The Indian parliament passed four labour codes five years ago, and they have been brought into effect in November 2025. The aim is to modernize working conditions, strengthen wage protection, improve productivity and accelerate job creation.
Between August 2019 and September 2020, 29 labour laws were consolidated into four comprehensive codes. The rules will be issued shortly, and the codes will be implemented. It is a long overhaul of India’s employment law framework.
As labour is a concurrent subject, the states will frame their own rules and supplement the central Act.
The Code of Wages, 2019 significantly widens legal protections for workers. It extends both floor wage and minimum wage coverage to all employees. There would be clarity in wage definition, payment timelines and uniform enforcement across sectors.
The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 introduces greater flexibility for firms in managing labour, particularly in manufacturing. It raises the thresholds for retrenchment, layoffs or closure without government approval from 100 to 300 workers. The earlier limits discouraged scaling up the revised norms are expected to help firms expand operations and create more jobs in the long run.
Under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 broadens safety coverage across all sectors. It mandates double wages for overtime, limits working hours to eight per day and work weeks to six days. It also lifts restrictions on women working between 7 pm and 6 am, provided employers ensure adequate safety arrangements. It will lead to more female participation in sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, hospitality and IT services.
The Code on Social Security, 2020 extends social protection to unorganized sector workers who were outside formal welfare systems. The benefits extended are insurance, health and maternity cover, PF and skill upgradation. It also defines gig workers, platform workers and aggregators for the first time. Aggregators are expected to contribute 1-2 per cent of their annual turnover (capped at 5 percent of their payouts to workers) to a welfare fund supporting social security and accident compensation. This includes the travel between home and work.
To ease employer compliances, the Codes introduce, single registration, a pan-India license and a single return. ESIS cover has been expanded, though there is one employee doing hazardous work and it is voluntary for units with fewer than workers.
India has introduced global standards. Implementation across states will be an issue. Ther should be coordination.
Some provisions favour business flexibility at the cost of worker rights. (especially strike rights and contract labour).
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