Free · Official text · In force since 21 November 2025

India's Labour Codes, finally readable.

The four codes that replaced 29 labour laws, laid out chapter by chapter. Plain-English notes sit beside the official text, the government's FAQs are searchable, and every line links back to the gazette.

480 sections127 government FAQs4 calculators

Code on Wages · Chapter III · Payment of Wages

Time limit for payment of wages

In plain words

Daily wages are due at the end of the shift, weekly before the weekly holiday, fortnightly before the end of the second day after the fortnight ends, monthly by the end of the 7th day of the next month, and on exit within two working days; the government may set other limits, and limits in other laws still apply.

(1)The employer shall pay or cause to be paid wages to the employees, engaged on — (i) daily basis, at the end of the shift; (ii) weekly basis, on the last working day of the week, that is to say, before the weekly holiday; (iii) fortnightly basis, before the end of the second day after the end of the fortnight; (iv) monthly basis, before the expiry of the seventh day of the succeeding month.

Did you know?

The two-working-day deadline for paying wages applies even when the employee resigns, not only when the employer ends the job.

Source: official gazette copy, page 9

Pick a code. Start anywhere.

All chapters

69sections · 9 chapters · ~72 minCode on Wages, 2019Minimum wages, the floor wage, timely payment of wages, deductions, bonus and equal pay.Read 164sections · 14 chapters · ~282 minCode on Social Security, 2020Provident fund, ESI, gratuity, maternity benefit, employee's compensation, and gig and platform workers.Read 104sections · 14 chapters · ~150 minIndustrial Relations Code, 2020Trade unions, standing orders, disputes, strikes and lock-outs, lay-off, retrenchment and closure.Read 143sections · 14 chapters · ~204 minOccupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020Registration, safety and health, working hours and leave, women at work, contract labour and migrant workers.Read

29 laws → 4 codes

Where did my old Act go?

laws → Code on Wages

Payment of Wages Act, 1936
Minimum Wages Act, 1948
Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

laws → Social Security Code

Employees' Compensation Act, 1923
Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948
Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959
Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972
Cine-Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981
Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Cess Act, 1996
Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008

laws → Industrial Relations Code

Trade Unions Act, 1926
Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

laws → OSH Code

Factories Act, 1948
Plantations Labour Act, 1951
Mines Act, 1952
Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955
Working Journalists (Fixation of Rates of Wages) Act, 1958
Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961
Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966
Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970
Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976
Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979
Cine-Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1981
Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986
Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996

What changed

The changes employers ask about most.

All 14 changes

Code on Wages · §2One definition of “wages”, and the 50% ruleWages are basic pay, dearness allowance and retaining allowance. If the excluded payments exceed half of total remuneration, the excess is added back to wages.Code on Wages · §9A national floor wageThe Central Government fixes a floor wage; state minimum wages cannot go below it, and minimum wages now cover all employees.Code on Wages · §17Wages on time, and full and final within two working daysMonthly wages before the 7th of the next month. On removal, dismissal, retrenchment or resignation, wages within two working days.Code on Wages · §14Overtime at least twice the normal rateOvertime must be paid at not less than twice the normal rate of wages.Social Security Code · §53Gratuity for fixed-term employeesThe five-year minimum does not apply when a fixed term ends; the IR Code makes a fixed-term worker eligible for gratuity after one year under the contract.Social Security Code · §114Social security for gig and platform workersAggregators contribute 1–2% of annual turnover (as notified), capped at 5% of what they pay gig and platform workers.

Free tools

Work it out in a minute.

Which laws apply to me?Headcount, contract workers, factory or office — see your obligations.The 50% wage ruleWhat counts as wages for PF, gratuity and bonus, on the Ministry's own method.Gratuity15 days per year, the ₹20 lakh ceiling, fixed-term employees.Statutory bonusEligibility, the wage ceilings and 8.33% to 20%.

Straight from the Ministry

127 government answers, verbatim.

Seven FAQ documents issued since December 2025, in one searchable place. Each answer links to its page in the original PDF.

Browse all FAQs

QAre there any specific legal provisions in place for the wage protection of white-collar employees?QCan wages and minimum wages be treated as the same?QDo annual performance-based incentives form a part of “wages” for computation under the Labour Codes?QFrom which date does the definition of “wages” under the Labour Codes come into effect?

Where to start

Reading paths for who you are.

Business owners

What applies to you, and what it costs to get wrong.

HR & payroll teams

The definitions and deadlines you work with every month.

Employees

Your rights on pay, leave, gratuity and safety.

Contractors & principal employers

Licences, wages and who is responsible for what.

How this reading room is made

The law text is the official gazette copy from labour.gov.in, word for word, checked by machine against the source.
Every section links to the exact page of the official PDF.
Plain-English notes summarise; they never replace the law. Where the code leaves a number to government, we say so.
Government FAQs appear verbatim, with their date and source.

Last updated 17 October 2026. Includes the Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Act, 2026.

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