Technical Articles

Longer-form pieces on staffing mechanics: role scoping, shift design, skill validation and the paperwork behind a compliant deployment.

Two old steel vault doors, one grey and one painted pale, set side by side into a recessed red-brick wall.

Licensing 25 Oct 2026 · 5 min read How a contractor's security deposit works ₹1,000 a worker as a bank guarantee before the licence issues, drawn if wages go unpaid, topped up in 15 days. And the separate deposit a site holds. Read more

A row of empty hospital beds with fresh white mattresses lined up along a bright, clean hospital corridor.

ESIC 24 Oct 2026 · 6 min read What ESIC pays an insured contract worker Sickness pays 70% of wages for up to 91 days, injury 90% from day one, maternity full wages for 26 weeks. ESIC's cash benefits and their conditions. Read more

Tall stacks of aged brown paper record envelopes, folded and piled closely on top of one another in a records room.

Compliance 19 Oct 2026 · 8 min read How the EDLI death payout is calculated After 12 months' service: 35 times average wages plus half the PF balance, between ₹2.5 lakh and ₹7 lakh. The EDLI Scheme 2026, worked through. Read more

A welding helmet and a pair of worn leather gauntlets set down on a rust-streaked steel bench, with the welding lead coiled behind them.

Compliance 18 Oct 2026 · 8 min read How employee compensation is calculated Death pays 50% of monthly wages times an age factor, total disablement 60%, temporary 25% each half-month. The Code's formula, worked through. Read more

A hand holding a magnifying glass over a printed ledger form on a wooden table, the heading enlarged in the lens.

Compliance 17 Oct 2026 · 5 min read How to audit your contractor each month Reconcile four records against your gate register: wage intimation, Form XI, the PF ECR and the ESIC challan. What each mismatch usually means. Read more

An empty spinning hall with rows of orange thread spools on blue machine frames and green crates along a central aisle.

Compliance 12 Oct 2026 · 10 min read How EPF works for contract workers From 17 September 2026 every contract worker on wages up to ₹25,000 must be in EPF. Who pays, under whose code, and what the site files each month. Read more

Black-and-white close-up of an Indian twenty-rupee coin standing on its edge against two short stacks of coins on a stone surface.

Gratuity 11 Oct 2026 · 5 min read How gratuity works for contract workers The contractor owes it after five years' continuous service with it. How service counts, what a change of contractor does, and the sums. Read more

Five plain cardboard cartons with fragile labels stacked in the open rear of a white delivery van.

Compliance 10 Oct 2026 · 5 min read How the Social Security Code covers gig workers Registration from 16, benefits after 90 days with one aggregator, and a 1–2% levy on aggregator turnover. What it means for sites using platform labour. Read more

A closed white steel gate with a red no-entry sign, in front of a plain grey industrial building under a clear blue sky.

Industrial Relations 9 Oct 2026 · 6 min read How standing orders work under the IR Code From 300 workers: adopt the Model Standing Orders 2026 or certify your own. What they cover, how certification works, and where contract labour fits. Read more

A large open-frame wall clock with wrought-iron Roman numerals and ornate hands mounted on a mottled grey concrete wall.

Payroll 4 Oct 2026 · 8 min read How overtime pay is calculated under the Codes Twice the rate of wages for every hour past 8 a day or 48 a week, whichever pays more. The hourly rate, the rounding rule, and the wage-base question. Read more

A black-and-white view of a closed roller shutter under a flat canopy on a corrugated metal building, with a plain side door and an empty forecourt.

Payroll 29 Sep 2026 · 8 min read What is owed when a contract worker leaves Wages and leave wages within two working days, gratuity within thirty days, bonus within eight months of year end. The exit timeline, head by head. Read more

A closed double door with louvred panels set into a grey corrugated metal industrial wall, with a paved yard in front.

Compliance 27 Sep 2026 · 8 min read When do layoffs and retrenchment need permission? From 300 workers, a factory needs government permission to lay off, retrench or close. Below that, notice and compensation. Where contract staff fit. Read more

A yellow warning sign on a metal pole reading Danger, fork lift trucks and vehicles operating, with a forklift pictogram, in front of green trees.

Compliance 25 Sep 2026 · 9 min read How an accident is reported under the OSH Code Deaths get reported at once, 48-hour injuries within a day, and a forklift tipping over counts even if nobody is hurt. Who files, and how fast. Read more

A black-and-white close-up of a five-rupee coin resting on a few others on a dark surface.

Payroll 24 Sep 2026 · 10 min read Do fixed-term staff get gratuity without 5 years? Yes — section 53 drops the five-year wait for fixed-term expiry and pays pro rata. But the Central Rules add a one-year floor the Code does not. Read more

A quiet corner of a childcare room with a small desk, a child-sized wooden chair and a white rocking chair beside an open window.

Compliance 22 Sep 2026 · 11 min read Who pays maternity benefit for contract staff? ESIC or the employer, never both — section 32(7)(b) decides which. How the 26 weeks get funded when she is on a contractor's roll. Read more

An empty clinic corridor with a row of black waiting chairs along one wall and consultation-room doors along the other.

Compliance 21 Sep 2026 · 10 min read How ESIC registration works for contract workers An insurance number within ten days of joining, under the contractor's code or the site's. Who registers whom, the ₹21,000 test, and what late costs. Read more

A fan of Indian one-hundred-rupee notes spread across a dark surface, photographed close up.

Payroll 20 Sep 2026 · 10 min read Who pays statutory bonus to contract workers The contractor, as employer under the Code on Wages. If it defaults, the site pays the 8.33% minimum on written notice. Ceilings, timing and an example. Read more

Railway station platforms seen from a footbridge, corrugated roofs and a waiting train under a blue sky, passengers small in the distance.

Compliance 18 Sep 2026 · 9 min read Inter-state migrant workers under the OSH Code At ten migrant workers Part II applies: fare home yearly after 180 days, accident reports to both States, full parity. Who counts, and what a site owes. Read more

A warehouse supervisor's hands holding a clipboard checklist beside storage racking, face out of frame.

Compliance 16 Sep 2026 · 7 min read How a contractor licence works under the OSH Code One national licence, valid five years, applied for online, backed by a per-worker deposit. When it is needed, how it is granted, what a site checks. Read more

Stacks of coins resting on Indian five-hundred-rupee notes, photographed close up.

Payroll 14 Sep 2026 · 7 min read How the 50% wage rule changes PF and gratuity Under the Code on Wages, allowances above half of total pay are added back into wages. What that does to PF, gratuity, overtime and ESI, worked through. Read more

Four lever-arch files stacked on a desk, each packed with a month of paperwork.

Compliance 14 Sep 2026 · 9 min read What a contractor must file each month Five recurring filings: wages by the 7th, PF ECR by the 15th, ESI within 15 days of month-end, registers kept current, licence and deposit valid. Read more