Labour Code Central Rules 2026: Key Rules, Forms and Deadlines

The four new Labour Codes came into force on 21 November 2025, but a Code only sets the principle. The Central Rules, notified on 8 May 2026, supply the working detail: the forms, registers, deadlines, formulas and headcount thresholds that HR and payroll teams actually run on. There is one set of rules under each Code: the Code on Wages (Central) Rules, the Social Security (Central) Rules, the Industrial Relations (Central) Rules and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, all of 2026 (KPMG). The official Gazette PDFs of all four are on our Labour Codes PDF page.

This guide covers:

• who the Central Rules apply to, and how they differ from state rules
• the key rules under each Code, with the forms and deadlines
• the headcount thresholds that trigger each duty
• what HR should do now, including the 8 November registration deadline

Who the Central Rules apply to

The Central Rules apply only where the Central Government is the "appropriate government" under the Codes (Khaitan & Co). That covers central-sphere establishments such as railways, mines, major ports and banks. Most other private employers follow the rules notified by their own state.

So two employers in the same city can follow different rules. Where a state has not yet notified final rules, check what transitional arrangement that state has announced before changing any process.

Timeline: from draft to final rules

• 21 November 2025The four Labour Codes came into force.
• 30 December 2025Draft Central Rules were published for comments: 30 days for the IR rules and 45 days for the other three (KPMG).
• 8 May 2026Final Central Rules under all four Codes were notified and took effect.
• 24 September 2026The Labour Secretary said 10 states had published their rules, and the Centre expected all states and UTs to have rules in place by 31 October (Business Standard).
• 31 October 2026Aggregators' final annual return for gig and platform worker contributions falls due (Form XXI).
• 8 November 2026Last date for already-registered establishments to update their particulars on the Shram Suvidha portal (LKS).

Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026

The wage rules turn the Code's minimum wage and working-day provisions into numbers (SCC Online, text of the Rules):

• Minimum wage is fixed per day. The hourly rate is the daily rate divided by 8, and the monthly rate is the daily rate multiplied by 26. Fractions of half a rupee or more round up; smaller fractions are dropped.
• VDA is revised twice a year, before 1 April and before 1 October, using the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers. The current central-sphere rates are on our minimum wages page.
• Floor wage is to be revised at intervals of not more than five years.
• Normal working day: 8 hours for daily-paid employees; no more than 48 hours a week for others.
• Weekly rest: one rest day a week, and no more than 10 consecutive days without a rest day.
• Fines: the employer must list the acts that attract a fine and give the employee 7 days to show cause.
• Deduction for absence: the employee is told of the intended deduction and given 7 days to reply; if there is no reply, the employer deducts and informs the employee within 15 days (Mondaq).

One change from the draft is worth knowing. The draft rules set out a minimum wage formula based on a family of three consumption units and 2,700 calories per unit a day. The final rules dropped it: the criteria are to be specified separately by the Central Government.

Example: minimum wage per hour and per month

Take the central-sphere unskilled rate for Area A from 1 October 2026, ₹840 a day:

• Hourly: ₹840 ÷ 8 = ₹105
• Monthly: ₹840 × 26 = ₹21,840

Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026

These rules carry the most forms. The ones HR handles most often (Mondaq):

Gratuity

1. 1. NominationThe employee files a nomination in Form III, and the employer verifies it and returns an attested copy.
2. 2. ClaimThe employee or nominee applies in Form IV within 30 days of gratuity becoming payable. Legal heirs have one year, and late claims can be accepted for sufficient cause.
3. 3. Employer's noticeThe employer admits or rejects the claim in Form V within 15 days of receiving it.
4. 4. PaymentIf admitted, payment is made within 30 days, by demand draft or bank transfer.

Fixed-term employees qualify after one year of service, and service of more than six months in the final year counts as a full year. To work out the amount, use the gratuity calculator or our guide to gratuity under the new Labour Codes.

Maternity benefit and crèche

• Notice of maternity in Form XI, with the medical certificate in Form X.
• Nursing breaks of 15 minutes each, plus up to 15 minutes of travel time depending on the distance to the crèche.
• A crèche is required at 50 or more employees, within 1 km. With the agreement of the negotiating union or council, or a majority of employees, the employer can instead pay a crèche allowance of at least ₹500 a month per child, for up to two children.
• The final rules raised the ESI medical bonus for insured women from ₹7,500 to ₹15,000, and the ESI funeral expense cap from ₹15,000 to ₹20,000 (Khaitan & Co).

Gig and platform workers

• Workers aged 16 and above register on the central portal with Aadhaar.
• Aggregators had to share details of existing workers within 45 days of the rules starting, and must now update joiners and exits in real time or daily.
• A worker is eligible for scheme benefits after 90 days with one aggregator, or 120 days across aggregators, in the previous financial year. Any day with income counts as a day of engagement.
• Aggregators pay provisional contributions in Form XX by 30 June, and file the final return in Form XXI by 31 October. Late payment carries interest of 1% a month.

Registers and records

Registers may be kept electronically, must be preserved for five years from the last entry, and must be kept at the workplace or within 3 km of it. Wage slips are issued, electronically or otherwise, on or before the day wages are paid.

Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2026

The IR rules deal with committees, standing orders and job losses (PRS Legislative Research):

• Grievance Redressal Committee at 20 or more workers: up to 10 members, half from the employer and half from the workers.
• Works Committee at 100 or more workers: up to 20 members, meeting at least once every three months, with a three-year term.
• Model Standing Orders, 2026 for mines, manufacturing and services. Employers with 300 or more workers either adopt them and inform the certifying officer, or frame and certify their own (Khaitan & Co).
• Layoff, retrenchment and closure at 300 or more workers need prior government permission. Apply at least 15 days before a layoff, 60 days before retrenchment and 90 days before closure.

The worker re-skilling fund

For every retrenched worker, the employer deposits 15 days of last drawn wages into the fund within 10 days of retrenchment. The amount is then credited to the worker's bank account within 45 days. This is in addition to retrenchment compensation.

OSH (Central) Rules, 2026

The OSH rules carry the deadline most employers need to act on now (iPleaders, LKS):

Registration

• Apply online in Form I on the Shram Suvidha portal. A new establishment has 60 days from the date the Code applies to it.
• The registering officer issues the certificate in Form III within 7 days of a complete application; otherwise the establishment is treated as registered.
• Establishments already registered under the older laws must update their particulars within six months of 8 May 2026, that is by 8 November 2026.
• Later changes are reported within 30 days.

Appointment letters, hours and overtime

• Appointment letter in the prescribed format, on or before joining. The draft's three-month grace period was dropped.
• Hours: 8 a day and 48 a week.
• Overtime at twice the ordinary wage rate, beyond 8 hours a day for daily-paid workers or 48 hours a week for others, and only with the worker's consent (rule 69).
• Rounding: 15 to 30 minutes of overtime counts as half an hour; more than 30 minutes counts as an hour.
• Daily rate for monthly-paid staff: monthly wage ÷ 26. Overtime is capped at 144 hours a quarter.
• Women on night shifts (before 6 am or after 7 pm) need written consent, with transport and CCTV provided.
• Free annual health check-up for employees aged 40 and above in dock work and building or construction work. Factory health check-ups are left to state rules.

Example: overtime for a monthly-paid worker

Monthly wages of ₹26,000 give a daily rate of ₹26,000 ÷ 26 = ₹1,000 and an hourly rate of ₹1,000 ÷ 8 = ₹125. The overtime rate is twice that, ₹250 an hour. For 50 hours in a week, the 2 hours above 48 are overtime: 2 × ₹250 = ₹500. The overtime calculator does this for any wage.

Contract labour

• A contractor needs a licence from 50 contract workers, applied for in Form XXI.
• A single licence can cover several states. It is decided within 45 days, or treated as granted, and is valid for five years.
• If the contractor misses the wage date, the principal employer pays within 15 days.
• Contract workers regularly employed by a contractor get an annual increment of at least 2% (KPMG).

Employers file an electronic annual return in Form XVII by the last day of February, covering the previous calendar year.

Headcount thresholds at a glance

Most duties under the Central Rules switch on at a set number of workers. These are the main ones:

Central Rules vs state rules

The Codes let each state frame its own rules for establishments under its control, so the detail can differ from state to state: registration portals, forms, spread-over of working hours, factory health check-ups and some thresholds. The Central Rules are a reference point, not the rule for every employer.

On 24 September 2026 the Labour Secretary said 10 states had published their rules, and the Centre's target is for all states and UTs to have rules by 31 October 2026 (Business Standard). Trackers do not agree on which states have notified final rules under all four Codes, so check your state's labour department or gazette directly.

What HR should do now

1. Confirm your appropriate government. Central-sphere establishments follow the Central Rules; others follow their state's rules.
2. Update your Shram Suvidha registration by 8 November 2026 if you were registered under the older laws.
3. Switch to the new appointment letter format for every new joiner, issued on or before joining.
4. Recheck overtime against the 48-hour week, the rounding rule and the 144-hour quarterly cap.
5. Replace the old gratuity forms with Forms III, IV and V, and collect fresh nominations.
6. Set up the committees your headcount requires: grievance redressal at 20, works committee at 100, safety committee at 500.
7. Build the re-skilling fund deposit into your retrenchment process: 15 days' wages within 10 days.
8. Check your wage structure against the 50% wage rule with the new labour code salary calculator.

What is still open

• The criteria for fixing minimum wages are still to be specified by the Central Government.
• Gig and platform worker benefits depend on schemes to be framed under the Social Security Code.
• State rules are still being notified, and some will differ from the Central Rules.

Related: state-wise Labour Code rules tracker, Labour Codes latest news and Labour Codes for IT employees.

Frequently asked questions

When were the Labour Code Central Rules notified?

On 8 May 2026, under all four Labour Codes. The Codes themselves have been in force since 21 November 2025.

Do the Central Rules apply to my company?

Only if the Central Government is your appropriate government, as for railways, mines, major ports and banks. Most other private employers follow their state's rules.

What is the deadline to update registration on the Shram Suvidha portal?

Establishments already registered under the older laws must update their particulars within six months of 8 May 2026, that is by 8 November 2026. New establishments apply in Form I within 60 days.

How is overtime calculated under the Central Rules?

At twice the ordinary wage rate, beyond 8 hours a day for daily-paid workers or 48 hours a week for others. For monthly-paid staff, the daily rate is the monthly wage divided by 26, and overtime is capped at 144 hours a quarter.

Which forms are used for gratuity under the new rules?

Form III for nomination, Form IV for the claim and Form V for the employer's notice. The employer must reply within 15 days and pay an admitted claim within 30 days.

What is the worker re-skilling fund?

On retrenchment, the employer deposits 15 days of last drawn wages per worker within 10 days. The amount is credited to the worker's bank account within 45 days.

How is the monthly minimum wage worked out from the daily rate?

The daily rate is multiplied by 26. The hourly rate is the daily rate divided by 8.

Position as of 30 October 2026. Based on the four Central Rules notified on 8 May 2026 and the summaries cited above. State rules may differ. General information, not legal advice: confirm with the official notification or a qualified professional.