Govt to offer 50% salary for 3 months as unemployment allowance to ESIC members who lost jobs amid pandemic

 

The allowance will be paid to those who lost jobs between March 24 and December 31 this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi Government on Thursday eased norms to offer 50% of salary for three months as unemployment allowance to lakhs of industrial workers who are members of the Employees State Insurance Corporation and lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The allowance will be paid to those who lost jobs between March 24 and December 31 this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This move will benefit 40 lakh nearly industrial workers.

The ESIC board has approved relaxation in eligibility criteria and enhancement in the payment of unemployment benefit under its Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana, it said in a statement. It is implementing the Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyna Yojna under which unemployment benefit is paid to the workers covered under ESI scheme.

According to the statement, the ESIC has decided to extend the scheme for one more year up to June 30, 2021. "It has been decided to relax the existing conditions and the amount of relief for workers who have lost employment during the COVID-19 pandemic period," the statement says.

The enhanced relief under the relaxed conditions will be payable during the period of March 24, 2020 to December 31, 2020. Thereafter the scheme will be available with original eligibility condition during the period January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021.

The review of these (relaxed) conditions will be done after December 31 this year depending upon the need and demand for such relaxed condition, it said.

Eligibility criteria for availing unemployment allowance relaxed for ESIC members

ESIC has also relaxed the eligibility criteria for availing the relief under the scheme. Earlier the unemployment allowance was payable 90 days after unemployment. But now it shall become due for payment after 30 days of unemployment.

The ESIC menber can submit the unemployment claim directly to the ESIC branch office instead of the claim being forwarded by the last employer and the payment shall be made directly in the bank account of insured person.

However, the member should have insurable employment for a minimum period of 2 years before his/her employment and should have contributed for not less than 78 days in the contribution period immediately preceding to unemployment and minimum 78 days in one of the remaining 3 contribution periods in two years prior to unemployment, the statement said.

The ESIC board also took the decision to establish ICU/HDU (Intensive care unit) services at 10 per cent of total beds in ESIC Hospitals.