Workers Engaged Through Contractors Not Entitled to Equal Status as Regular Employees: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court held that workers engaged through contractors cannot claim parity in status or pay with regular employees of a State authority.

Setting aside a High Court order granting minimum time-scale pay, the Court noted that the workers were never directly employed by the municipal council and were engaged through third-party contractors.

It observed that regular public employment follows a transparent recruitment process, unlike contractual engagement through contractors, and granting equal benefits would undermine this distinction.

However, the Court asked the municipality to consider regularisation on a compassionate basis, given the workers’ long and uninterrupted service, clarifying that this direction would not act as a precedent.

[Municipal Council, Nandyal v. K. Jayaram]