What the template contains
- Agency block: legal name, address, contractor licence number and the letter reference number and date
- Worker identification: name, worker or employee ID, father's or spouse's name, address, and statutory identifiers (UAN for EPF, ESIC IP number)
- Principal employer and site: client legal name, deployment site address, and the client work order reference this posting is drawn from
- Deployment details: designation or nature of work, department, reporting date, reporting location and shift
- Deployment period: start date and whether the posting is fixed-term with an end date or ongoing until further notice
- Wage and payment: wage rate and components (basic, dearness allowance, etc.), the wage period, and the payment mode (bank or electronic transfer)
- Statutory coverage note: confirmation that EPF and ESI (where applicable) are deducted and deposited by the agency, with the worker's UAN and IP number
- Reporting and supervision line: who the worker reports to at the site and who handles attendance
- Site conduct and safety obligations: the worker must follow site rules, safety instructions and working hours
- No-fee declaration: a statement that the worker has been charged no fee or commission for the deployment
- Reassignment and end-of-deployment clause: the agency may change, extend or end the deployment, and the worker reports back to the agency at the end
- Acknowledgement: worker's signature confirming receipt of the letter and acceptance of its terms, with a copy retained by the agency
How to use it
- Fill the agency block, including your contractor licence number, and enter the client work order reference this deployment is drawn from so the posting is traceable to a specific work order
- Enter the worker's details and statutory identifiers (UAN and, where covered, the ESIC IP number) so the letter matches your PF and ESI records
- State the designation, principal employer, exact reporting site, reporting date and shift, and confirm the role is not a barred core activity of the client unless it falls in the Code's permitted exceptions
- Set the deployment period (fixed-term with an end date, or ongoing) since this drives leave, continuity and gratuity calculations later
- Record the wage components and the wage period (not exceeding one month) and confirm payment by bank or electronic transfer
- Issue the signed letter to the worker on or before the reporting date, take the worker's acknowledgement, hand the worker a copy and keep the signed copy on file
- File the deployment letter alongside the client work order, your licence and your muster and wage registers so attendance, wages and statutory dues reconcile for that posting
- Issue a fresh letter for each new principal employer, site or materially changed posting rather than editing the old one
Key fields and clauses
| Field or clause | What to put |
|---|---|
| Contractor licence number | Shows the agency is licensed to supply contract labour under OSH Code Chapter XI; confirm the applicability threshold against your state's notified rule. |
| Principal employer and work order reference | Ties this deployment to a specific client work order, which the contractor must also intimate to the authority under Section 50. |
| Designation or nature of work | Describes the role; note that contract labour is barred from a principal employer's core activities except in the exceptions the Code allows (Section 57). |
| Deployment period | Fixed-term or ongoing start and end dates, which drive leave, continuity and gratuity calculations. |
| Wage and wage period | The wage components and the wage period (not exceeding one month) as fixed under the Code on Wages. |
| Payment mode | The contractor must disburse wages by bank transfer or electronic mode and inform the principal employer of the amount paid (Section 55). |
| EPF and ESI coverage | Records that the agency deducts and deposits PF and ESI, with the worker's UAN and ESIC IP number captured. |
| No-fee declaration | States the worker is charged no fee or commission, reflecting the bar on charging workers under Section 49. |
| Reporting and supervision line | Names who the worker reports to at the client site and who records attendance. |
| Acknowledgement | The worker's signed receipt of the letter and its terms, retained by the agency as proof of deployment. |
Why this document matters
Grounded in the OSH Code 2020 Chapter XI (Sections 47, 49, 50, 55, 57) and the Code on Wages 2019 (wage components and wage period). Thresholds, forms and licence scope vary by state and must be verified against the state's notified rules; no statutory section, fee, threshold or form number outside the grounding pack has been asserted.
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Get the templateCommon questions
Is a deployment letter the same as an appointment letter?
No. The appointment letter creates the employment relationship between your agency and the worker. The deployment letter records one specific posting of that already-employed worker to a client's site, with the site, wage, role and dates for that posting. A worker deployed to several clients over time keeps one appointment letter and receives a fresh deployment letter for each posting.
We already have a work order from the client, so do we still need a deployment letter?
Yes, because they serve different parties. The work order is the client's instruction to your agency to supply labour. The deployment letter is your agency's instruction to the worker, telling them where and when to report and on what terms. Under the OSH Code the contractor must also intimate the work order to the authority (Section 50), and the deployment letter is your internal record linking a named worker to that work order, wage and period.
Can one deployment letter cover a worker sent to different clients?
It is better to issue a fresh letter for each principal employer or site. A contractor's licence is tied to specific principal employers, and each posting has its own wage, site and period. Separate letters keep wages, PF, ESI and deployment periods auditable per client and align with the separate-licence-per-principal-employer structure. Confirm your licence scope against your state's notified rule.