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The Apprentices Act sets out how employers engage apprentices, the contract of apprenticeship, the stipend, and the obligation on some establishments to engage apprentices.
Check before you rely on thisCheck the current minimum stipend, the employer size threshold and engagement band, registration and portal requirements, central stipend-sharing schemes, and how PF, ESI and the labour codes treat apprentices.
01
The Apprentices Act 1961 governs training of apprentices in designated and optional trades. It requires a written contract of apprenticeship, registered as the rules require, sets the minimum stipend by prescription, and covers hours, leave, conduct and the end of the apprenticeship.
02
Employers above a size set in the Act and rules are required to engage apprentices within a prescribed band of their workforce. Others may engage apprentices voluntarily. Apprenticeship schemes run by the central government may share the cost of stipends under their own conditions.
03
Watch for itApprentices are trainees, not employees, under the Act. Do not run them through payroll as regular employees without checking how each statute treats them.
04
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Apprentice | A person undergoing training under a contract of apprenticeship |
| Designated trade | A trade notified by the government for apprenticeship training |
| Optional trade | A trade the employer chooses to train in |
| Stipend | The payment to an apprentice, at least the prescribed minimum |
05
The Apprentices Act is not among the laws consolidated into the four labour codes and continues as a separate statute. The codes define employees in ways that may or may not include apprentices, so check each code's treatment as notified.
Under the Apprentices Act an apprentice is a trainee, not a worker. Other laws may treat apprentices differently, so check each statute.
The Act does not require it unless the contract of apprenticeship says so.
Apprentices engaged under the Act are generally treated differently from employees, but check the current position under each statute.
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