To get input from stakeholders, the Ministry of Labor and Employment pre-published draft guidelines on the four labor laws on Thursday. The government plans to implement all four codes nationwide on April 1, 2026.
Four Labour Codes Announced
On Thursday, the four labor codes were announced: the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020; the Code on Wages, 2019; the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; and the Code on Social Security, 2020.
Social Security benefits for independent contractors
The Center suggested in their draft regulations that gig workers or platform workers must work together “for not less than 90 days with an aggregator, or in the case of multiple aggregators, not less than 100 and twenty days, in the last financial year” in order to qualify for benefits under these codes.
However, what happens if a gig worker works with many aggregators? The Center clarified this guideline as follows:
Clarification on multi-aggregator work
(i) If a gig worker or platform worker receives payment for their labor, regardless of the amount, they will be deemed to have worked with an aggregator for one day.
on that day of the calendar with the aggregator;
(ii) When working with numerous aggregators, a gig worker’s or platform worker’s days of participation must be computed cumulatively across all aggregators;
(iii) A gig worker or platform worker will count three days if they work with three aggregators on a given calendar day.
The center asks for input
As labor is a concurrent topic, the states are now in the process of legally publishing the regulations under the four laws, according to news agency PTI.
Following the release of the draft regulations, the ministry has offered interested parties 30 days to provide comments on the Industrial Relations Code, 2020.
For comments on the last three codes, the ministry has allocated 45 days.
Industry response
Director General of CII Chandrajit Banerjee made the following comment in response to the development: “The publishing of the draft regulations under the four Labour Codes represents a critical step in operationalizing India’s labour reforms.”
“The regulations help industry prepare with confidence, simplify compliance, encourage sustainable development, and increase worker safeguards by providing clear and feasible implementation approaches,” Banerjee said.
Government timeline and objectives
Union Labour & Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said earlier this month at CII IndiaEdge 2025 that pre-published draft regulations under the four labor codes would soon be available.
Additionally, he had previously said that both the federal government and the states had pre-published draft regulations, but that was a long time ago, and it is now necessary to bring draft regulations up to date.
The minister also emphasized the government’s plan to increase the number of workers receiving social security from the current 94 crore to 100 crore by March 2026.
Between 2015 and 2025, the percentage of people covered by social security increased from 19% to nearly 64%.
Implementation and future impact
The relevant governments—the federal government and the states—must announce the regulations under the four codes in order to adequately implement them across the nation since labor is a contemporaneous issue.
The next revolutionary step will be the implementation of the codes, which will increase worker protection, facilitate corporate operations, and foster a labor environment that supports workers.
Mandaviya also emphasized a number of labor code rules, such as the need for an appointment letter, free health examinations for employees 40 years of age and older, equal work same compensation, and equal opportunities for women to work varied shifts.
