Employees’ State Insurance (ESI)

At a glance

Item	Position
Law	Code on Social Security, 2020 (Chapter IV); ESIC administers it
Establishments covered	Factories and notified establishments with 10 or more employees — shops, hotels, restaurants, cinemas, road transport, newspapers, private educational and medical institutions
Wage ceiling	₹21,000 a month gross (₹25,000 for employees with a disability). Unchanged in 2026 — the September 2026 revision was for PF only
Employee share	0.75% of gross wages
Employer share	3.25% of gross wages
Low-wage exemption	An employee whose average daily wage is ₹176 or less pays nothing; the employer still pays its 3.25%
Payment	By the 15th of the following month, online

Contribution periods and benefit periods

ESI runs in two six-month contribution periods, each with a matching benefit period that starts three months after it ends.

Contribution period	Benefit period
1 April – 30 September	1 January – 30 June (following)
1 October – 31 March	1 July – 31 December

Note

An employee whose wages rise above ₹21,000 during a contribution period stays covered, and keeps contributing, until that period ends. S.O. 2351(E) of 8 May 2026 restates this under the Code on Social Security. Coverage is decided at the start of each period.

What counts as wages for ESI

ESI is worked out on gross wages actually paid for the month, including overtime, but not on the employer’s own PF or ESI contributions or on gratuity. Coverage is judged against the ceiling at the start of the contribution period, not month by month.

What HR does

Register the establishment on the ESIC portal once it has 10 or more employees, and each new branch that has its own code.
Register every eligible employee on the day they join, so they get an insurance (IP) number and cover from day one.
Each payroll: deduct 0.75% (unless the daily-wage exemption applies) and add 3.25%.
By the 15th: file the monthly contribution and pay online.
Report accidents that could cause death or disablement online in Form 12 within 24 hours, and keep the accident book (Form 11).

In WebHR

WebHR keeps each employee’s IP number, applies the rates and ceiling from the ESI policy you set, decides coverage once per contribution period so a mid-period raise does not end it, and produces the monthly contribution file for the ESIC portal and a contribution register. Branch offices are kept by state. For an employee whose average daily wage for the month is ₹176 or less, WebHR deducts no employee share and still charges the employer’s 3.25%. Do not mark such an employee exempt on their ESI profile: that takes them out of ESI altogether, employer’s share included.

Forms and returns

Form	What it is for	Who files	Download
Monthly contribution	Wages and contributions of every insured person	Employer	Official page
Form 12	Accident report, online within 24 hours	Employer	Official page
Form 11	Accident book kept at the establishment	Employer	Official page
Employee registration (e-Pehchan)	Insured person’s registration and family details	Employer, with the employee	Official page

Downloads open the issuing authority’s own page, so you always get the current version. All forms

Due dates

What	When	How often
ESI contribution	15th of the following month	Monthly
ESI accident report (Form 12)	Within 24 hours of an accident that could cause death or disablement	Event-based

If a due date falls on a holiday, the authority’s own rule for the next working day applies. Full compliance calendar

References

Plain-language guidance for HR teams, not legal advice. Checked against the sources above on 29 September 2026; the notification or your authority’s portal is final. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.