The Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026 – No. G.S.R. 343(E) dated 08.05.2026: Notification – Download PDF

The Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026 – No. G.S.R. 343(E) dated 08.05.2026: Notification by Ministry of Labour and Employment – Download PDF given in last of article.

MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 8th May, 2026

G.S.R. 343(E).—Whereas the draft of the Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2025 were published as required under sub-section (1) of section 67 of the Code on Wages, 2019 (29 of 2019) in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, section 3, Sub-section (i), vide number G.S.R. 936 (E), dated the 30th December, 2025, inviting objections and suggestions from all persons likely to be affected thereby within a period of forty-five days from the date on which the Gazette containing the said notification were made available to the public;

And whereas, the notification was made available to the public on the 30th December, 2025; And whereas, suggestions and objections received from persons and stakeholders have been duly considered by the Central Government; Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 67 of the Code on Wages, 2019 (29 of 2019) and in supersession of –

(i) the Payment of Wages (Procedure) Rules, 1937;
(ii) the Payment of Wages (Railways) Rules, 1938;
(iii) the Minimum Wages (Central) Rules, 1950;
(iv) the Payment of Wages (Mines) Rules, 1956;
(v) the Payment of Wages (Procedure) Application to Scheduled employments Rules, 1962;
(vi) the Payment of Wages (Manner of Recovery of excess Deductions) Rules, 1966;
(vii) the Payment of Wages (Air Transport Services) Rules, 1968;
(viii) the Payment of Wages (Deductions for National Defence Fund and Defence Savings Scheme) Rules, 1972;
(ix) the Payment of Bonus Rules, 1975;
(x) the Equal Remuneration Rules, 1976; and
(xi) the Payment of Undisbursed Wages (Air Transport Services) Rules, 1988;
(xii) the Payment of Undisbursed Wages (Mines) Rules, 1989;
(xiii) the Central Advisory Committee on Equal Remuneration Rules, 1991;
(xiv) the Payment of Wages (Nomination) Rules, 2009;
(xv) the Minimum Wages (Central Advisory Board) Rules, 2011;
(xvi) the Code on Wages (Central Advisory Board) Rules, 2021;
(xvii) the Ease of Compliance to Maintain Register under Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 (25 of 1976), Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (11 of 1948) and the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (4 of 1936),

except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Government hereby makes the following rules, namely:-

CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY

1. Short title and commencement.- (1) These rules may be called the Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026.

(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Definitions.- (1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires. —
(a) “appeal” means an appeal under sub-section (1) of section 49;
(b) “appellate authority” means the appellate authority appointed by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of section 49;
(c) “appendix” means Appendix annexed to these rules;
(d) “authority” means the authority appointed by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of section 45;
(e) “Board” means the Central Advisory Board constituted by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of section 42;
(f) “Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Board;
(g) “Code” means the Code on Wages, 2019 (29 of 2019);
(h) “Committee” means a committee appointed by the Central Government under clause (a) of subsection (1) of section 8;
(i) “day” means a period of twenty-four hours beginning at mid-night;
(j) “electronically” means any information submitted by email or maintained or displayed on the designated portal or mobile application or website or digital payment in any mode for the purposes of the Code;
(k) “form” means the forms appended to these rules;
(l) “geographical area” means the areas notified by the Central Government from time to time.
(m) “highly skilled occupation” means an occupation which calls in its performance a specific level of perfection and required competence acquired through intensive technical or professional training or practical occupational experience for a considerable period and also requires of an employee to assume full responsibility for judgment or decision involved in the execution of such occupation;
(n) “Inspector-cum-Facilitator” means a person appointed by the Central Government, under subsection (1) of section 51;
(o) “member” means a member of the Board;
(p) “normal rate of wage” means wage as defined under clause (y) of section 2;
(q) “registered trade union” means a trade union registered under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (35 of 2020);
(r) “section” means a section of the Code;
(s) “semi-skilled occupation” means an occupation which in its performance requires the application of skill gained by the experience on job which is capable of being applied under the supervision or guidance of a skilled employee and includes supervision over the unskilled occupation;
(t) “skilled occupation” means an occupation which involves skill and competence in its performance through experience on the job or through training as an apprentice in a technical or vocational institute and the performance of which calls for initiating and judgment;
(u) “unskilled occupation” means an occupation which in its performance requires the application of simply the operating experience and involves no further skills.

(2) Words and expressions used in these rules but not defined herein, shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them under the Code.

CHAPTER II

MINIMUM WAGES

3. Manner of calculating minimum rate of wages.–(1) For the purposes of sub-section (5) of section 6, the minimum rate of wages shall be fixed by the day basis keeping in view the criteria which shall be separately specified by the Central Government by special or general order:

Provided that the Central Government shall not fix the minimum wages of the Central Government employees under this Code.
(2) Where the rate of wages for a day is fixed, such amount shall be divided by eight for fixing the rate of wages for an hour and multiplied by twenty six for fixing the rate of wages for a month and in such division and multiplication the factors of one-half and more than one-half shall be rounded as next figure and the factors less than one-half shall be ignored.

(3) In case there is less than six days working week, the hourly rate of minimum wages so calculated
shall be used to derive the minimum wages for the day.

4. Interval for revision of variable dearness allowance.- The cost of living allowance and the cash value of the concession in respect of essential commodities at concession rate shall be computed once before 1st April and then before 1st October in every year to revise the variable dearness allowance payable to the employees on the minimum wages considering the Average Consumer Price Index Number for Industrial Workers published by the Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.

5. Hours of work for normal working day. – (1) The number of hours of work which shall constitute normal working day for an employee whose wage period is on a daily basis shall be eight hours and interval for rest shall be in accordance with notification issued in this regard under Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (37 of 2020).

(2) The number of hours of work which shall constitute a normal working day for an employee whose wage period is other than on a daily basis shall be so fixed that the total number of weekly working hours shall not exceed forty-eight hours.

6. Weekly day of rest.— (1) Subject to the provisions of this rule, an employee shall be allowed rest for one day in every week (hereinafter referred to as “the rest day”), in case of six-day working week which shall ordinarily be a Sunday and in case of less than six-days working week, the rest day shall include Saturday and Sunday, however, the employer may fix any other day of the week as the rest day for any employee or class of employees:

Provided that in a six-days working week or less than six days working week, as the case may be, the remaining days of the week shall be paid rest days for such employees:

Provided further that an employee shall be entitled for the rest day under this sub-rule, if he has worked under the same employer in case of six-days working week for a continuous period of not less than six days and in case of less than six-days working week for a continuous period of the stipulated number of working days, as the case may be:

Provided also that the employee shall be informed of the day fixed as the rest day and of any subsequent change in the rest day before the change is effected, by display of a notice to that effect at a conspicuous place in the place of employment or electronically.

Explanation.- For the purpose of computation of the continuous period of not less than six days or the stipulated number of days worked in a week specified in the second proviso to this sub-rule,

(a) any day on which an employee is required to attend for work but is given only an allowance for attendance and is not provided with work;

(b) any day on which an employee is laid off on payment of compensation under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (35 of 2020), and;

(c) any leave or holiday, with or without pay, granted by the employer to an employee in the period of six days or during the stipulated number of working days of a week, as the case may be, immediately preceding the rest days.

(2) An employee shall not be required or allowed to work on the rest day unless he is allowed a substituted rest day on one of the working days in a week immediately before or after the rest day:

Provided that no substitution shall be made, which shall result in the employee working for more than ten days consecutively without a rest day.

(3) Where any employee works on a rest day and has been given a substituted rest day on any working days before or after the rest day, the rest day shall, for the purposes of calculating the weekly hours of work, be included in the week in which the substituted rest day occurs.

(4) An employee shall be granted for rest day, wages calculated at the rate applicable to the previous working day; where he works on the rest day and has been given a substituted rest day, then, he shall be paid wages for the rest day on which he worked, at the overtime rate and wages for the substituted rest day at the rate applicable to the previous working day:

Provided that in case of six-days working week where–––

(i) the minimum rate of wages of the employee as notified under the Code has been worked out by dividing the minimum monthly rate of wages by twenty- six; or

(ii) the actual daily rate of wages of the employee has been worked out by dividing the monthly rate of wages by twenty-six and such actual daily rate of wages is not less than the notified minimum daily rate of wages of the employee, then, no wages for the rest day shall be payable; and

(iii) the employee works on the rest day and has been given a substituted rest day, then, the employee shall be paid, only for the rest day on which he worked, an amount equal to the wages payable at the overtime rate, which shall not be less than twice the normal rate of wages,

and, in case any dispute arises whether the daily rate of wages has been worked out in accordance with the provisions of this proviso, the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) or the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) having jurisdiction may, on application made in this behalf, decide the same, after giving an opportunity to the parties concerned to make written representations:

Provided further that in case of an employee governed by a piece-rate system, the employee shall be paid wages for the rest day on which he works, at the overtime rate and wages for the substituted rest day at the rate applicable to the previous working day.

Explanation.- For the purpose of this sub-rule, the words ‘previous working day’ means the last day on which the employee has worked, which precedes the rest day or the substituted rest day, as the case may be; and where the substituted rest day falls on a day immediately after the rest day, the previous working day means the last day on which the employee has worked, which precedes the rest day.

(5) The provisions of this rule shall not operate to the prejudice of more favourable terms, if any, to which an employee may be, entitled under any other law or under the terms of any award, agreement or contract of service, and in such a case, the employee shall be entitled only to more favorable terms.

Explanation.- For the purposes of this rule, the expression ‘week’ shall mean a period of seven days beginning at midnight on Saturday night.

7. Night shifts. —Where an employee works on a shift which extends beyond midnight, then, ––––

(i) a rest day for the whole day for the purposes of rule 6 shall, in this case means a period of twenty-four consecutive hours beginning from the time when his shift ends; and

(ii) the following day in such a case shall be deemed to be the period of twenty-four hours beginning from the time when such shift ends and the hours after midnight during which such employee was engaged in work shall be counted towards the previous day.

8. Extent and conditions of working hours for certain categories of employees.- The number of working hours for certain categories of employees under sub-section (2) of section 13 may exceed the normal working hours, specified in rule 5:

Provided that the overtime of these categories of employees shall be as per section 14.

9. Longer wage period. – The longer wage period for the purposes of minimum rate of wages under section 14 shall be by the month.