The Labour Ministry has pre-published the draft rules for the four Labour Codes that were introduced in late 2025. The draft was released on the ministry’s website on December 30, 2025, and the public has 45 days from the date to respond to the rules.
The pre-published rules lay out definitions for terms like workers, wages, types of employment, gratuity, bonus and social security of workers, including gig workers. They have also mandated 48 hours of work per week and laid down measures in workplaces where women work night shifts.
Additionally, the minimum rate of wages will be fixed on criteria of the standard working class family, which includes a spouse and two children apart from the earning employee; an equivalent of three adult consumption units; a net intake of 2,700 calories per day per consumption unit; 66 metres of cloth per year per standard working class family; housing rent expenditure to constitute 10% of food and clothing expenditure; fuel, electricity and other miscellaneous items of expenditure to constitute 20% of minimum wage and spending for children education, medical requirement, recreation and expenditure on contingencies to constitute 25% of minimum wage.
The Central government will take into account the geographical area, experience in the area of employment, and level of skill required for working under the categories of unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled when deciding the minimum wage. The rules propose a Central Advisory Board, and it will take into account the minimum living standard, including food, clothing, housing and any other factors considered appropriate by the Centre from time to time for the standard working-class family when fixing the floor wage.
The rules dictate that the central government constitute a technical committee to advise it on skill categorisation of occupation, etc., headed by the Director General of Employment, Ministry of Labour and Employment.
A National Social Security Board will also be established with representatives of associations of unorganised sector workers and employers’ associations of the unorganised sector for the social security measures of unorganised workers. Five gig workers and platform workers, on a rotating basis, will represent the different types of gig workers and platform workers as members of this Board.
As per the draft rules, every establishment where 50 or more employees are ordinarily employed is to provide and maintain a creche for the use of children under the age of six years of employees.
The rules also pay attention to the health and safety of workers in potentially hazardous sectors. “Every employer of factory, dock, mine, building and other construction work shall arrange to conduct free of cost, medical examination for every employee annually, i.e. within 120 days from the commencement of the calendar year who has completed 40 years of age,” the rules prescribe.
Additionally, no employee shall be employed in any establishment unless they have been issued a letter of appointment that includes an Aadhaar number, Universal Account Number (UAN), date of joining, etc. Moreover, no worker shall be required or allowed to work in an establishment for more than 48 hours in any week. If a worker works overtime, they will be paid twice their standard wage.
