On the ongoing debate over working hours, the Centre government has capped the weekly working hours at 48 hours under the new labour codes, beyond which workers will be paid double the amount of their defined hourly wages. Almost after the four months after the draft rules under the four new codes were published for stakeholder consultation, the Centre on Friday published final rules under two of the codes, wages and industrial relations. For the other two codes, however, old rules will remain in force until final notification of the new ones.
What the New Rules Say
Workers who put in more than 48 hours in a week will be entitled to overtime wages at twice their regular rate, and this amount must be paid at the end of each wage period. The rules also specify how overtime is calculated. If a worker stays 15 to 30 minutes beyond their shift, it counts as 30 minutes. Anything beyond 30 minutes counts as a full hour.
However, no worker can be made to do overtime that exceeds 144 hours in any quarter of the year. This is meant to stop employers from pushing workers beyond a reasonable limit, even when they offer to pay extra.
What About Minimum Wages
While the new rules bring welcome clarity on working hours and overtime, one key gap has been pointed out by experts. The final Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2025 notably leaves out the criteria for calculating minimum wage. This could lead to lower minimum wages and wage disparities across states. The Centre has said the minimum wage criteria will be dealt with separately through a special or general order.
Big Changes for Workers
The new codes bring several other worker-friendly changes. All workers, including gig and platform workers, will now get social security coverage. Employers must provide workers above 40 years of age with a free annual health checkup.
Women will get equal opportunities to earn more, as they are now permitted to work at night and in all types of work across all establishments, subject to their consent and the required safety measures being in place.
Every establishment with 50 or more employees must now provide and maintain a creche for children under six years of age, within one kilometre of the workplace.
New Protection for Gig Workers
For the first time, India’s labour law formally recognises gig and platform workers. Aggregators such as ride-hailing or delivery platforms may be required to contribute 1 to 2 percent of their annual turnover toward social security for platform workers, capped at 5 percent of total payments made to them.
Merging 29 Old Laws Into Four
The new framework brings together 29 central labour laws into four broad codes. Key terms such as wages, worker, employee, and establishment now follow a common structure, which reduces confusion and brings more uniform interpretation.
The four Labour Codes came into force on 21st November 2025, replacing 29 central laws. Final rules from states are still coming in, and until they arrive, older rules will continue to apply where the new ones have not yet been notified.
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Syed Ziyauddin is a media and international relations enthusiast with a strong academic and professional foundation. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media from Jamia Millia Islamia and a Master’s in International Relations (West Asia) from the same institution.
He has work with organizations like ANN Media, TV9 Bharatvarsh, NDTV and Centre for Discourse, Fusion, and Analysis (CDFA) his core interest includes Tech, Auto and global affairs.
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