THE GIST OF HR

THE HR DEPARTMENT

It deals with the Human Capital of an Organization. And there are surveys and studies that tell us that over 80 percent of an organization's value is contributed by the Human Resource. Therefore, it becomes mandatory that the people of the organization should be manged properly to keep it functioning properly. Thus the HR department tries to bring out the best in their employees and drive the company to success.


There are many functions of an HR department. Some of them include:

• Recruitment.
• Industrial and employee relations.
• Employee record keeping.
• Policy making and implementation.
• Organizational development.
• Change management.
• Compensation and benefits management.
• Performance evaluations, Training and development of its employees.
• Employee retention and motivation.

RECRUITMENT:

This is one of the most integral roles of the HR department. They are responsible for getting the most skillful candidates from a wide range of  talent pool. There are mainly two types of recruitment-

• Internal Recruitment 
• External Recruitment

INDUSTRIAL AND EMPLOYEE RELATIONS:
There are many laws and regulations that are involved in the smooth functioning of any organization.
These are studied and followed by the HR department so that they maintain the right standards according to the State government.


Some of the most common laws that an HR professional should be aware of are:

1. The Employees State Insurance Act 1948
2. The Factories Act 1948
3. The Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 195
4. The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970
5. The Industrial Disputes Act 1947
6. The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946
7. The Maternity Benefit Act 1961
8. The Minimum Wages Act 1948
9.  The Payment of Wages Act 1936
10. The Payment of Gratuity Act 1972
11. The Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923
12. The Trade Unions Act 1926

THE EMPLOYEES STATE INSURANCE ACT 1948:
Objective: 
To provide benefits to employees and their dependents in case of sickness, maternity and injury during employment.
The Act has been amended and the wage limit for coverage of an employee under Employee State Insurance Act has been enhanced from 10,000 to 15,000 per month with effect from 1st May 2010.

Contribution:

ESI scheme is financed by contribution raised from employees covered under this scheme and their employers as a fixed percentage of wages. 

Rate of contribution are as follows:

• Employees contribution 1.75% of wages ( Employees earning up to Rs. 70 per day are exempted from payment of their contribu­tion)
• Employer’s contribution 4.75% of wages.
• 
  

Contribution Period and Benefit Period

There are two contribution periods each of six months duration and two corresponding benefit periods also of six months duration as under.

Contribution period Corresponding Cash Benefit period

Contribution Period	Cash Benefit Period
1st April to 30th Sept.	1st January of the following year to 30th June.
1st Oct. to 31st March	1st July to 31st December of the year following

ESI Calculator: 

The original calculator can be downloaded from http://bit.ly/tpkf3R

Social Security Benefits:

Various benefits that the insured employees and their dependents are entitled to are as follows

• Medical Benefits
• Sickness Benefits
• Maternity Benefits
• Disablement Benefits
• Dependent Benefits
• Other Benefits  (like   funeral expenses, vocational rehabilitations, free supply of physical aids etc).

References:
http://esic.nic.in/act.htm
http://esic.nic.in/wages.htm
http://bit.ly/uKO0YQ
http://slidesha.re/s5bfOA
http://bit.ly/tpkf3R