Labour Hub › OSHWC Code › Sections › Section 55

Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 · XI

Section 55: Responsibility for payment of wages

Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026

Section 55 — Governs responsibility for payment of wages and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: (1) A contractor shall be responsible for payment of wages to each contract labour employed by him and such wages shall be paid before the expiry of such period as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.

Full official textSource checked: 20 August 20262 direct Central Rule link(s)

Current-law status

All provisions were brought into force from 21 November 2025 under S.O. 5321(E), subject to the Central/State appropriate-Government split and provision-specific appointments/notifications.

Primary sources

Provision / India Code ↗ · Official Act PDF ↗ · 2026 Central Rules ↗

Finin2min analysis — what the section actually does

Operative clauses

(1) A contractor shall be responsible for payment of wages to each contract labour employed by him and such wages shall be paid before the expiry of such period as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.
Provided that where it is not practicable to disburse payment in the mode specified in this section, then, the payment shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.
(3) In case the contractor fails to make payment of wages referred to in sub-section (1) within the prescribed period or makes short payment, then, the principal employer shall be liable to make payment of the wages in full or the unpaid balance due, as the case may be, to the concerned contract labour employed by the contractor and recover the amount so paid from the contractor either by deduction from any…
(4) The appropriate Government, in the event the contractor does not pay the wages to the contract labour employed by him, shall pass the orders of making payment of such wages from the amount deposited by such contractor as security deposit under the licence issued by the licensing officer to the contractor, in such manner as may be prescribed by such Government.

Provisos, explanations & qualifications

Provided that where it is not practicable to disburse payment in the mode specified in this section, then, the payment shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.

Thresholds and timelines in the text

No explicit day/month/year/hour/percentage/rupee expression was detected in this section text.

Actors expressly appearing in the text

Employer, Appropriate Government

Full statutory text — Section 55

Official English text transcribed from the current India Code consolidation; page headers/line breaks are normalised for web reading. The Gazette/India Code PDF remains authoritative for typography, amendment footnotes and schedules.

55. Responsibility for payment of wages.— (1) A contractor shall be responsible for payment of
wages to each contract labour employed by him and such wages shall be paid before the expiry of such
period as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.
   (2) Every contractor shall, make the disbursement of wages referred to in sub-section (1) through bank
transfer or electronic mode and inform the principal employer electronically the amount so paid by such
mode:
   Provided that where it is not practicable to disburse payment in the mode specified in this section,
then, the payment shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.
   (3) In case the contractor fails to make payment of wages referred to in sub-section (1) within the
prescribed period or makes short payment, then, the principal employer shall be liable to make payment
of the wages in full or the unpaid balance due, as the case may be, to the concerned contract labour
employed by the contractor and recover the amount so paid from the contractor either by deduction from
any amount payable to the contractor under any contract or as a debt payable by the contractor.
   (4) The appropriate Government, in the event the contractor does not pay the wages to the contract
labour employed by him, shall pass the orders of making payment of such wages from the amount
deposited by such contractor as security deposit under the licence issued by the licensing officer to the
contractor, in such manner as may be prescribed by such Government.

How to apply this provision

Primary statutory test — (1) A contractor shall be responsible for payment of wages to each contract labour employed by him and such wages shall be paid before the expiry of such period as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.
Additional operative limb — Provided that where it is not practicable to disburse payment in the mode specified in this section, then, the payment shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.
Qualification / exception to test — Provided that where it is not practicable to disburse payment in the mode specified in this section, then, the payment shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.
Central Rule mapping — 98, 99. Read the mapped provision together with this text rather than treating the concordance as a substitute for it.
Evidence file — retain facts and records proving the role/status of: Employer, Appropriate Government.

Why this is section-specific: the operative-clause, exception, threshold and cross-reference panels above are extracted from Section 55 itself rather than a generic “trigger/control/evidence” template.

Rules, forms and cross-references

Direct 2026 Central Rule mapping

Rule 98 Rule 99

Forms mapped

No prescribed form is directly mapped in the current concordance.

Other sections cited in this text

None expressly mapped in the current concordance.

Related Labour Hub resources

State overlays Forms Labour litigation

A direct concordance is not exhaustive. Central/State jurisdiction, schemes, authority appointments, saved instruments and later notifications may change the practical route without changing the section wording.

Worked example

For an establishment affected by responsibility for payment of wages, the compliance owner should identify the applicable sector and authority, document the prescribed control/notice/record and retain inspection or training evidence. A text point to test is: “(1) A contractor shall be responsible for payment of wages to each contract labour employed by him and such wages shall be paid before the expiry of such period as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.” Also test the express qualification/proviso before concluding the result. Read the mapped Central Rule(s) 98, 99.

Illustration only; it is not statutory text or a substitute for applying the actual facts, jurisdiction, current rule/scheme and official instrument.

Q&A — Section 55

What does Section 55 of the OSHWC Code cover?

What is the main legal requirement or power in Section 55?

The first operative clause identified from the official text is: “(1) A contractor shall be responsible for payment of wages to each contract labour employed by him and such wages shall be paid before the expiry of such period as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.” Read it with the remaining subsections and any proviso below.

Does Section 55 contain a proviso or explanation?

Yes. A qualification extracted from the official text is: “Provided that where it is not practicable to disburse payment in the mode specified in this section, then, the payment shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.”

What time limit, percentage or amount appears in Section 55?

No explicit day/month/year/hour/percentage/rupee expression was detected in the official section text.

Which 2026 Central Rules are linked to Section 55?

The current concordance maps Section 55 to Central Rule(s) 98, 99.

Is Section 55 currently operative?

All provisions were brought into force from 21 November 2025 under S.O. 5321(E), subject to the Central/State appropriate-Government split and provision-specific appointments/notifications.

Source & verification trail

Act: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 — official India Code PDF ↗

Central Rules: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 — G.S.R. 345(E), 8 May 2026 ↗

Official library: Ministry of Labour & Employment — Labour Codes ↗

Source check: 20 August 2026. Individual professional interpretation should be re-reviewed when the section, rules, notification, scheme, State overlay or controlling judgment changes.

Reliance note: This page is an educational legal-reference layer. Verify the current official text, the applicable Central/State rules, notifications, schemes and judicial decisions before acting on a live matter.