The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) on Friday relaunched the SPREE scheme to bring unregistered employers and left-out workers under the ESI Act, as part of a broader push to improve compliance and reduce litigation.The Scheme to Promote Registration of Employers/Employees (SPREE), originally introduced in 2016, has so far enabled over 88,000 employers and 1.02 crore employees to enrol in the ESI network. The renewed scheme will be open from July 1 to December 31, 2025, Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced after the 196th ESIC meeting in Shimla, PTI reported.The labour ministry said the SPREE initiative offers a one-time opportunity to unregistered employers and informal workers, including temporary and contractual staff, to voluntarily join the scheme. Employers registering during the window will be considered covered from their stated registration date or the actual date of enrolment.To complement the registration drive, ESIC has also approved the Amnesty Scheme 2025, which will be active from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026. It seeks to resolve long-standing disputes and reduce legal burden by offering employers a path to settle pending issues outside the courts. For the first time, the amnesty window includes cases involving interest and damages, and empowers Regional Directors to withdraw cases where dues have been cleared.In another compliance-focused move, the Corporation revised its damages framework. Instead of the earlier graded penalty rates of up to 25% per annum, employers will now pay a flat 1% per month on delayed contributions. ESIC said the simplified rate is expected to foster greater compliance and reduce legal friction.The Corporation also cleared a proposal allowing the ESIC Director General to grant individual relaxations on job-loss claims filed beyond the 12-month limit under the Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojana, the report said.As part of its healthcare strategy, the board approved a revised AYUSH policy, aiming to integrate traditional medicine systems—including Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy—into ESI hospitals. It also greenlit the hiring of yoga therapists and Panchakarma technicians across its health facilities.Additionally, ESIC will launch a pilot project to deliver healthcare in underserved districts by partnering with charitable hospitals to offer full-spectrum services, from OPD to emergency care.The meeting was attended by MPs Dola Sen and N K Premachandran, ESIC Director General Ashok Kumar Singh, senior officials from state governments, and representatives of employers and workers.