Chapter I — Preliminary, Definitions and Equal Remuneration

Section 1: Short title, extent and commencement

1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Code on Wages, 2019.





    (2) It extends to the whole of India.


    (3) It shall come into force on such date1 as the Central Government may, by notification in the


Official Gazette appoint; and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Code and


any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Code shall be construed as a reference


to the coming into force of that provision.

(1) This Act may be called the Code on Wages, 2019.

(2) It extends to the whole of India.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint; and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Code and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Code shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.

The provision supplies the Code’s name, India-wide territorial reach and commencement mechanism. The operative date must be tested provision by provision; enactment in 2019 did not itself activate the complete Code.

A payroll team should apply the Code from the notified commencement date for the relevant provision, while preserving the legacy-law calculation and evidence for earlier wage periods.

Rule 1: Short title and commencement

Official source: Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026, G.S.R. 343(E), 8 May 2026.

Section 2: Definitions

2. Definitions.—In this Code, unless the context otherwise requires,—





        (a) “accounting year” means the year commencing on the 1st day of April;





        (b) “Advisory Board” means the Central Advisory Board or, as the case may be, the State


    Advisory Board, constituted under section 42;





         (c) “agricultural income tax law” means any law for the time being in force relating to the levy of


    tax on agricultural income;





        (d) “appropriate Government” means, —





               (i) in relation to, an establishment carried on by or under the authority of the Central


       Government or the establishment of railways, mines, oil field, major ports, air transport service,


       telecommunication, banking and  insurance company  or  a  corporation  or  other  authority


        established by a Central Act or a central public sector undertaking or subsidiary companies set up


       by central public sector undertakings or autonomous bodies owned or controlled by the Central


       Government, including establishment of contractors for the purposes of such establishment,


        corporation or other authority, central public sector undertakings, subsidiary companies or


       autonomous bodies, as the case may be, the Central Government;





                (ii) in relation to any other establishment, the State Government;





         (e) “company” means a company as defined in clause (20) of section 2 of the Companies Act,


   2013 (18 of 2013);





          (f) “contractor”, in relation to an establishment, means a person, who—





               (i) undertakes to produce a given result for the establishment, other than a mere supply of


       goods or articles of manufacture to such establishment, through contract labour; or











1.18th December, 2020—Sub-section (1), (2), (3), (10) and (11) of section 42 (to the extent relate to the central Advisory Board);


  clauses (s) and (t) of sub-section (2) of section 67 (to the extent they relate to the Central advisory Board); section 69 [to the


  extent it relates to section 7 and 9 (to the extent relate to the Central Government) and section 8 of the Minimum Wages Act,


  1948 (11 of 1948)], vide notification No. S.O. 4604(E), dated 18th December, 2020, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II,


   sec. 3(ii).


  21st day of November, 2025—Ss. 1 to 41, sub-sections (4) to (9) of section 42, ss. 43 to 66, sub-section (1) and clauses (a) to


    (r) and (u) to (zc) of sub-section (2) and sub-sections (3) to (5) of section 67, section 68, section 69, except the provisions of


    the Code mentioned at serial number 3 of S.O. 4604 (E), dated the 18th December, 2020, vide notification no. S.O. 5322 (E),


    dated 21st November, 2025, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, s. 3(ii).














           (ii) supplies contract labour for any work of the establishment as mere human resource and


    includes a sub-contractor;





    (g) “contract labour” means a worker who shall be deemed to be employed in or in connection


with the work of an establishment when he is hired in or in connection with such work by or through


a contractor, with or without the knowledge of the principal employer and includes inter-State


migrant worker but does not include a worker (other than part-time employee) who—





          (i) is regularly employed by the contractor for any activity of his establishment and his


   employment  is governed by mutually accepted standards of the conditions of employment


    (including engagement on permanent basis), and





           (ii) gets periodical increment in the pay, social security coverage and other welfare benefits in


    accordance with the law for the time being in force in such employment;





    (h) “co-operative society” means a society registered or deemed to be registered under the Co-


operative Societies Act, 1912 (2 of 1912), or any other law for the time being in force relating to co-


operative societies in any State;





     (i) “corporation” means any body corporate established by or under any Central Act, or State Act,


but does not include a company or a co-operative society;





     (j) “direct tax” means—





          (i) any tax chargeable under the—





           (A) Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);





           (B) Companies (Profits) Surtax Act, 1964 (7 of 1964);





           (C) Agricultural income tax law; and





           (ii) any other tax which, having regard to its nature or incidence, may be declared by the


    Central Government, by notification, to be a direct tax for the purposes of this Code;





    (k) “employee” means, any person (other than an apprentice engaged under the Apprentices Act,


1961 (52 of 1961)), employed on wages by an establishment to do any skilled, semi-skilled or


unskilled, manual, operational, supervisory, managerial, administrative, technical or clerical work for


hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, and also includes a person


declared to be an employee by the appropriate Government, but does not include any member of the


Armed Forces of the Union;





     (l) “employer” means a person who employs, whether directly or through any person, or on his


behalf or on behalf of any person, one or more employees in his establishment and where the


establishment is carried on by any department of the Central Government or the State Government,


the authority specified, by the head of such department, in this behalf or where no authority, is so


specified the head of the department and in relation to an establishment carried on by a local


authority, the chief executive of that authority, and includes,—





          (i) in relation to an establishment which is a factory, the occupier of the factory as defined in


    clause (n) of section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948) and, where a person has been


   named as a manager of the factory under clause (f) of sub-section (1) of section 7 of the said Act,


    the person so named;





           (ii) in relation to any other establishment, the person who, or the authority which, has


    ultimate control over the affairs of the establishment and where the said affairs is entrusted to a


   manager or managing director, such manager or managing director;





           (iii) contractor; and





         (iv) legal representative of a deceased employer;





    (m) “establishment” means any place where any industry,  trade, business, manufacture or


occupation is carried on and includes Government establishment;














        (n) “factory” means a factory as defined in clause (m) of section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948 (63


    of 1948);





        (o) “Government establishment” means any office or department of the Government or a local


    authority;





        (p) “Income-tax Act” means the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);





        (q) “industrial dispute” means,—





               (i) any dispute or difference between employers and employers, or between employers and


       workers or between workers and workers which is connected with the employment or non-


       employment or the terms of employment or with the conditions of labour, of any person; and





                (ii) any dispute or difference between an individual worker and an employer connected with,


        or arising out of, discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination of such worker;





         (r) “Inspector-cum-Facilitator” means a person appointed by the appropriate Government under


    sub-section (1) of section 51;





         (s) “minimum wage” means the wage fixed under section 6;





          (t) “notification” means a notification published in the Gazette of India or in the Official Gazette


    of a State, as the case may be, and the expression “notify” with its grammatical variations and cognate


    expressions shall be construed accordingly;





        (u) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made by the appropriate Government;





         (v) “same work or work of a similar nature” means work in respect of which the skill, effort,


    experience and  responsibility required  are  the same, when performed under  similar working


    conditions by employees and the difference  if any, between the  skill,  effort, experience and


    responsibility required for employees of any gender, are not of practical importance in relation to the


    terms and conditions of employment;





       (w) “State” includes a Union territory;





         (x) “Tribunal” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (r) of section 2 of the


    Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947);





         (y) “wages” means  all remuneration whether by way of salaries, allowances or otherwise,


    expressed in terms of money or capable of being so expressed which would (42 of 2005), if the terms


    of employment, express or implied, were fulfilled, be payable to a person employed in respect of his


   employment or of work done in such employment, and includes, —





               (i) basic pay;





                (ii) dearness allowance; and





                (iii) retaining allowance, if any,





but does not include—





                 (a) any bonus payable under any law for the time being in force, which does not form


             part of the remuneration payable under the terms of employment;





                 (b) the value of any house-accommodation, or of the supply of light, water, medical


           attendance or other amenity or of any service excluded from the computation of wages by a


            general or special order of the appropriate Government;





                  (c) any contribution paid by the employer to any pension or provident fund, and the


             interest which may have accrued thereon;





                 (d) any conveyance allowance or the value of any travelling concession;





                  (e) any sum paid to the employed person to defray special expenses entailed on him by


            the nature of his employment;





                     (f) house rent allowance;








                 (g) remuneration payable under any award or settlement between the parties or order of a


            court or Tribunal;





                 (h) any overtime allowance;





                     (i) any commission payable to the employee;





                     (j) any gratuity payable on the termination of employment;





                  (k) any retrenchment compensation or other retirement benefit payable to the employee or


          any ex gratia payment made to him on the termination of employment:





              Provided that, for calculating the wages under this clause, if payments made by the


          employer to the employee under clauses (a) to (i) exceeds one-half, or such other per cent. as


         may be notified by the Central Government, of the all remuneration calculated under this


            clause, the amount which exceeds such one-half, or the per cent. so notified, shall be deemed


            as remuneration and shall be accordingly added in wages under this clause:





              Provided further that for the purpose of equal wages to all genders and for the purpose of


          payment of wages, the emoluments specified in clauses (d), (f), (g) and (h) shall be taken for


           computation of wage.





              Explanation.—Where an employee is given in lieu of the whole or part of the wages


           payable to him, any remuneration in kind by his employer, the value of such remuneration in


           kind which does not exceed fifteen per cent. of the total wages payable to him, shall be


         deemed to form part of the wages of such employee;





         (z) “worker” means any person (except an apprentice as defined under clause (aa) of section 2 of


    the Apprentices Act, 1961 (52 of 1961)) employed in any industry to do any manual, unskilled,


    skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward, whether the terms of


   employment be express or implied, and includes—





               (i) working journalists as defined in clause (f) of section 2 of the Working Journalists and


        other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955 (45


        of 1955); and





                (ii) sales promotion employees as defined in clause (d) of section 2 of the Sales Promotion


       Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976 (11 of 1976), and for the purposes of any


       proceeding under this Code in relation to an industrial dispute, includes any such person who has


       been dismissed, discharged or retrenched or otherwise terminated in connection with, or as a


       consequence of, that dispute, or whose dismissal, discharge or retrenchment has led to that


        dispute,





but does not include any such person—





                 (a) who is subject to the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950), or the Army Act, 1950 (46 of


           1950), or the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 1957); or





                 (b) who is employed in the police service or as an officer or other employee of a prison;


            or





                  (c) who is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity; or





                 (d) who  is employed in a supervisory capacity drawing wage of exceeding fifteen


           thousand rupees per month or an amount as may be notified by the Central Government from


           time to time.

In this Code, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(a) “accounting year” means the year commencing on the 1st day of April;

(b) “Advisory Board” means the Central Advisory Board or, as the case may be, the State Advisory Board, constituted under section 42;

(c) “agricultural income tax law” means any law for the time being in force relating to the levy of tax on agricultural income;

(d) “appropriate Government” means,—

(i) in relation to, an establishment carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government or the establishment of railways, mines, oil field, major ports, air transport service, telecommunication, banking and insurance company or a corporation or other authority established by a Central Act or a central public sector undertaking or subsidiary companies set up by central public sector undertakings or autonomous bodies owned or controlled by the Central Government, including establishment of contractors for the purposes of such establishment, corporation or other authority, central public sector undertakings, subsidiary companies or autonomous bodies, as the case may be, the Central Government;

(ii) in relation to any other establishment, the State Government;

(e) “company” means a company as defined in clause (20) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013);

(f) “contractor”, in relation to an establishment, means a person, who—

(i) undertakes to produce a given result for the establishment, other than a mere supply of goods or articles of manufacture to such establishment, through contract labour; or

(ii) supplies contract labour for any work of the establishment as mere human resource and includes a sub-contractor;

(g) “contract labour” means a worker who shall be deemed to be employed in or in connection with the work of an establishment when he is hired in or in connection with such work by or through a contractor, with or without the knowledge of the principal employer and includes inter-State migrant worker but does not include a worker (other than part-time employee) who—

(i) is regularly employed by the contractor for any activity of his establishment and his employment is governed by mutually accepted standards of the conditions of employment (including engagement on permanent basis), and

(ii) gets periodical increment in the pay, social security coverage and other welfare benefits in accordance with the law for the time being in force in such employment;

(h) “co-operative society” means a society registered or deemed to be registered under the Co-operative Societies Act, 1912 (2 of 1912), or any other law for the time being in force relating to co-operative societies in any State;

(i) “corporation” means any body corporate established by or under any Central Act, or State Act, but does not include a company or a co-operative society;

(j) “direct tax” means—

(i) any tax chargeable under the—

(A) Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);

(B) Companies (Profits) Surtax Act, 1964 (7 of 1964);

(C) agricultural income tax law; and

(ii) any other tax which, having regard to its nature or incidence, may be declared by the Central Government, by notification, to be a direct tax for the purposes of this Code;

(k) “employee” means, any person (other than an apprentice engaged under the Apprentices Act, 1961 (52 of 1961)), employed on wages by an establishment to do any skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled, manual, operational, supervisory, managerial, administrative, technical or clerical work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, and also includes a person declared to be an employee by the appropriate Government, but does not include any member of the Armed Forces of the Union;

(l) “employer” means a person who employs, whether directly or through any person, or on his behalf or on behalf of any person, one or more employees in his establishment and where the establishment is carried on by any department of the Central Government or the State Government, the authority specified, by the head of such department, in this behalf or where no authority is so specified the head of the department and in relation to an establishment carried on by a local authority, the chief executive of that authority, and includes,—

(i) in relation to an establishment which is a factory, the occupier of the factory as defined in clause (n) of section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948) and, where a person has been named as a manager of the factory under clause (f) of sub-section (1) of section 7 of the said Act, the person so named;

(ii) in relation to any other establishment, the person who, or the authority which, has ultimate control over the affairs of the establishment and where the said affairs is entrusted to a manager or managing director, such manager or managing director;

(iii) contractor; and

(iv) legal representative of a deceased employer;

(m) “establishment” means any place where any industry, trade, business, manufacture or occupation is carried on and includes Government establishment;

(n) “factory” means a factory as defined in clause (m) of section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948);

(o) “Government establishment” means any office or department of the Government or a local authority;

(p) “Income-tax Act” means the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);

(q) “industrial dispute” means,—

(i) any dispute or difference between employers and employers, or between employers and workers or between workers and workers which is connected with the employment or non-employment or the terms of employment or with the conditions of labour, of any person; and

(ii) any dispute or difference between an individual worker and an employer connected with, or arising out of, discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination of such worker;

(r) “Inspector-cum-Facilitator” means a person appointed by the appropriate Government under sub-section (1) of section 51;

(s) “minimum wage” means the wage fixed under section 6;

(t) “notification” means a notification published in the Gazette of India or in the Official Gazette of a State, as the case may be, and the expression “notify” with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

(u) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made by the appropriate Government;

(v) “same work or work of a similar nature” means work in respect of which the skill, effort, experience and responsibility required are the same, when performed under similar working conditions by employees and the difference if any, between the skill, effort, experience and responsibility required for employees of any gender, are not of practical importance in relation to the terms and conditions of employment;

(w) “State” includes a Union territory;

(x) “Tribunal” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (r) of section 2 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947);

(y) “wages” means all remuneration whether by way of salaries, allowances or otherwise, expressed in terms of money or capable of being so expressed which would, if the terms of employment, express or implied, were fulfilled, be payable to a person employed in respect of his employment or of work done in such employment, and includes,—

(i) basic pay;

(ii) dearness allowance; and

(iii) retaining allowance, if any,

but does not include—

(a) any bonus payable under any law for the time being in force, which does not form part of the remuneration payable under the terms of employment;

(b) the value of any house-accommodation, or of the supply of light, water, medical attendance or other amenity or of any service excluded from the computation of wages by a general or special order of the appropriate Government;

(c) any contribution paid by the employer to any pension or provident fund, and the interest which may have accrued thereon;

(d) any conveyance allowance or the value of any travelling concession;

(e) any sum paid to the employed person to defray special expenses entailed on him by the nature of his employment;

(f) house rent allowance;

(g) remuneration payable under any award or settlement between the parties or order of a court or Tribunal;

(h) any overtime allowance;

(i) any commission payable to the employee;

(j) any gratuity payable on the termination of employment;

(k) any retrenchment compensation or other retirement benefit payable to the employee or any ex gratia payment made to him on the termination of employment:

Provided that, for calculating the wages under this clause, if payments made by the employer to the employee under clauses (a) to (i) exceeds one-half, or such other per cent. as may be notified by the Central Government, of all remuneration calculated under this clause, the amount which exceeds such one-half, or the per cent. so notified, shall be deemed as remuneration and shall be accordingly added in wages under this clause:

Provided further that for the purpose of equal wages to all genders and for the purpose of payment of wages, the emoluments specified in clauses (d), (f), (g) and (h) shall be taken for computation of wage.

Explanation.—Where an employee is given in lieu of the whole or part of the wages payable to him, any remuneration in kind by his employer, the value of such remuneration in kind which does not exceed fifteen per cent. of the total wages payable to him, shall be deemed to form part of the wages of such employee;

(z) “worker” means any person (except an apprentice as defined under clause (aa) of section 2 of the Apprentices Act, 1961 (52 of 1961)) employed in any industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, and includes—

(i) working journalists as defined in clause (f) of section 2 of the Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955 (45 of 1955); and

(ii) sales promotion employees as defined in clause (d) of section 2 of the Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976 (11 of 1976), and for the purposes of any proceeding under this Code in relation to an industrial dispute, includes any such person who has been dismissed, discharged or retrenched or otherwise terminated in connection with, or as a consequence of, that dispute, or whose dismissal, discharge or retrenchment has led to that dispute,

but does not include any such person—

(a) who is subject to the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950), or the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950), or the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 1957); or

(b) who is employed in the police service or as an officer or other employee of a prison; or

(c) who is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity; or

(d) who is employed in a supervisory capacity drawing wage exceeding fifteen thousand rupees per month or an amount as may be notified by the Central Government from time to time.

Section 2 is the classification engine for the entire Code. It determines the responsible Government, who is an employee or worker, who is the employer, the breadth of the establishment, and what remuneration is counted as wages.

Monthly remuneration is ₹70,000. Core pay (basic + DA + retaining allowance) is ₹30,000 and listed exclusions are ₹40,000. Fifty per cent of total remuneration is ₹35,000. The exclusion excess of ₹5,000 is added back, producing statutory wages of ₹35,000 before any other provision-specific adjustment.

Rule 2: Definitions

Official source: Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026, G.S.R. 343(E), 8 May 2026.

Section 3: Prohibition of discrimination on ground of gender

3. Prohibition of discrimination on ground of gender.—(1) There shall be no discrimination in an


establishment or any unit thereof among employees on the ground of gender in matters relating to wages


by the same employer, in respect of the same work or work of a similar nature done by any employee.





    (2) No employer shall, —





            (i) for the purposes of complying with the provisions of sub-section (1), reduce the rate of wages


     of any employee; and











            (ii) make any discrimination on the ground of sex while recruiting any employee for the same


    work or work of similar nature and in the conditions of employment, except where the employment


     of women in such work is prohibited or restricted by or under any law for the time being in force.

(1) There shall be no discrimination in an establishment or any unit thereof among employees on the ground of gender in matters relating to wages by the same employer, in respect of the same work or work of a similar nature done by any employee.

(2) No employer shall,—

(i) for the purposes of complying with the provisions of sub-section (1), reduce the rate of wages of any employee; and

(ii) make any discrimination on the ground of sex while recruiting any employee for the same work or work of similar nature and in the conditions of employment, except where the employment of women in such work is prohibited or restricted by or under any law for the time being in force.

The employer must not discriminate on gender in wage rates for the same or substantially similar work and must not use recruitment or conditions of employment to recreate the same discrimination.

Two analysts have different job titles but perform the same reconciliations, carry the same approval responsibility and work under the same conditions. The employer must explain any gender-linked pay variance with objective evidence rather than the title difference alone.

Section 4: Decision as to disputes with regard to same or similar nature of work

4. Decision as to disputes with regard to same or similar nature of work.—Where there is any


dispute as to whether a work is of same or similar nature for the purposes of section 3, the dispute shall be


decided by such authority as may be notified by the appropriate Government.





                            CHAPTER II





                              MINIMUM WAGES

Where there is any dispute as to whether a work is of same or similar nature for the purposes of section 3, the dispute shall be decided by such authority as may be notified by the appropriate Government.

A notified authority—not the employer unilaterally—decides disputes over whether work is the same or similar for section 3.

A same-work dispute file should contain job descriptions, actual work samples, responsibility matrices, shift conditions, qualification requirements and pay-band approvals before the notified authority.

Portal control: use the live Central or State labour portal specified for the establishment and transaction. Portal screens do not amend the Code or Rules. Retain acknowledgement, uploaded file, payment proof and the instruction version used.

Principle: Equal pay for equal work is a constitutional goal flowing from equality principles, but comparability must be established on relevant factors.

Current-law use: Legacy constitutional principle survives; apply through the broader gender-neutral text of sections 3–4.

Principle: The substance of work, skill, effort and responsibility matters more than labels or historic job segregation.

Current-law use: Highly relevant to the section 2(v) comparability test.

Principle: Where materially equal work is established in public employment, unequal basic pay may violate equality; classification and duties remain fact-sensitive.

Current-law use: Use cautiously outside its public-employment facts; do not convert it into an automatic private-sector parity rule.