Tests to determine employer-employee relationships in India: looking towards the future?

Abstract

The underpinning of an employee’s social security benefits is an employer-employee relationship. Workers are traditionally classified as employees (contract of service) or independent contractors (contract for service). Over the years, Indian courts relied on the control, integration and multifactor tests to determine the correct nature of employment contracts. The paper explores the evolution of these tests and examines whether the standards of the burden of proof in classification disputes require modification. The authors then dissect the efficacy of the current multifactor tests in emerging platforms and gig economies by looking at standard form contracts signed by a popular food delivery platform in India. Finally, the ability of newly enacted labour codes, particularly the Code on Social Security 2020, to address the classification conundrum and its consistency with precedents is explored