BOCW Registration

Construction works in buildings are constantly going on here and there, What is so risky about them is their potential to pose a hazard to the workers at these places. Many processes followed at these sites are very dangerous and only should be allowed after due precautions. To address this issue the government has enacted the Building and Construction Workers Act in 1996 and the rules in 1998. These rules are guiding principles to undertake any such construction work. Along with the precautions these rules prescribe, there are also provisions to provide benefits to the workers and other welfare practices for these workers who put their lives in danger for the completion of these building and construction projects. The builders need to get the BOCW Registration to undertake such activity and provide the prescribed benefits to the workers registered under the same act.

Need of BOCW Registration

The object of the BOCW Act is to standardise the employment and conditions of service of BOCW Workers and to provide for their safety, health and welfare measures and other matters associated therewith. It applies to every establishment or employer which employs or had employed on any day of the preceding twelve months, ten or more building workers in any building or other construction work. Employers and establishments are defined in the Building and Construction Workers Act as the following-

What are Establishments?

An establishment is a body that employs building workers in any building or other construction works as defined in the BOCW Act. The word body includes the building workers working under the supervision of the contractor hired by the building owner. If such a contractor utilises the building workers for his residence then they would not be covered under this act until the cost of such construction work is more than 10 lakh rupees.

Who is an Employer?

The employer can be defined in two ways for different scenarios- (1) if the construction work is undertaken by a local authority or establishment the the chief executive officer of that local authority or the establishment will be the employer but if the work is assigned to a contractor then the contractor will be employer for the building workers hired to accomplish the job assigned to the contractor by the local authority or the establishment.

Building Workers Covered under the BOCW Act

The Building and Construction Workers Act was implemented to secure the safety, health and welfare of the building workers working in any building or construction work as recognised by the act. These building workers include people who are employed by an establishment or the employer to do any work in connection with any building or other construction work. These workers include the personnel doing any skilled, unskilled, semi-skilled, manual, supervisory, technical, or clerical for hire or reward. The term building workers excludes those who are employed in managerial, administrative or supervisory capacity drawing more than one thousand six hundred rupees per month or exercise.

The BOCW Registration fulfils its objective to regulate the building and other construction works, ensuring the safety and welfare of the building workers. It provides the following benefits to the employers, establishments, and building workers-

• Social Benefits

The welfare boards established under the BOCW Act work for the building and other construction workers. They run various schemes and provide benefits to these workers such as health insurance, pension, maternity benefits, educational benefits and disability benefits.

• Administrative Benefits

The act registers all establishments and construction workers working at these locations as per the requirements laid down in the act. It identifies the ongoing construction works in the administrative jurisdiction and provides access to the welfare schemes for these construction workers.

• Legal Protection to the Workers

It provides legal recognition and protection to the building and other construction workers further ensuring that appropriate working conditions are provided to these registered workers. The establishments have to follow certain standards and guidelines otherwise non-compliance may lead them to penalties under the act.

The BOCW Act prescribes the registration of the establishments as well as the registration of the building and other construction workers working in these establishments. These two types of registrations are as follows-

• Registration of Establishments

Every employer of an establishment to which this Act applies and to which this Act may be applicable at any time is required to make an application in triplicate in form No. XII in case of offline mode along with A fee to the registering officer for the area for the registration of his establishment within 60 days of the commencement of the work.

• Registration of Building Workers

Every building worker between the ages of 18 & 60 and who has been occupied in any building or other construction work for not less than 90 days during the previous 12 months is entitled to registration as a beneficiary of the BOCW Welfare Fund under this Act.

Requirements for BOCW Registration

The requirements for the registration under the Building and Construction Workers Act are as follows-

• The establishments should get the registration within sixty days from the commencement of the work.
• The establishment should fall under the definition as prescribed in the BOCW Act.
• The construction work shall be covered under the list of construction works prescribed in section 2 of the Building and Construction Workers Act.
• The workers must have attained the age of eighteen years.
• No worker shall have an age of sixty years or more to be registered as a beneficiary.
• The building workers must have worked for at least ninety days within the last year.

The following documents are required to get the BOCW Registration-

• Application Form (Form I)
• Fee Payment Proof (Demand Draft)
• Identity Proof of the Employer
• Address Proof of the Employer
• Bank Account Details of the Employer
• Document to ascertain the number of construction workers

The registration process of the establishments and the building workers is different under the Building and Construction Workers Rules. For the registration of the building workers, there are welfare boards in each state while on the other hand, there is an appointed registering officer in each area to register the establishments. The procedure for the registration of establishments may differ from state to state but the standard procedure goes as follows-

• An application has to be made to the registering officer in form I.
• The application shall have at least three copies and the same shall be submitted to the registering officer.
• The fees for the registration of establishments under the BOCW Act shall be paid in advance and the demand draft must be obtained for the same.
• The demand draft of the fees paid for the registration of the establishment must be attached to the application made under Form I.
• The completed set of applications must be sent to the registering officer in person or by post for the BOCW Registration for Establishment.
• The registering officer then provides an acknowledgement for the application and later issues a certificate of registration.

Compliance with the Establishment Registration

The certificate of the establishment comes with some standard conditions that have to be followed by the establishment. Some of these requirements are as follows-

• The certificate of establishment registration is non-transferable from one employer to another.
• The number of building workers working in the establishment cannot exceed the maximum limit prescribed under the certificate of establishment registration.
• The employer shall intimate any change in the number of building workers to the registering authority within fifteen working days.
• If there is any change in the working conditions at the establishment, the same shall be conveyed to the registering officer by the employer.
• The employer should also notify the inspector of the respective area about the commencement or the completion of building work at least thirty days in advance.
• A certificate of the copy of establishment registration shall be displayed at the premises where the building and construction work is being done.

The fees for the registration of establishments under the Building and Construction Workers Act are prescribed under the respective rules and the same depends on the number of building workers employed by the employer. The total number of workers employed is not taken into consideration while calculating the BOCW Registration fees instead the building workers working on a single day are taken into account. The BOCW fees so prescribed are as follows-

Corpseed is continuously working to assist businesses in their compliance management and acquiring the registrations and licences as required according to their business type and target industry. We provide the best consultation to our clients through desk-based research, documentation and coordination. Our team has extensive knowledge and experience of the laws, rules and regulations as applicable in India. We can provide you with the requisite guidance regarding BOCW Registration and assist you in obtaining the Certificate of Establishment Registration under the Building and Construction Workers Act. We serve as a one-stop solution for all your business needs.