https://jiclt.com/article/the-dark-side-of-third-party-payroll-exploitation-job-insecurity-and-the-inadequacy-of-labour-law-protections-in-india-365/

The swift development of technologies of artificial The pervasive use of third-party payroll arrangements in India’s private sector has created a paradigm of precarious work, fundamentally undermining the traditional employer-employee relationship. This article provides a critical doctrinal and policy analysis of this employment model. It argues that the existing legal framework, primarily the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, is ill-equipped to address the systematic exploitation enabled by third-party intermediation. The study examines how these arrangements facilitate job insecurity, wage suppression, and denial of social security, while allowing principal employers to evade statutory liabilities. Through an analysis of judicial pronouncements and sector-specific case studies, the article highlights the gap between the constitutional mandate of ensuring decent work and the ground reality for millions of contract workers. It concludes that incremental legal reforms are insufficient and calls for a foundational re-evaluation of accountability in triangular employment relationships, alongside stringent enforcement and robust social protection floors.