India's labour law regime has historically been characterised by complexity, fragmentation, and overlap — with 29 central labour legislations and over 100 state-level laws governing various aspects of employment, wages, social security, and industrial relations. Beginning in 2019, the Government of India embarked on a transformative consolidation exercise, amalgamating these disparate statutes into four comprehensive Labour Codes: 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. While the Code on Wages received presidential assent on 8 August 2019, the three remaining codes were passed by Parliament in September 2020. As of early 2026, the central government has notified rules under the codes, and several states including Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh have framed draft or final rules for implementation, though nationwide operationalisation remains a work in progress.
Code on Wages, 2019 — Universal Minimum Wage Guarantee: The Code on Wages subsumes four earlier laws: the Payment of Wages Act, 1936; the Minimum Wages Act, 1948; the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965; and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. Its most significant achievement is the universalisation of minimum wages — under the earlier Minimum Wages Act, minimum wages were applicable only to scheduled employments, leaving large sections of the workforce, particularly in the unorganised sector, without statutory wage protection. The Code on Wages extends minimum wage coverage to all employees regardless of sector or nature of employment. Section 6 empowers the Central Government to fix a floor wage, taking into account minimum living standards of workers across geographical areas, and no state government can fix a minimum wage below this floor. Section 3 mandates equal remuneration for men and women for the same work or work of a similar nature, eliminating the need for a separate statute. Wages must be paid before the 7th of the succeeding month for establishments with fewer than 1,000 workers, and before the 10th for larger establishments. The Code also provides for an Inspector-cum-Facilitator regime, replacing the earlier inspector-based enforcement model with a more advisory and compliance-oriented approach.
Industrial Relations Code, 2020 — Trade Unions, Standing Orders, and Dispute Resolution: The Industrial Relations Code consolidates the Trade Unions Act, 1926; the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946; and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Key provisions include the recognition of trade unions — where an establishment has more than one registered trade union, the trade union having 51 percent or more workers as members shall be recognised as the sole negotiating union, and where no trade union has 51 percent membership, a negotiating council is to be constituted from unions having at least 20 percent membership. The Code introduces a mandatory 14-day notice period before a strike or lock-out in all industrial establishments, extending the earlier requirement that applied only to public utility services. A new provision requires industrial establishments with 300 or more workers (raised from the earlier threshold of 100 under certain state amendments) to seek prior government permission before retrenchment, layoff, or closure. The Code establishes a two-member Industrial Tribunal to adjudicate industrial disputes, replacing the earlier system of separate labour courts and industrial tribunals. A re-skilling fund is introduced under Section 83, requiring the employer to contribute an amount equal to fifteen days' wages last drawn by the worker into a fund for re-skilling retrenched workers, to be credited within forty-five days of retrenchment.
Code on Social Security, 2020 — Extending Coverage to Gig and Platform Workers: The Social Security Code is perhaps the most ambitious of the four codes, consolidating nine earlier statutes including the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952; the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948; the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961; the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972; the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923; the Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Cess Act, 1996; the Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008; and others. Its most transformative feature is the extension of social security coverage to gig workers and platform workers — a first in Indian labour legislation. Section 2(35) defines "gig worker" as a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of the traditional employer-employee relationship. Section 2(60) defines "platform worker" as a gig worker who accesses other organisations or individuals through an online platform and provides services. The Code mandates that the Central Government shall frame and notify suitable social security schemes for gig workers and platform workers on matters relating to life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, old age protection, and any other benefit as may be determined. Aggregators (entities using digital platforms) are required to contribute between one and two percent of their annual turnover, subject to a cap of five percent of the amount paid or payable to gig and platform workers, towards social security funds. Given that India's gig economy is estimated to have engaged over 7.7 million workers by 2024, these provisions have far-reaching implications.
Key Social Security Provisions for Formal Sector Workers: The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) provisions under the Code require both employer and employee to contribute twelve percent of wages (basic plus dearness allowance) to the EPF. The Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS) provides pension benefits after a minimum of ten years of contributing service. The Employees' State Insurance (ESI) scheme provides medical, sickness, maternity, disablement, and dependants' benefits to employees earning up to Rs. 21,000 per month. Gratuity remains payable to employees who have completed five years of continuous service, at the rate of fifteen days' wages for every completed year of service, with the maximum ceiling enhanced to Rs. 20 lakh. Maternity benefit is available for twenty-six weeks of paid leave for the first two children and twelve weeks for subsequent children, with an additional twelve weeks available for commissioning mothers and adopting mothers.
Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020: This Code consolidates thirteen earlier statutes including the Factories Act, 1948; the Mines Act, 1952; the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970; the Building and Other Construction Workers Act, 1996; and others. It mandates that no worker shall be required to work more than eight hours per day, with overtime wages at twice the normal rate. Annual leave is prescribed at one day for every twenty days worked. The Code requires every establishment with a prescribed number of employees to constitute a Safety Committee, and mandates occupational health check-ups for workers in hazardous processes. It also introduces provisions for inter-state migrant workers, requiring the employer to pay a lump-sum amount for the journey and provide a displacement allowance.
Impact on Karnataka and the Bengaluru Workforce: Karnataka, as a hub for the IT, biotechnology, and gig economy sectors, is particularly affected by the new Labour Codes. The extension of social security to gig and platform workers has direct implications for the thousands of delivery executives, ride-hailing drivers, and freelance professionals operating in Bengaluru. The Code on Wages' universal minimum wage provisions will benefit domestic workers, construction labourers, and other informal sector workers who have historically been excluded from statutory wage protections. Law Forum India has been actively engaging with trade unions, workers' collectives, and employer associations in Bengaluru to conduct awareness sessions on the new Labour Codes, helping both employers and employees understand their rights and obligations under the consolidated framework. We believe informed compliance benefits everyone — it protects workers' rights while providing employers with a clear, unified regulatory environment.