India notifies four labour codes effective November 21, 2025
→HR and payroll teams must implement new wage and social-security rules
Change
India has notified four consolidated labour codes—the Code on Wages, the Code on Social Security, the Industrial Relations Code, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code—effective November 21, 2025, consolidating 44 labour laws into 29 provisions.
Why it matters
Statutory minimum wages for all workers and unemployment-benefit provisions will be introduced under the consolidated codes. A new social security fund covering about 400 million unorganised workers, including gig and platform workers, will be created. Mandatory annual health check-ups will apply to workers aged over 40.
Implications
- — HR and payroll teams at Indian employers must update payroll systems and pay structures before the codes' expected April implementation to apply statutory minimum wages and unemployment-benefit calculations — failure to implement by rollout will produce incorrect pay runs and regulatory non-compliance.
- — Compliance and legal teams at Indian employers must amend employment contracts, worker policies and statutory filings before the April rollout to reflect new entitlements and coverage — failure risks contractual breaches and regulatory non-compliance.
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Source
View on Economic Times