Cal HC: Trainees not entitled to Provident Fund benefits

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has upheld an order of the Employees’ Provident Fund Appellate Tribunal holding that trainee medical representatives engaged by a company cannot be treated as employees for provident fund benefits.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul) dismissed a petition filed by provident fund authorities challenging the tribunal’s decision that had set aside an earlier assessment against a private company.

The dispute arose after a complaint by a sales representatives’ union alleging that trainee medical representatives working for the company had been denied the benefits of the provident fund scheme. Following the complaint, enforcement officers inspected the establishment and proceedings were initiated by provident fund authorities to determine whether the trainees qualified as employees under the Employees’ Provident Fund law.After hearings, the provident fund authorities

concluded that the trainees were not apprentices under the Apprentices Act or under any standing orders of the establishment. They were therefore treated as employees and the company was directed to pay provident fund dues amounting to Rs 18.74 lakh for the period between May 1999 and March 2007.

When the company did not deposit the assessed amount, the authorities initiated recovery proceedings and issued attachment orders to the company’s banker.

The company subsequently challenged the determination before the Employees’ Provident Fund Appellate Tribunal, which allowed the appeal and set aside the order passed by the provident fund authorities.

While examining the matter, the High Court noted the tribunal’s observation that a trainee is primarily a learner who receives a stipend during the period of training and does not have a guaranteed right to employment. The tribunal had also found that the inspection report did not establish that the trainees were performing the duties of regular employees.

Justice Dutt held that in the circumstances, the tribunal’s decision was in accordance with law and did not warrant interference by the High Court. With this finding, the court disposed of the writ petition filed by the provident fund authorities and vacated any interim orders passed earlier.