Key Takeaway Box
- Workers have constitutional protection against discrimination, forced labour and unsafe working conditions.
- Employers must follow minimum wage, overtime, salary payment and final settlement rules as per New Labour Codes
- Eligible employees are entitled to PF, ESI, gratuity and maternity benefits.
- Workers cannot be terminated arbitrarily without due process, notice or compensation where applicable.
- Every eligible workplace must provide safe conditions, appointment letters and grievance mechanisms.
- Gig and platform workers have been recognised under India’s social security framework.
- Workers facing violations can approach labour authorities, legal services bodies or relevant government departments.
India has some of the most detailed worker protection laws in the world. From the Constitution itself down to four brand-new labour codes that came into force on 21 November 2025, the framework is wide and deep.
The problem has never been the absence of law. It has been the absence of knowledge about what the law says.India has one of the most detailed labour protection frameworks in the world, yet millions of workers remain unaware of the rights already guaranteed to them by the Constitution and labour laws.
rom minimum wages and overtime pay to PF, ESI, maternity benefits, workplace safety, termination rules and protection against forced labour, Indian workers have several legal safeguards.
The new labour codes have brought major changes by combining multiple older laws into a simplified framework. For employees, gig workers, factory workers, private sector professionals and informal workers, understanding these rights is no longer optional — it is essential.
Part One: The Constitution of India is on Your Side
The Constitution of India - the document that overrides every other law — protects workers. Not as a favour, but As a right for each individual.
The Right to Equality (Article 14)
Article 14 says that every person in India is equal before the law. It means your employer does not get to treat you as a lesser human being because you sweep a floor instead of sitting in a corner office. The law sees you both the same.
The Right to Form Unions (Article 19(1)(c))
You have the constitutional right to form or join a trade union. If your employer retaliates against you for being a union member or for organising your colleagues, that is not just unfair — it is unconstitutional. It is an attack on a fundamental right.
The Right to Life and Dignity (Article 21)
The Supreme Court of India has repeatedly held that Article 21, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, also means the right to work in dignity and in safe conditions. In the 1990 case of Charan Lal Sahu v. Union of India, the Court made clear that health and safety at the workplace is a fundamental right. If your employer is making you work in conditions that are dangerous and refuses to fix them, they are violating the Constitution.
The Right Against Forced Labour (Article 23)
Article 23 bans forced labour. It does not matter if you signed a contract under duress, if you come from a vulnerable community, or if someone is holding your documents. If you are made to work under coercion or without pay that you are legally entitled to, it is a constitutional violation — not just a civil dispute.
No Child Labour (Article 24)
No child below the age of 14 can be employed in a factory or in any hazardous work. This is non-negotiable, non-waivable, and carries criminal punishment for the employer.
The Directive Principles (Articles 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 43-A, 47)
These Articles, found in Part IV of the Constitution, are the conscience of the document. While they are not directly enforceable in court the way fundamental rights are, they guide every law Parliament makes. They direct the State to ensure living wages, equal pay for equal work, humane conditions of work, and maternity relief.
Part Two: The Four New Labour Codes (In Force from November 2025)
For decades, India's labour laws were a thicket — 29 separate central statutes, each with its own definitions, its own procedures, and its own blindspots. A small business owner could be confused. A factory worker certainly was.
In 2019 and 2020, Parliament passed four new codes that folded those 29 laws into a single, simplified framework. On 21 November 2025, these codes came into full force. Here is what each one means for you.
Code 1: The Code on Wages, 2019
This code replaced four old laws: the Payment of Wages Act 1936, the Minimum Wages Act 1948, the Payment of Bonus Act 1965, and the Equal Remuneration Act 1976. It covers every single employee in the country, in the organised and unorganised sectors both. No employer, no matter how small their shop or how informally they operate, is exempt.
What it guarantees you?
The Central Government sets a national floor wage. State governments must set their own minimum wages at or above that floor. Your employer cannot pay you less. If they do, it is not a policy disagreement — it is a crime. As a reference point, in Delhi in early 2025, the minimum wage for unskilled labour was around ₹695 per day. States revise these rates typically in April and October each year.
Your wage definition has been fixed. Under the new code, your "wage" is your basic pay plus dearness allowance plus retaining allowance. Here is the important part: your employer cannot structure your pay so that allowances — HRA, conveyance, special allowances — make up more than 50 percent of your total pay packet.
Equal pay for equal work. This principle now covers all genders, including transgender persons. If a man and a woman are doing the same job, they must be paid the same. If you are being paid less than a male colleague doing identical work, the law is on your side.
Your final settlement must come within two working days of leaving. If you resign, retire, or are terminated, your employer must pay you every rupee owed within two working days.
Overtime pay at double the rate. If you work beyond 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week, every extra hour must be paid at twice your normal wage rate. This is the law. If your employer calls extra hours "part of your job" and pays nothing for them, they are breaking the law.
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Code 2: The Industrial Relations Code, 2020
This code consolidated the Trade Unions Act 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act 1946, and the Industrial Disputes Act 1947. It governs how disputes between workers and employers are resolved, how dismissals are handled, and what rights workers have when their employer wants to let them go.
What it guarantees you?
You cannot be dismissed without due process. An employer cannot simply send you a message saying your services are terminated. For any employee dismissed on grounds of misconduct, the employer must conduct a domestic inquiry — meaning a fair internal process where you can hear the charges, present your side, and have witnesses if needed.
Skipping this process makes the dismissal legally invalid.
The employer must also give you one month's notice or pay in lieu of notice.
Last-in, first-out in retrenchments. If your employer is retrenching workers, the most recently hired must go first. Your seniority protects you. Additionally, if the company hires again within a year for the same kind of work, retrenched workers get priority in re-employment.
Grievance Redressal Committees are now mandatory. Any establishment with 20 or more workers must set up a Grievance Redressal Committee with equal representation from workers and management. This is your first, formal internal stop for any complaint — and it must have women members in proportion to the female workforce. If your workplace does not have one, report it.
You cannot be victimised for raising a legitimate dispute. The code lists "unfair labour practices." Among them: dismissing a worker because they raised a complaint, discriminating against union members, or threatening workers to stop them from exercising their rights. Employers found guilty of unfair labour practices face penalties.
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Code 3: The Code on Social Security, 2020
This is where your net is. The Code on Social Security replaces nine older laws and brings under its umbrella the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF), Employees' State Insurance (ESI), gratuity, maternity benefit, and more. For the first time, it also extends social security to gig workers and platform workers.
What it guarantees you:
Provident Fund (EPF). Every establishment with 20 or more employees must register under the EPF scheme. If your monthly wages are up to ₹15,000, your contribution is mandatory. Both you and your employer contribute 12 percent of your wage each. This is your forced savings, building a retirement corpus that belongs to you. If they are deducting PF from your salary but not depositing it with the EPFO, that is a criminal offence.
Employees' State Insurance (ESI). If you work in an establishment with 10 or more employees and your wages are within the prescribed limit, you are entitled to ESI — government-backed medical insurance for you and your family. It covers hospitalisation, medicines, maternity treatment, and sickness cash benefits. If your employer is not registering eligible employees for ESI, they are breaking the law.
Gratuity after 5 years. If you have completed five continuous years of service with the same employer, you are entitled to gratuity when you leave — whether by resignation, retirement, or termination. The calculation is 15 days' wages for every year of service. This money is yours by right. It is not a gift from your employer. They cannot withhold it because they are upset you resigned. If they do, approach the controlling authority under the Gratuity Act.
Maternity benefits. Women employees who have worked for at least 80 days in the 12 months before their expected delivery date are entitled to 26 weeks of fully paid maternity leave. Women who already have two or more children get 12 weeks. During this leave, your employer must pay your full average daily wage. They cannot cut your pay. They cannot change your job conditions to your detriment. And they absolutely cannot terminate you.
Gig and platform workers. For the first time in India's legal history, people working through apps and platforms — delivery riders, cab drivers, freelancers on gig platforms — get recognised and are entitled to social security benefits including insurance and maternity protection under the CSS. The implementation details are still being worked out state by state, but the recognition is a watershed moment.
Free annual health checkup. Under the new codes, employers must provide all workers above 40 years of age with a free annual health check. This applies regardless of the size of the establishment.
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Code 4: The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020
This code replaced 13 older laws, including the Factories Act 1948, and sets out the standards for physical safety, working hours, and workplace conditions.
What it guarantees you:
8 hours a day, 48 hours a week. That is the legal standard. If you are asked to work beyond this regularly and without overtime pay, your employer is violating this code. The law allows some flexibility in daily hours with worker consent, but only if they pay double for the extra time.
A safe working environment. Your employer must take all reasonably practical steps to keep the workplace free from hazards — whether those are chemical, physical, electrical, or environmental. If your workplace has dangerous conditions and you have reported them without action, you can report to the labour authorities.
An appointment letter. Under the new codes, every worker must receive a written appointment letter. No verbal contracts, no handshake deals. A document that states your role, your pay, your hours, and your terms. If your employer has not given you one, they are in violation of the law. Demand it.
Women working night shifts. The code provides additional safeguards for women working between 7 PM and 6 AM — including the right to refuse night shift work under certain conditions, adequate lighting, transport, and a no-objection process. It does not ban women from night shifts. It protects them.
Part Four: Specific Rights You Should Know Cold
On Salary and Wages
Your employer must pay your salary on time. Under the Code on Wages, wages must be paid before the 7th of the following month for establishments with fewer than 1,000 employees, and before the 10th for larger ones. If your salary is consistently late, that is a violation. You can complain to the labour authority.
On Termination
You cannot be fired without notice — one month's notice at minimum for most workers, three months for others, depending on your terms. If your employer wants to terminate immediately, they must pay you wages for the notice period. For misconduct, a domestic inquiry must be held first. For business-based retrenchment, compensation at 15 days per year of service is mandatory. Dismissal letters must state the reason. "We no longer need your services" with no explanation is not a valid ground.
On Sexual Harassment
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act — the POSH Act — is not replaced or diluted by the four new labour codes. It continues to apply in full. Every establishment with 10 or more employees must have an Internal Committee. If yours does not, your employer is already in violation. If you face sexual harassment at work, you can approach the Internal Committee. If it is absent or inactive, you can approach the Local Committee set up by the District Collector's office. You have 3 months from the incident to file a complaint, extendable in exceptional circumstances.
On Maternity Leave
If you are a woman who has worked at least 80 days in the past year, you are entitled to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave. Your employer cannot fire you during that leave. They cannot cut your pay. They cannot change your job to your disadvantage. If they do any of these things, file a complaint with the labour inspector within 60 days. The Maternity Benefit Act makes this crystal clear.
On Child Labour
If you know of a child below 14 working in a factory, construction site, or any hazardous setting, you can report it to the District Child Protection Unit, the local police, or the Child Helpline at 1098. The employer faces imprisonment of up to two years and a fine of up to ₹50,000. You are not being a troublemaker for reporting it. You are being a citizen.
On Bonded Labour
If you or anyone you know is being forced to work without pay, held by debt, or their documents are being withheld, that is bonded labour — and it is one of the gravest violations of fundamental rights under Article 23. Contact the District Magistrate, the nearest police station, or the National Human Rights Commission. The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act provides for immediate rescue, rehabilitation, and prosecution of the employer.
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A Word on What Has Changed and What Remains Hard
The four new labour codes, enforced from November 2025, are a genuine step forward. They simplify a confusing system, extend coverage to workers who were excluded before, and put into law things that were previously unclear. The mandate for appointment letters, the two-day final settlement rule, the coverage of gig workers — these are real gains.
But gains on paper are not the same as gains in reality. Implementation depends on state governments notifying their own rules under each code, and not all states have moved at the same pace. Labour inspectors are understaffed in many districts.
Many workers — especially migrants, domestic workers, and those in the informal economy — remain functionally unprotected not because the law excludes them, but because no one tells them what the law says.
Know Your Rights at a Glance
- Minimum Wages — Your employer must pay at or above the state minimum wage. Rates vary by state and skill level and are updated twice a year.
- Working Hours — 8 hours per day, 48 hours per week. Overtime must be paid at twice the normal rate.
- PF — Mandatory for companies with 20+ employees. Both you and your employer contribute 12% of your wage.
- ESI — Medical insurance for employees in establishments with 10+ employees, up to the wage ceiling.
- Gratuity — 15 days' wages per year of service after completing 5 years.
- Maternity Leave — 26 weeks fully paid (12 weeks if you have 2 or more living children). Cannot be terminated during leave.
- Appointment Letter — Every worker is legally entitled to one. Demand it.
- Final Settlement — Must be paid within 2 working days of leaving.
- POSH Protection — Every establishment with 10+ employees must have an Internal Committee against sexual harassment.
- Termination — Requires notice or pay in lieu. Requires domestic inquiry for misconduct. Requires retrenchment compensation for business closures.
Sources: Constitution of India, PIB, The Industrial Relations Code, 2020
This article is a general information guide for workers and citizens. It does not constitute legal advice. For your specific situation, consult a qualified labour lawyer or approach the nearest Legal Services Authority for free assistance.
— News4Bharat, June 2026