Contract labour responsibility

Determine which arrangement is being used

Identify the work, establishment, employing contractor, subcontractors and people deployed. A contract for an outsourced result, a labour-supply arrangement and an individual consultancy should not be treated as interchangeable. Review the actual working relationship alongside the agreement.

Assess the applicable government, workforce counts, activity, period and relevant exemptions before deciding the registration and licensing requirements. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code includes specific contract-labour provisions; a historical checklist under the earlier legislation may not reflect the current framework.

Check the statutory responsibility split

Sections 53–55 of the OSH Code address welfare facilities, use of contractors requiring a licence and wage payment. Where the wage provision applies, the contractor has the primary payment responsibility, with principal-employer liability for unpaid or short-paid wages in the circumstances specified. A commercial indemnity does not by itself remove statutory responsibility.

Review restrictions on engagement in core activities and any applicable exception before deployment. Do not assume that calling work “support services” in a purchase order settles its legal classification. Retain the factual and legal basis for the arrangement.

Build the contractor onboarding file

• Signed scope, location, duration, authorised headcount and the identities of any subcontractors.
• Applicable registration and licence evidence, including scope, validity and conditions.
• Deployment roster, employer identity and responsible site supervisor.
• Wage structure, attendance process and treatment of overtime, leave and deductions.
• Relevant social-security identifiers and an agreed method to substantiate remittances.
• Safety induction, welfare arrangements, emergency procedures and complaint contacts.

Reconcile people, wages and contributions

For each review period, compare the deployed-worker list with attendance, wage calculations, payment evidence and relevant contribution records. A challan total alone does not establish that each person deployed at your site was included correctly. Restrict access to personal information and collect only what the review requires.

EPFO provides a principal-employer facility for viewing contractor and contract-worker compliance. Use official records where available and reconcile exceptions with the contractor. A vendor declaration can supplement evidence but should not replace investigation of a known mismatch.

Resolve discrepancies while protecting workers

Suppose a contractor invoices for twenty deployed people but the supporting contribution records identify only sixteen. Record the four exceptions, ask for the underlying coverage explanation and verify the correction or lawful exclusion. Do not assume every difference is an evasion, or approve the file solely because the vendor promises to fix it next month.

Where wages are missing or short paid, escalate promptly to the responsible manager and adviser, establish amounts and assess the principal employer’s payment obligations. Keep worker payment separate from the commercial dispute over recovery from the contractor. Preserve the original evidence and all corrective payment records.

Manage changes and the end of deployment

Reassess the file when headcount, activity, location, subcontractor or contract duration changes. Allocate responsibility for site safety and grievance response in a way that matches actual operations. Review a licence condition or registration change before relying on the old document.

At contract end, reconcile the final deployment period, outstanding wages and supporting records. Record return of property and access removal, and retain a contact for unresolved worker issues. Do not destroy attendance or payment evidence merely because procurement has closed the purchase order.

Kosha.Services can organise the contractor register, reconciliation schedule and exception tracker. Bring the service agreements, site roster, licence records, attendance, wage evidence and recent contribution submissions for the relevant period.