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Section 36: Recovery of contribution from immediate employer

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

Statutory Mandate
Chapter IV: Employees' State Insurance Corporation
Competent Labour Forum
Act No. 36 of 2020
Section 35 All 163 Sections of Code on Social Security, 2020 Section 37

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 36

Section 36 of the Code on Social Security, 2020 codifies the statutory equivalence between scheduled occupational diseases and employment injuries, creating automatic medical and cash benefit entitlements for workers contracting designated industrial illnesses in hazardous employments.

  • Statutory Recognition of Scheduled Occupational Diseases: Section 36(1) provides that if an employee employed in any specified hazardous process contracts an occupational disease peculiar to that employment (listed in the Third Schedule, such as silicosis, asbestosis, lead poisoning, occupational asthma, and hearing loss), the disease is statutorily deemed an employment injury.
  • Statutory Presumption of Causality & Exposure Duration: Section 36(2) creates a statutory presumption of causal connection where the employee was engaged in the hazardous process for a specified continuous qualifying period prior to disease diagnosis, relieving the worker from proving medical etiology.
  • Post-Employment Protection & Retrospective Coverage: Statutory coverage extends to occupational diseases diagnosed even after cessation of employment, provided the diagnostic latency period and continuous exposure baselines are satisfied.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Consumer Education & Research Centre v. Union of India (1995) 3 SCC 42: A 3-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court held that the right to health and medical care against occupational diseases like asbestosis is a fundamental right under Article 21; employers are under an absolute duty to provide medical surveillance and compensation for occupational illnesses.
  • National Campaign Committee for Central Legislation on Construction Labour v. Union of India (2018) 5 SCC 607: The Supreme Court mandated nationwide regular screening of workers in construction, stone crushing, and mining for silicosis and occupational lung disorders, holding welfare boards responsible for medical aid.
  • Regional Director, ESIC v. Ramanuja Match Industries (1985) 1 SCC 218: Reaffirmed that social security statutes must be liberally construed to ensure that industrial workers contracting toxic exposures receive full insurance benefits.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Enterprises operating in chemical, foundry, mining, welding, and battery manufacturing sectors must maintain exhaustive pre-employment, annual, and exit medical examination records. When an employee is diagnosed with a scheduled illness, immediately file an occupational disease report with ESIC and facilitate examination by the Special Medical Board. Do not attempt to raise general degenerative illness defenses if the disease is listed in the Third Schedule.

Section 35 All 163 Sections of Code on Social Security, 2020 Section 37