This week, four major labour codes came into effect in India. They are the Code on Wages 2019, the Industrial Relations Code 2020, the Code on Social Security 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020. Effective from November 21, 2025, this move rationalised 29 existing labour laws. So what does this mean for you?
The latest labour codes are in place to simplify regulations, protect workers in line with global standards, and create efficiency across industries, according to the Centre.
For the average employee, whether you are in a white-collar job working in an air-conditioned office or out in the field (blue-collar jobs), these new regulations are expected to benefit you all the same. They heavily weigh in on safety, health, and fair wages.
Among the four, the most relevant is the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code), replacing 13 existing Central Labour laws.
For a regular blue-collar employee, workplace safety and working hours see immediate benefits. The Code ensures that no worker shall be required to work for more than eight hours in a day or six days in a week. If a worker puts in extra effort, overtime pay is mandated at twice the rate of wages. This also comes with the mandatory need to create safety committees in large factories (500+ workers) or construction sites (250+ workers).
Now, if you are usually, say, an IT employee, or work in other white-collar settings, the latest codes shift to reforms in formalisation of employment and preventive care.
Every employee must now be given a mandatory letter of appointment, formalising their employment terms, wages, and social security details. All employers must provide workers above the age of 40 with a free annual health check-up.
The OSH Code also specifically weigh in on protection for women to work at night (defined as before 6 am and beyond 7 pm as per the Gazette notification), provided the employer ensures their consent, safety, necessary facilities, and transportation.
Under the Code on Wages 2019, all workers gain a statutory right to minimum wage payment. The Central Government will establish a floor wage based on minimum living standards across the country, ensuring no state can fix a minimum wage below this baseline. Wages must also be paid timely and regularly.
Minimum wage, minimum term
The Code on Wages 2019 also revises the definition of 'wages'. If elements like House Rent Allowance (HRA), conveyance, or non-statutory bonuses collectively exceed one-half (50 per cent) of the employee's total remuneration, the excess amount must be counted as actual wages.
This also means a marked jump in your gratuity and pension. Moreover, the eligibility period for gratuity for Fixed-Term Employees (FTEs) has been reduced from five years to just one year of continuous service.
But what constitutes "minimum wages"? According to the Code of Wages, the components of minimum wages are as follows:
"Any minimum rate of wages fixed or revised by the appropriate Government under section 8 may consist of—
(a) a basic rate of wages and an allowance at a rate to be adjusted, at such intervals and in such manner as the appropriate Government may direct, to accord as nearly as practicable, with the variation in the cost of living index number applicable to such workers (hereinafter referred to as "cost of living allowance"); or
(b) a basic rate of wages with or without the cost of living allowance, and the cash value of the concessions in respect of supplies of essential commodities at concession rates, where so authorised; or
(c) an all-inclusive rate allowing for the basic rate, the cost of living allowance and the cash value of the concessions, if any.
And who fixes the minimum rates of wages for the first time or revises them under this Code? Here, the official regulation further details how the
"the appropriate Government" can appoint "as many committees as it considers necessary to hold enquiries and recommend in respect of such fixation or revision, as the case may be".
However, "every committee appointed by the appropriate Government... shall consist of persons representing employers, an equal number representing employees, and independent persons "not exceeding one-third of the total members of the committee".
