Can employers voluntarily extend PF benefits to apprentices under the Apprenticeship Act, 1961, de

Apprentices engaged under the Apprentices Act, 1961 are expressly excluded from the definition of “employee” under the EPF Act, and their stipend is not “basic wages.” Hence, employers cannot voluntarily extend Provident Fund benefits to them unless they are reclassified as employees and paid wages, which attracts wider statutory liabilities.

Shekar Ganagaluru's Books

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K. VITTALA RAO's HR Books