Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has extended Scheme for Promotion of Registration of Employers and Employees (SPREE 2025) from 31 December 2025- 31 January 2026.
Objective of extension: to provide additional time for employers to: digitally register establishments and workers through:
- ESIC Portal
- Shram Suvidha Portal
- Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) Portal with coverage effective from the date declared by the employer.
- The scheme was approved during the 196th Meeting of ESIC and became operational from 1 July 2025.
Key Highlights of Extension
- Establishments registering within the extended period will benefit from:
- No demand of past contribution
- No inspections
- No requirement of prior records for the pre-registration period
- Extension reinforces ESIC’s focus on:
- inclusive, simplified compliance
- expanding social security coverage
- Deadline was extended following feedback from:
- employers
- industry associations
- state governments
- Post-deadline implication (after 31 Jan 2026):
- Non-registered establishments will be liable for:
- past contributions
- damages & interest
- legal actions and penalties
- Non-registered establishments will be liable for:
SPREE 2025 Scheme
Background & Objective
- Launched by ESIC in July 2025 to:
- expand ESI coverage
- encourage voluntary registration of employers & left-out workers
- Earlier version of SPREE was first introduced in 2016.
- The renewed SPREE (2025 phase):
- operational from 1 July to 31 December 2025 (now extended to 31 Jan 2026)
- one-time opportunity for:
- unregistered employers
- uncovered workers, including contractual & temporary staff
Coverage Rules
- Employers registering during the scheme period:
- treated as covered from the date of registration / declared date
- Newly registered employees:
- covered from their respective dates of registration
- No contribution / benefit applicable for past periods prior to registration.
Impact So Far
- Scheme facilitated registration of:
- 88,000+ employers
- 1.02 crore employees
- Focuses on:
- voluntary compliance instead of penalisation
- reducing litigation burden
- strengthening formal workforce inclusion
Key Features of SPREE 2025
- Fully digital registration via ESIC, Shram Suvidha & MCA portals
- Protection from retrospective liabilities:
- no inspections for past periods
- no demand for previous records or dues
- Removes fear of penalties → encourages formalisation & ESI enrolment
Related Initiative- ESIC AMNESTY Scheme
- A one-time dispute resolution scheme under ESIC
- Valid from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026
- Covers settlement of:
- damages
- interest
- coverage-related disputes
- Objectives:
- enable employers to resolve pending cases
- improve compliance framework
- ensure timely delivery of social security benefits to workers
- reduce litigation load
Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Scheme
- Launched: 1948 under ESI Act, 1948
- Administered by: Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC)
- Ministry: Ministry of Labour & Employment
- Provides benefits:
- medical care, sickness, disability, maternity, dependents’ benefits
- unemployment & injury compensation
About ESIC
- Statutory body under ESI Act, 1948
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- Governing structure includes reps from:
- Central & State Governments
- Employers
- Employees
- Medical profession & Parliament
Shram Suvidha Portal
- Launched by Ministry of Labour & Employment
- Objective: Unified labour law compliance & registration