child |
| 2(48) | Miscarriage | Expulsion of the contents of a pregnant uterus at any period prior to or during the twenty-sixth week of pregnancy, excluding a miscarriage whose causing is punishable under the Indian Penal Code (now read with the BNS, which replaced the IPC from 1 July 2024) |
| 2(45) | Medical termination of pregnancy | Termination permissible under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 |
| 2(13) | Commissioning mother | A biological mother who uses her egg to create an embryo implanted in any other woman |
| 2(91) | Woman | A woman employed, directly or through any contractor, for wages in any establishment. For Chapter IV, a woman who is or was an employee for whom contribution is or was payable and who is entitled to benefits is an "insured woman", including a commissioning mother and a woman who legally adopts a child of up to three months of age |
| 2(43) | Maternity benefit | For Chapter VI, the payment referred to in s.60(1) |
Clause 2(12) adds that "child" includes a stillborn child for Chapter VI. The operative rules are in sections 59 and 60; see also our post on maternity benefit under the Labour Codes.
Need help applying these definitions?
Claims for ESI benefits, compensation and maternity benefit often turn on who is a dependant or family member and whether an injury or disease qualifies. Our labour law compliance team can help you check eligibility and documentation. Bring the relevant employment and medical records.
Key takeaways
- Employment injury covers accident and occupational disease arising out of and in the course of employment, including outside India.
- Dependant is defined for a deceased employee; family is defined for a living employee or unorganised worker.
- For Chapter IV, age limits of eighteen in the dependant definition read as twenty-five.
- Part I Fourth Schedule injuries are deemed permanent total disablement; Part II injuries are deemed permanent partial disablement.
- An insured woman includes a commissioning mother and a woman who legally adopts a child up to three months old.
Read next
- Section 38: dependants' benefit
- Section 76: amount of compensation
- Sections 59 and 60: employment of women and right to maternity benefit
- Dependants benefit under ESI: death of insured person
Disclaimer: Based on the Code on Social Security, 2020 (as enacted) and, where noted, the Code on Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 344(E), 8 May 2026), as on 30 September 2026. The Code is in force from 21 November 2025; some provisions may be notified later, and State Governments make their own rules for establishments where the State is the appropriate Government. Verify the current position before acting.