Founder Compliance Starter Pack
The core central laws every Indian employer must understand from day one.
India Labour Law Library
Indian Labour Laws: 30+ Acts, Rules, And Compliance Guides Every HR Team Should Know
Browse the central Acts, the four new Labour Codes, and key state Shops and Establishments Acts that shape Indian payroll, attendance, leave, social security, POSH, and industrial relations every day.
31 laws
31+Acts, Codes, and state laws shaping Indian HR, payroll, and statutory compliance.
4Compliance packs for founders, manufacturing, IT and offices, and multi-state employers.
India-firstWritten for Indian HR teams with thresholds, penalties, and state notes.
Compliance Packs
Pick A Pack That Matches Your Workforce And Industry
Each pack groups the laws Indian employers usually need to study together when setting up payroll, plant operations, IT offices, or multi-state operations.
Manufacturing Compliance Pack
For factories, plants, and worksites with shifts and shop-floor labour.
IT And Office Compliance Pack
For offices, IT, ITES, and shop-and-establishment based workforces.
Multi-State Compliance Pack
For employers running across two or more states with different shop, PT, LWF, and labour rules.
Most Searched
The Indian Labour Laws HR Teams Look Up Most
These are the eight Acts and Codes that show up across almost every Indian payroll, statutory, and HR audit conversation.
Social Security
EPF and MP Act, 1952
Mandates Provident Fund, Pension, and Insurance benefits for covered employees.
EPF contribution, EPS pension, EDLI insurance, UAN, KYC, withdrawals, transfers.
Establishments with twenty or more employees and certain specified sectors.
Employer and employee contribute 12% of basic wages each. EDLI insurance up to Rs 7 lakh.
Damages up to 25% per annum on delayed contributions plus interest.
Social Security
Employees State Insurance Act, 1948
Provides medical, sickness, maternity, and disability benefits for covered employees.
Medical benefit, sickness benefit, maternity benefit, disablement, dependant benefit, funeral expenses.
Factories and establishments with ten or more employees in most states.
Wage ceiling Rs 21,000 per month for coverage. Employer 3.25%, employee 0.75%.
Damages up to 25% on delayed contributions and possible imprisonment.
New Labour Codes
Code on Wages, 2019
Consolidates four wage laws into one universal wage and bonus framework.
Minimum wages, payment of wages, bonus, equal remuneration, floor wage, deductions, time of payment.
All employers across organised and unorganised sectors once notified.
Universal floor wage to be set by central government. State minimum wages cannot fall below the floor.
Up to Rs 50,000 fine for first offence and up to three months imprisonment for repeat offences.
Women & POSH
POSH Act, 2013
Mandates prevention, prohibition, and redressal of sexual harassment of women at workplace.
Internal Committee, complaint mechanism, inquiry timelines, annual report, employer responsibilities.
Every workplace including offices, factories, hospitals, schools, sports venues, and homes for domestic workers.
Internal Committee mandatory at workplaces with ten or more employees. Annual report to District Officer.
Fine up to Rs 50,000 for first offence and possible licence cancellation for repeat default.
Social Security
Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972
Mandates gratuity payment to employees with five or more years of continuous service.
Eligibility, calculation, time of payment, forfeiture, nomination, dispute resolution.
Establishments with ten or more employees.
Gratuity equals 15 days of wages for every completed year, capped at Rs 20 lakh.
Fine up to Rs 20,000 and imprisonment up to two years for non-payment.
Working Conditions
Factories Act, 1948
Regulates safety, health, and welfare of workers in factories.
Working hours, weekly off, overtime, welfare facilities, safety committees, hazardous processes.
Factories with ten or more workers using power, twenty without power.
Adult worker maximum 48 hours per week and 9 hours per day. Overtime at twice the wage rate.
Fine up to Rs 1 lakh and imprisonment up to two years for serious violations.
Social Security
Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
Provides paid maternity leave and protections for women employees in covered establishments.
26 weeks paid leave for first two children, 12 weeks for subsequent, creche, work-from-home option.
Establishments with ten or more employees.
26 weeks leave is among the highest in the world. Creche mandatory at fifty employees.
Fine up to Rs 5,000 and imprisonment up to one year for non-payment.
Working Conditions
Shops and Establishments Act
State-specific law that regulates working hours, leave, and welfare in shops and offices.
Registration, working hours, weekly off, leave, holidays, employment of women and young persons.
All commercial establishments including offices, shops, restaurants, theatres, and IT companies.
Each state has its own Act. Most cap working hours at nine per day and forty-eight per week.
Penalties vary by state. Most allow fines and prosecution for repeat offenders.
Law Library
Search And Browse The Full India Labour Law Library
Open any law card to see what it covers, who must comply, the thresholds for coverage, and the penalty for non-compliance.
No law matched your search. Try broader keywords like wages, social security, factory, posh, or shops act.
New Labour Codes
The four consolidated codes that replace 29 central labour laws.
New Labour Codes
Code on Wages, 2019
Consolidates four wage laws into one universal wage and bonus framework.
Minimum wages, payment of wages, bonus, equal remuneration, floor wage, deductions, time of payment.
All employers across organised and unorganised sectors once notified.
Universal floor wage to be set by central government. State minimum wages cannot fall below the floor.
Up to Rs 50,000 fine for first offence and up to three months imprisonment for repeat offences.
New Labour Codes
Code on Social Security, 2020
Consolidates nine welfare laws into a single social security framework for Indian workers.
EPF, ESI, gratuity, maternity, employee compensation, building and construction welfare cess, gig and platform worker welfare.
All employers covered under the constituent Acts plus aggregators of gig and platform workers once notified.
Gig and platform workers brought under welfare for the first time.
Up to Rs 1 lakh fine for first offence and up to one year imprisonment for repeat offences.
New Labour Codes
Industrial Relations Code, 2020
Consolidates Trade Unions, Industrial Employment Standing Orders, and Industrial Disputes Acts.
Trade union recognition, standing orders, layoff, retrenchment, strikes, lockouts, conciliation, tribunals.
All industrial establishments and trade unions once notified.
Threshold for prior government approval for layoff, retrenchment, and closure raised from 100 to 300 workers.
Penalties up to Rs 10 lakh and imprisonment depending on offence severity.
New Labour Codes
Occupational Safety, Health And Working Conditions Code, 2020
Consolidates 13 safety, health, and working condition laws into a single statute.
Safety committees, working hours, weekly off, overtime, welfare, working women, contract labour, inter-state migrants.
Factories with ten or more workers, mines, docks, plantations, contract labour, and other notified establishments.
Single licence and single registration across multiple establishments and contracts within a state.
Up to Rs 3 lakh fine and imprisonment up to one year depending on offence.
Wages & Compensation
Wage payment, minimum wages, bonus, and equal remuneration laws.
Wages & Compensation
Payment of Wages Act, 1936
Regulates timely payment of wages and permitted deductions for covered employees.
Time of wage payment, mode of payment, permitted deductions, claims for delayed wages.
Establishments paying wages up to Rs 24,000 per month, expanded scope under Code on Wages.
Wages must be paid by the seventh of next month for under 1,000 employees, tenth for larger.
Fine up to Rs 7,500 per offence under the original Act, higher under Code on Wages.
Wages & Compensation
Minimum Wages Act, 1948
Sets minimum wage rates for scheduled employments across India.
Minimum wage notification, scheduled employment lists, revision frequency, deduction rules.
All employers in scheduled employments notified by central or state government.
States revise wages every five years or more frequently. Floor wage applies under Code on Wages.
Fine up to Rs 500 and imprisonment up to six months under the original Act.
Wages & Compensation
Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
Mandates statutory bonus for eligible employees of covered establishments.
Eligibility, bonus calculation, allocable surplus, set-on and set-off, time of payment.
Establishments with twenty or more employees in any accounting year.
Minimum bonus 8.33% and maximum 20% of wages or Rs 7,000 whichever is higher.
Fine up to Rs 1,000 and imprisonment up to six months for non-payment.
Wages & Compensation
Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
Mandates equal pay for equal work between male and female employees.
Equal pay norms, advisory committee, prohibition of recruitment discrimination, complaints.
All employers across covered employments.
Equal pay irrespective of gender for same or similar work.
Fine up to Rs 20,000 and imprisonment up to one year.
Social Security
PF, ESI, gratuity, and maternity benefit statutes for Indian employees.
Social Security
EPF and MP Act, 1952
Mandates Provident Fund, Pension, and Insurance benefits for covered employees.
EPF contribution, EPS pension, EDLI insurance, UAN, KYC, withdrawals, transfers.
Establishments with twenty or more employees and certain specified sectors.
Employer and employee contribute 12% of basic wages each. EDLI insurance up to Rs 7 lakh.
Damages up to 25% per annum on delayed contributions plus interest.
Social Security
Employees State Insurance Act, 1948
Provides medical, sickness, maternity, and disability benefits for covered employees.
Medical benefit, sickness benefit, maternity benefit, disablement, dependant benefit, funeral expenses.
Factories and establishments with ten or more employees in most states.
Wage ceiling Rs 21,000 per month for coverage. Employer 3.25%, employee 0.75%.
Damages up to 25% on delayed contributions and possible imprisonment.
Social Security
Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972
Mandates gratuity payment to employees with five or more years of continuous service.
Eligibility, calculation, time of payment, forfeiture, nomination, dispute resolution.
Establishments with ten or more employees.
Gratuity equals 15 days of wages for every completed year, capped at Rs 20 lakh.
Fine up to Rs 20,000 and imprisonment up to two years for non-payment.
Social Security
Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
Provides paid maternity leave and protections for women employees in covered establishments.
26 weeks paid leave for first two children, 12 weeks for subsequent, creche, work-from-home option.
Establishments with ten or more employees.
26 weeks leave is among the highest in the world. Creche mandatory at fifty employees.
Fine up to Rs 5,000 and imprisonment up to one year for non-payment.
Social Security
Employee Compensation Act, 1923
Provides compensation for employee injury, disability, or death from work-related accidents.
Compensation calculation, employer liability, claims process, insurance, medical examination.
All employers covered under the Act including factories, plantations, mines, transport.
Compensation tied to wage and degree of disability. Minimum and maximum amounts revised periodically.
Fine and possible prosecution for failure to pay compensation.
Working Conditions
Factories, shops and establishments, and standing orders rules.
Working Conditions
Factories Act, 1948
Regulates safety, health, and welfare of workers in factories.
Working hours, weekly off, overtime, welfare facilities, safety committees, hazardous processes.
Factories with ten or more workers using power, twenty without power.
Adult worker maximum 48 hours per week and 9 hours per day. Overtime at twice the wage rate.
Fine up to Rs 1 lakh and imprisonment up to two years for serious violations.
Working Conditions
Shops and Establishments Act
State-specific law that regulates working hours, leave, and welfare in shops and offices.
Registration, working hours, weekly off, leave, holidays, employment of women and young persons.
All commercial establishments including offices, shops, restaurants, theatres, and IT companies.
Each state has its own Act. Most cap working hours at nine per day and forty-eight per week.
Penalties vary by state. Most allow fines and prosecution for repeat offenders.
Working Conditions
Industrial Employment Standing Orders Act, 1946
Mandates published standing orders defining service conditions for industrial workmen.
Classification, holidays, shifts, attendance, leave, termination, suspension, misconduct, disciplinary action.
Industrial establishments employing one hundred or more workmen, threshold reduced to fifty in some states.
Standing orders must be certified by certifying officer and posted in workplace languages.
Penalties for failure to draft, certify, or comply with standing orders.
Industrial Relations
Disputes, layoffs, retrenchment, trade unions, and workmen protection.
Industrial Relations
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
Provides machinery for resolving industrial disputes between employers and workmen.
Layoff, retrenchment, closure, strikes, lockouts, conciliation officers, labour courts, tribunals.
All industrial establishments employing workmen as defined in the Act.
Prior government approval needed for retrenchment in establishments with one hundred or more workmen.
Fine up to Rs 1,000 and imprisonment up to six months for illegal strikes or lockouts.
Industrial Relations
Trade Unions Act, 1926
Provides for registration, rights, and immunities of trade unions in India.
Registration, immunity from civil suits and criminal conspiracy, recognition, federation, dissolution.
Trade unions of seven or more members across any industry.
Minimum 10% of workforce or 100 workmen needed for registration of new unions in establishment.
Fine and cancellation of registration for non-compliance with returns.
Women & POSH
Workplace safety for women including the POSH Act, 2013.
Women & POSH
POSH Act, 2013
Mandates prevention, prohibition, and redressal of sexual harassment of women at workplace.
Internal Committee, complaint mechanism, inquiry timelines, annual report, employer responsibilities.
Every workplace including offices, factories, hospitals, schools, sports venues, and homes for domestic workers.
Internal Committee mandatory at workplaces with ten or more employees. Annual report to District Officer.
Fine up to Rs 50,000 for first offence and possible licence cancellation for repeat default.
Women & POSH
Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017
Amended the 1961 Act to extend leave to 26 weeks and added creche and work-from-home options.
Extended leave duration, creche facility, adoption and surrogate mothers, work-from-home option, employer notification.
Establishments with ten or more employees including IT, ITES, BPO, and KPO companies.
26 weeks paid leave for first two children. Creche within 500 metres at fifty employees.
Same penalties as under the original Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.
Specific Workforce
Contract labour, migrant workmen, apprentices, plantations, and beedi workers.
Specific Workforce
Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970
Regulates employment of contract labour and abolishes it in certain notified processes.
Registration of principal employer, licensing of contractor, welfare, wages, working conditions.
Establishments and contractors employing twenty or more contract workers.
Principal employer becomes liable if contractor fails to pay wages or provide welfare.
Fine up to Rs 1,000 and imprisonment up to three months for violations.
Specific Workforce
Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979
Regulates employment of workmen recruited in one state and employed in another.
Registration of principal employer, licence of contractor, displacement allowance, journey allowance, residential accommodation.
Establishments and contractors employing five or more inter-state migrants.
Wage parity with similar local workers. Displacement allowance of 50% of monthly wages or Rs 75 whichever is higher.
Fine up to Rs 1,000 and imprisonment up to one year for violations.
Specific Workforce
Apprentices Act, 1961
Regulates training of apprentices in designated trades and industries.
Registration, contract of apprenticeship, stipend, training, NAPS and NATS schemes, safety.
Establishments employing four or more workers in designated industries.
Mandatory engagement of apprentices in size bands set by government. Stipend per ICAI and apprenticeship rules.
Fine up to Rs 500 per apprentice short and Rs 1,000 for repeat default.
Specific Workforce
Plantations Labour Act, 1951
Regulates conditions of work and welfare for plantation workers.
Working hours, weekly off, leave, housing, medical, drinking water, creche, education.
Plantations of five hectares or more employing fifteen or more workers on any day in twelve months.
Welfare obligations include housing, schools, hospitals, and creche on plantations.
Fine and imprisonment for failure to provide statutory welfare.
Specific Workforce
Beedi And Cigar Workers (Conditions Of Employment) Act, 1966
Regulates conditions of work in beedi and cigar manufacturing establishments.
Licensing, working hours, leave, welfare, working conditions of home workers and industrial premises.
Establishments employing beedi or cigar workers including home-based workers.
Health and welfare emphasis given the cottage and home-based nature of work.
Fine up to Rs 250 and possible licence cancellation.
Specific Workforce
Mines Act, 1952
Regulates safety, health, and welfare of workers in mines.
Working hours, leave, holidays, safety, welfare, mines inspectorate, accident reporting.
All mines in India including coal, lignite, and metal mines.
Adult worker maximum 9 hours per day above ground, 8 below. Weekly maximum 48 hours.
Fine and imprisonment depending on safety violation severity.
Specific Workforce
Building And Other Construction Workers Act, 1996
Regulates safety, health, and welfare of construction workers and provides cess-funded welfare.
Registration, welfare boards, accident reporting, safety, training, welfare schemes for workers.
Establishments employing ten or more construction workers including project sites.
Cess of one percent of construction cost goes into State Welfare Boards for worker welfare.
Fine and imprisonment depending on safety violation.
State-Specific
Major state Shops and Establishments Acts that shape day-to-day HR practice.
State-Specific
Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961
State Shops Act for Karnataka covering Bengaluru, Mysuru, and other commercial establishments.
Registration, working hours, weekly off, leave, holidays, employment of women, women in night shifts.
All shops, commercial establishments, IT, ITES, BPO, and KPO companies in Karnataka.
Maximum 9 hours per day and 48 hours per week. Women allowed in night shifts with safeguards.
Fine and possible cancellation of registration for non-compliance.
State-Specific
Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act, 2017
State Shops Act for Maharashtra covering Mumbai, Pune, and other commercial establishments.
Registration, working hours, leave, weekly off, holidays, women employment, paternity leave.
All shops and commercial establishments with ten or more employees in Maharashtra.
Online registration mandatory. Maximum 9 hours per day and 48 hours per week.
Fine and imprisonment for repeat or wilful violations.
State-Specific
Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954
State Shops Act for Delhi covering NCR offices and commercial establishments.
Registration, working hours, weekly off, leave, holidays, women employment, overtime.
All commercial establishments in Delhi with one or more employees.
Maximum 9 hours per day and 48 hours per week. Online registration on Labour Department portal.
Fine and possible prosecution for non-compliance.
State-Specific
Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, 1947
State Shops Act for Tamil Nadu covering Chennai, Coimbatore, and other commercial establishments.
Registration, working hours, weekly off, leave, holidays, employment of women and young persons.
All commercial establishments in Tamil Nadu with five or more employees.
Maximum 8 hours per day in many cases. Strict enforcement around overtime and women employment.
Fine and prosecution for non-compliance.
FAQ
Common Questions About Indian Labour Laws
Quick answers for HR teams, founders, and operations leaders building India-compliant workplaces.
Next Step
Automate Indian Labour Law Compliance With One HRMS
Use a single platform to automate PF, ESI, PT, LWF, TDS, gratuity, POSH records, and statutory returns across every state your workforce sits in.