The Employee’s State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) is a key social security organisation in India. This initiative provides health insurance and medical benefits to workers and their family. ESIC covers a wide range of benefits that includes sickness benefits, maternity, disability, injury during employment and unemployment support. The ESIC portal is a digital platform for both employees and the employer giving benefits to both. Employees enjoy medical and health insurance benefits without the hassle of claim delays and employers get reduced paperwork and errors with compliance tracking. Let’s go over what ESIC means and how it works.
The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) is a statutory body that works under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India. It is an online platform that helps employees and employers register for the Employee’s State Insurance (ESI) scheme, returns filing, and get different other benefits. The ESI Scheme provides medical, maternity, disability, and dependent benefits to employees. It reduces the paperwork stress on the employer while making sure employers are fulfilling their ESIC duties. ESIC also provides real-time status updates, making claim delays and bureaucratic corruption negligible.
Both employees and employers must meet certain criteria to be eligible for ESIC:
For Employees:
For Employers:
The ESIC ensures financial and healthcare benefits to employees. This initiative has the following key benefits:
Medical Benefits
Free and complete medical care for employees and their dependant families across the 165 ESI hospitals and 1574 dispensaries.
Sickness Benefit
70% of the wages paid for up to 91 days in a year during certified sickness, subject to contribution conditions.
Maternity Benefit
Paid leave for pregnant insured women for up to 26 weeks, which can be extendable on medical advice.
Disability Benefit
Dependent Benefit
90% wage as pension to family members in case of death due to employment injury or occupational hazard.
Funeral Expenses
A lump sum of ₹15,000 to the dependents for funeral costs.
Rehabilitation Services
Support for insured persons undergoing vocational rehabilitation due to disability.
Unemployment Allowance (Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojana)
For insured persons who lose employment involuntarily due to closure or retrenchment.
The Employee State Insurance Corporation Scheme is an online platform that centralizes and streamlines all administrative processes and makes it easily accessible for both employees and employers. Here are the key features and services offered by ESIC Scheme:
For Employers:
For Employees:
An employer must register online in the ESIC Scheme to avail its benefits. Here is the process for registering for an ESIC Scheme:
Step 1: Visit the ESIC Portal
Go to the official website: www.esic.gov.in
Step 2: Access the Registration Page
Click on the "Employer Login" section and then select "Sign Up" for registration.
Step 3: Fill in Company Details
Enter your organisation’s name, address, type of establishment, PAN, and other required details.
Step 4: Upload Required Documents
Upload the necessary documents required to the website.
Step 5: Receive User Credentials
After verification, you will receive a unique 17 Employer Code and login credentials.
Step 6: Login & Complete Registration
Log in using your new credentials. Enter employee details and select the type of unit from the drop-down menu, and complete the registration process.
Step 7: Complete the payment to finalize the registration
After giving all the details and documents, make the necessary payment online and avail the ESIC Scheme.
Step 8: Receive the registration letter
After 6 months of contribution payment, you will receive a confirmation letter for registration on ESIC.
After registration is done, the ESIC login process for Employer is pretty simple:
Once the employer registers the employee at the ESIC Portal, he/she can login to the website using their insurance number. They will be referred to as an “Insured person" rather than an employee. Here is the login process for employees:
The following documents are required to register under the ESIC scheme:
The following type of establishments can avail the benefits of the ESIC Scheme (Employers):
Factories
Establishments under the Shops and Establishments Act, such as:
Threshold for Employee Count:
Below are the steps to file ESIC returns
Here are a few common problems and their solutions that users face on the ESIC online portal
Login Issues
Error in Employee Details
Unable to Generate E-Challan
Delayed E-Pehchan Card Generation
Claim Rejection
Dispensary Not Allotted
In a case where the user cannot solve the problem or require technical/customer support, they can contact ESIC helpline through:
All employees who are earning a monthly salary of ₹21,000 or less (₹25,000 for persons with disabilities) are eligible for ESI Card.
To get an ESI card online, employees need to be registered under the ESIC scheme by their employer. Once registered, employees can download the e-Pehchan card from the ESIC portal or receive it via the employer.
No, ESIC is mandatory only for employees working in establishments registered under the scheme, earning ₹21,000 or less per month (₹25,000 for those with disabilities).
The ESIC IP number (Insurance Number) is a 17-digit unique identification number assigned to each insured person under the scheme.
Employees: 0.75% of the total wages and Employers: 3.25% of the total wages
The IP number (Insurance Number) is a unique 17-digit identification number provided to every insured employee under the ESIC scheme.