With 33 gazette notifications issued on May 8, 2026) and
May 9, 2026, the union government fully operationalised the four Labour
Codes. The rules have been published with “minor amendments” to the
draft rules pre-published in December 2025. With this the union government has notified following ‘rules’ under the four new labour codes:
1. Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026 (69 pages) Hindi version 30 pages and English version 39 pages
2. Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 (259 pages) Hindi version 133 pages and English version 126 pages
3. Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2026 (92 pages) Hindi version 50 pages and English version 42 pages
4. Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026. (318 pages) Hindi version [138 pages] and English version (180 page)
Earlier, 32-page long The Code on Wages, 2019, 56-page long The Industrial Relations Code, 2020, 113-page long The Code on Social Security, 2020 and The Occupational Safety, Health and Working
Conditions Code, 2020 has been operationalised with effect from November 21, 2025. These code have repealed pre-existing 29 labour laws. The notification dated May 08, 2026, the Ministry of Labour and
Employment, Government of India has notified the Code on Wages (Central)
Rules, 2026, which are finalised after
public consultation on the draft Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2025,
published in December 2025. The Wage Rules are framed under Section 67
of the Code on Wages, 2019, which came
into force on November 21, 2025.
The Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026 provides a framework for fixation and revision of minimum wages and floor wage, prescribes formats and timelines for issuance of wage slips and maintenance of registers, provides procedural safeguards governing permissible deductions and recovery of advances, standardises of working hours, weekly rest days and treatment of night shifts and provides for principal employer accountability in contractor-based employment arrangements.
Minimum wages and Floor wages: Under the Rules, the Minimum wages are to be fixed by the union government on a day basis, based on criteria separately notified through special or general orders under the Wage Code. The hourly wage rate is to be calculated by dividing the daily wage by eight (8), while the monthly wage rate is to be calculated by multiplying the daily wage by twenty-six (26), with rounding off rules prescribed for fractions. For establishments having less than six (6) working days in a week, the hourly minimum wage rate is to be used for deriving daily wages. The union government may fix and revise Floor wages after consultation with the Central Advisory Board and State Governments, taking into account minimum living standards including food, clothing, housing and other relevant factors, with revision ordinarily at intervals not exceeding five (5) years.
Working Hours of Work, Rest Days and Night Shift: The normal working day for employees whose wage period is fixed on a daily basis shall be eight (8) hours, while weekly working hours for other employees shall not exceed forty-eight (48) hours. Employees are entitled to one (1) weekly rest day, ordinarily Sunday in a six (6) day working week, while in establishments with less than six (6) working days, the rest period must include Saturday and Sunday unless another day is fixed by the employer. An employee cannot ordinarily work for more than ten (10) consecutive days without a rest day, and where work is performed on the rest day, a substituted rest day must be provided immediately before or after the original rest day. Employees working on a rest day are generally entitled to overtime wages for the rest day worked and wages for the substituted rest day, subject to specific exceptions such as for a six (6) day working week, if daily wages are derived by dividing by twenty-six (26) and the same is not less than the notified minimum wage rate, then no wages shall be paid for the day. For night shifts extending beyond midnight, the twenty-four (24) hour rest period and calculation of the succeeding day are to be reckoned from the time the shift ends, and hours worked after midnight are treated as part of the previous day.
Payment of Wages and Deductions: In the case of employees engaged through contractors, the principal employer is required to pay the contractor amounts payable towards wages in accordance with the Wage Code. Employees engaged on a part-time basis are not entitled to wages for a full normal working day where such arrangement is agreed under the terms of employmen. The total deductions from wages in any wage period cannot exceed fifty per cent (50%) of wages, and any excess must be carried forward to succeeding wage periods in instalments. Before imposing fines, deductions for absence from duty, or deductions for damage or loss, the employer must provide the employee an opportunity to explain within seven (7) days, and intimations must be issued electronically or in writing. Recovery of advances must be made in instalments, ensuring that deductions in any wage period do not exceed the prescribed ceiling of fifty per cent (50%) of wages.
Payment of Bonus: Where employees are engaged through contractors and the contractor fails to pay statutory bonus, the principal employer/establishment is required to pay the minimum bonus upon receiving written information and confirming such failure. Separate methods are prescribed for computation of gross profits for banking companies and for establishments other than banking companies through Appendices B and C respectively. Certain specified prior charges are required to be deducted from gross profits before computation of allocable surplus, as detailed in Appendix D of the Wage Rules depending upon the type of establishment. Excess allocable surplus beyond the maximum bonus payable may be carried forward for up to four (4) accounting years, while deficiencies in allocable surplus for payment of minimum bonus shall similarly be carried forward as set off amounts.
Registers, Forms and Wage Slip: Employers are required to maintain electronically or physically an Employee Register in Form I, Register of Wages, Overtime, Advances, Fines and Deductions in Form IV, and an Attendance Register-cum-Muster Roll in Form IX. Registers maintained under the Wage Rules are required to be preserved for a period of five (5) years from the date of the last entry. Every employer must issue wage slips in Form V to employees electronically or physically on or before payment of wages. Claims relating to wages and discrimination may be filed in Form II, while appeals against orders of the authority are to be filed in Form III electronically or through speed post. Employees are required to make nominations in Form VII for payment of dues in the event of death, and employers must deposit undisbursed dues with the jurisdictional Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) after the expiry of six (6) months from the date the amount become payable.
Offences and Penalties: Complaints relating to offences under the Wage Code may be filed by an authorised officer, aggrieved employee, registered trade union or Inspector-cum-Facilitator. Upon receiving a complaint and being satisfied that an offence has been committed, the concerned officer may issue summons to the alleged offender and conduct proceedings including recording of evidence and cross-examination. The officer is empowered to impose penalties where the accused pleads guilty or where offences are established after considering oral and documentary evidence. Compoundable offences may be settled through an application in Form VI, upon payment of fifty per cent (50%) of the maximum fine prescribed under the Code within thirty days. Where the composition amount is not deposited within the prescribed timeline, prosecution may be instituted before the competent court for the concerned offence.
Notably, Section 69 of The Code on Wages reads:"Repeal and savings.—(1) The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (4 of 1936), the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (11 of 1948), the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 (21 of 1965) and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 (25 of 1976) are hereby repealed. (2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the enactments so repealed including any notification, nomination, appointment, order or direction made there under or any amount of wages provided in any provision of such enactments for any purpose shall be deemed to have been done or taken or provided for such purpose under the corresponding provisions of this Code and shall be in force to the extent they are not contrary to the provisions of this Code till they are repealed under the corresponding provisions of this Code or by the notification to that effect by the Central Government. (3) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (2), the provisions of section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897) shall apply to the repeal of such enactments."
The fact remains there is continued ambiguity regarding the precise inclusion of variable remuneration, sales commissions, and bonuses in the code. By mandating that basic wages must be 50% or more of total CTC (cost to company), employee take-home pay might decrease, while contributions to PF and gratuity increase. The code allows the central government to set a "floor wage," but does not mandate a specific, objective methodology to calculate it. It leaves room open for arbitrariness. Section 56 of the code replaces criminal penalties (imprisonment) with civil penalties (fines) for several offences, with provisions for compounding. The "Inspector-cum-Facilitator" system in the code is intended to be transparent, but gives birth to concerns about reducing strict inspections.
Dr. Gopal Krishna
The author is a practicing advocate and a law, mass communication and philosophy researcher. He is a member, Drafting Committee, Kisan Majdoor Commission. His current work is focused on the philosophy of digital totalitarianism and the monetisation of nature. He has appeared before the Supreme Court's Committees, Parliamentary Committees of Europe, Germany and India and UN agencies on the subject of national and international legislation. He is an ex-Fellow, Germany based International Research Group on Authoritarianism and Counter Strategies (IRGAC)-University of Potsdam. He has been a Guest Fellow of Ex-Guest Fellow, Faculty of Law, Humboldt University, Berlin. He is also the editor of www.toxicswatch.org. He is a columnist with https://www.livelaw.in, https://www.moneylife.in and https://followupstories.com and Mainstream Weekly.
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