Section 2(26) · Section 2(26)

"employee" means any person (other than an apprentice engaged under the Apprentices Act, 1961) who is employed for wages by an establishment, either directly or through a contract, to do any skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled, manual, operational, supervisory, managerial, administrative, technical, clerical or any other work, whether the terms of such employment are express or implied, and includes any person declared to be an employee by the appropriate Government but does not include a member of the Armed Forces of the Union:
Provided that for the purposes of Chapter 3, except in the case of the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme and Chapter 4, the expression "employee" shall mean an employee who draws wages less than or equal to the maximum limit of wages notified by the Central Government for the purposes of those Chapters respectively, and also includes such other person or class of persons as may be specified by the Central Government by notification as an employee:
Provided further that an establishment shall not be deemed to be an employee under Chapters 3 and 4, as the case may be. For the purposes of counting the employees to be covered under the said Act, such employees whose wages exceed the maximum limit of wages as notified by the Central Government shall also be taken into account:
Provided also that for the purposes of Chapter VII, the expression "employee" shall mean only such persons as are specified in the Second Schedule and such other person or class of persons as the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, may, by notification, include in the said Schedule for the purposes of that Government;