India’s labour framework is undergoing a major transformation with the implementation of New Labour Law reforms. The government has consolidated 29 existing labour legislations into four simplified labour codes: the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Social Security Code, 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.
These reforms focus on simplifying compliance, ensuring fair working conditions, and protecting employee rights across all sectors. The New Labour Law changes will directly influence wages, social security benefits, working hours, job stability, and overall workplace experience. This article will help professionals clearly understand how the labour reforms impact their professional lives.
What Is New Labour Law 2025?
The New Labour Law 2025 refers to the government’s major reform that combines 29 separate labour legislations into four structured labour codes. These include the Code on Wages, Industrial Relations Code, Social Security Code, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code.
Together, these unified laws aim to make compliance easier, protect workers’ rights, and ensure uniform standards across industries. The New Labour Law enhances wage fairness, improves social security access, strengthens workplace safety, and offers flexibility for modern work arrangements. It is designed to support both business growth and employee welfare in today’s evolving workforce.
New Labour Code 2025 PDF
Employees who want to understand all legal provisions in detail can check New Labour Law 2025 PDF released by the government. It contains the complete text of the four codes, definitions, compliances and rights available to employees. Employees, HR teams and employers can download and read it for clarity and compliance.
Click Here to Download the New Labour Code 2025 PDF
Major Changes in the New Labour Law
The New Labour Law brings a wide range of changes that influence how employees are paid, protected, and supported at the workplace. Below are the most important updates under the New Labour Law that every employee should know.
1. Universal Right to Minimum Wages
The New Labour Law ensures that for the first time in India’s history, every worker, including nearly 40 crore workers in the unorganised sector, is legally entitled to minimum wages. The Wage Code merges multiple laws to guarantee wage security and timely payment for all. Minimum wages will be reviewed every five years and determined based on skill levels and geographical zones, ensuring fairness across states.
2. Floor Wage for Eliminating Regional Disparities
The Labour Code highlights the introduction of a national floor wage. It is critical feature of the New Labour Law. This will reduce wage inequality across states and prevent employers from paying below-standard salaries. States will be required to set wages above this centrally determined floor, ensuring uniform protection and preventing exploitation.
3. Timely and Digital Wage Payments
The New Labour Law ensures mandatory, timely wage payments for all categories of workers. The Payment of Wages Act amendments allow wages to be paid through bank transfers or cheques, encouraging transparency. This establishes financial stability for workers and reduces arbitrary delays that were common earlier.
4. Universal Social Security for All Workers
A significant part of the New Labour Law is the Social Security Code, which merges nine earlier laws. This framework extends EPF, EPS, and ESIC benefits to organised, unorganised, and self-employed workers. The ESIC network will expand from 566 districts to all 740 districts, ensuring health coverage for the entire workforce, including gig and platform workers for the first time.
5. Social Security Fund for Unorganised, Gig & Platform Workers
The New Labour Code documents the creation of a dedicated Social Security Fund for nearly 40 crore unorganised-sector workers. This fund will support gig workers, platform workers, migrant workers, and self-employed individuals. Employers and aggregators will contribute to this fund. This makes the social safety net accessible to workers in new-age digital industries.
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6. Gratuity Eligibility Expanded to Fixed-Term Employees
Fixed-term employees are now entitled to gratuity without requiring five years of service under the New Labour Law. It is a major shift from older laws. This empowers contractual and project-based employees by providing equal social security benefits similar to permanent staff.
7. Occupational Safety and Health for All Sectors
The Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code combines 13 laws to protect workers in factories, mines, construction, motor transport, and plantations. The New Labour Law focuses on safe work environments, regulated working conditions, and proper registration of establishments in hazardous sectors. Safety provisions now also apply to small and dispersed workplaces across India.
8. Improved Rights for Inter-State Migrant Workers
The New Labour Code highlights structural reforms that enable migrants to register themselves on a national portal and receive benefits anywhere in India. Employers must provide annual travel allowances, grievance helplines must be available in each state, and migrant workers can now use One Nation One Ration Card, ensuring food security across states.
9. Women Empowerment and Night Shift Rights
A major step under the New Labour Law is granting women the right to work in all establishments, including night shifts, provided they consent and employers ensure safety. This includes transport, secure working conditions, sanitation facilities, and grievance systems. Gender-based pay discrimination is completely prohibited.
10. Mandatory Appointment Letters for All Workers
Every employee, even those in unorganised sectors, gig roles, and short-term jobs must be given a formal appointment letter. This ensures documented proof of employment, wage entitlement, and social security access. Lack of formalisation was a long-standing problem now resolved by the new reform.
11. Mandatory Free Annual Health Check-ups
The New Labour Law requires employers to provide free annual health check-ups for workers, especially those above 40 years and those in hazardous occupations. This provision improves preventive healthcare and ensures early detection of health risks across all establishments.
12. Simplified Compliance Through One Registration and One Licence
The Labour code emphasises the shift toward a single registration, single licence, and single return system for all labour codes. Digital processes, web-based inspections, reduced committees, and tech-driven transparency remove the old “Inspector Raj.” This reform reduces compliance costs for employers while ensuring more accountability and faster dispute resolution.
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