Employment and Labour Law Consultants / Best Lawyer in Delhi NCR for labour laws:
Every enterprise is required to be compliant under the applicable laws in India to undertake, run and expand hassle free business. In India, where the Business Owner and/or Director of the company is singly and severally liable for non-compliances, the compliances under Employment and Labour Laws cannot be undermined.
India’s much awaited new labour codes came into force with effect from 21st November 2025 where 29 labour laws have been consolidated into four unified codes to simplify compliance, expand social security to gig workers /platform workers /contract workers, mandate a national floor wage, ensure equal pay for women, allows women night shifts with safety, and provides equal benefits, and establish clearer rules for working hours, timely payment, overtime pay, and gratuity, and defines wages more clearly, ensuring more goes into PF/ESI.
Unified definitions under new labour code: .
Employee” means: Any person (other than an apprentice engaged under the Apprentices Act, 1961) employed on wages by an establishment, either directly or through a contractor to do any skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled, manual, operational, supervisory, managerial, administrative [non-worker category covered], technical, clerical or any other work, whether the terms of employment be express or implied or person declared as an employee by Appropriate Government.
Wages” means all remuneration, whether by way of salaries, allowances or otherwise, expressed in terms of money payable to a person employed in respect of his employment or of work done in such employment,
Wages” includes: basic pay; dearness allowance; and retaining allowance, if any,
But Wages does not include: Bonus; HRA or value for house accommodation, supply of light, water, medical attendance or other amenity; Contribution paid by the employer to any pension or provident fund; any conveyance allowance; special expenses; overtime allowance; any commission payable to the employee; any gratuity payment, retrenchment compensation or any ex gratia payment:
At least 50% of the total remuneration (CTC) must now qualify as “wages”. This prevents employers from using excessive allowances to reduce contributions to retirement funds.
Universal Minimum Wage: Every worker / employee in India now has a statutory right to minimum wages.
National Floor Wage: The Central Government will notify the national floor wage for workers. States cannot set their minimum wages below the national floor wage fixed by the Central Government.
Equal pay for equal work: The concept of “equal pay for equal work” now covers all workers, not just men and women, including transgender individuals and potentially gig workers.
Timely Payments: Wages must be paid within strict timelines: daily wages at the end of shifts, weekly wages before the last working day, and monthly wages by the 7th of the following month.
Timely Settlement: For employees leaving due to resignation or termination, all dues must be paid within two working days.
Social Security to Gig & Platform Workers: For the first time, delivery partners, rideshare drivers, and online service providers are also eligible for social security benefits.
Social Security Fund: A dedicated fund will be established for unorganized workers, financed partly by aggregators who must contribute 1–2% of their annual turnover which is capped at 5% of worker payouts.
Gratuity Reform: Fixed-term employees or contractual employees are now eligible for gratuity after completing just one year of continuous service, rather than the standard five-year’s continuous services requirement.
Operational Flexibility: The threshold for needing government approval for layoffs, retrenchments, or closures has been increased from 100 to 300 workers.
Worker Re-skilling Fund: Employers must contribute an additional 15 days’ wages for every retrenched worker into a fund specifically for their retraining.
Strike Regulation: A mandatory 14-day notice is required before any strike or lockout. “Mass casual leave” by 50% or more workers is now legally defined as a strike.
Sole Negotiating Union: A trade union with at least 51% membership is recognized as the sole body for bargaining with the employer.
Health Check-ups: Employers must provide free annual medical check-ups for all workers aged 40 and above.
Women in Night Shifts: Women are now legally permitted to work between 7 PM and 6 AM across all sectors, provided they consent and the employer ensures mandatory safety, transportation, and facilities.
Working Hours: Standard working hours are capped at 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week, with overtime paid at double the regular rate.
Mandatory Appointment Letters: Every employer is now legally required to issue a formal appointment letter to all employees to promote formalization of work.
Simplified Compliance: Businesses move toward a “One Registration, One License, One Return” system, replacing the manual filings.
Applicability of some of the labour law compliances depends on the number of employees employed in an establishment:
1. EPF: 20 or more employees with wage ceiling INR 15,000
2. ESI: 10 or more employees with wage ceiling INR 21,000
3. Gratuity: 10 or more employees
4. Maternity Benefits: 10 or more employees
5. Bonus: 10 or more workers in a factory and 20 or more employees in other establishments (like shops or companies).
If anyone needs any kind of help or legal advice on labour laws or in general, please feel free to contact me at any time. My Number is 9818865693 and email is adv.jeetkumarsingh@gmail.com