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Section 13: Appointment of officers and staff of Social Security Organisations

The Code on Social Security, 2020 (Act No. 36 of 2020) • Official Statutory Text & Plain English Practice Guide

Statutory Mandate
Chapter II: Social Security Organisations
Competent Labour Forum
Act No. 36 of 2020
Section 12 All 163 Sections of Code on Social Security, 2020 Section 14

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 13

Section 13 of the Code on Social Security, 2020 provides statutory flexibility enabling the Central Government or State Governments to entrust supplementary social security and welfare functions to existing Social Security Organisations, eliminating bureaucratic duplication and leveraging established administrative pipelines.

  • Statutory Delegation of Supplementary Welfare Schemes: Section 13(1) authorizes the appropriate Government to assign the administration of any additional public social security, welfare, or cash assistance scheme to the Central Board, ESIC, or State Unorganised Workers' Boards.
  • Mandatory Financial Subvention & Cost Underwriting: Under Section 13(2), the Government delegating the additional scheme is statutorily bound to defray all incremental administrative expenses, staff costs, and operational outlays incurred by the Organisation in discharging such supplemental functions.
  • Cross-Platform Operational Synergy & Integration: Enables the national IT databases, banking pipelines, and hospital networks of EPFO and ESIC to be deployed for gig worker welfare schemes, disaster relief cash transfers, or universal health coverage programs without creating redundant parallel machineries.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Workmen of Dimakuchi Tea Estate v. Dimakuchi Tea Estate AIR 1958 SC 353: The Supreme Court held that labor welfare statutes must be interpreted to allow authorities to advance the broader community of interest between industrial peace, worker welfare, and socio-economic justice.
  • Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board v. A. Rajappa (1978) 2 SCC 213: The Supreme Court affirmed the expansive interpretation of institutional welfare machinery to advance the socio-economic rights embedded in Part IV of the Constitution.
  • B.P.L. Ltd. v. R.P.F.C. (2002) 10 SCC 408: Reiterated that statutory social security organizations must exercise their broad functional remit strictly in furtherance of worker protection and institutional efficiency.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Legal advisors and HR leaders must track gazette notifications issued under Section 13. When the Central Government entrusts new schemes (such as national life insurance or migrant worker emergency relief) to EPFO or ESIC, employers must prepare for integrated portal compliance, updated challan heads, and streamlined digital data sharing under their existing LIN registrations.

Section 12 All 163 Sections of Code on Social Security, 2020 Section 14