Biggest Labour Reform in Indian History: 4 Labour Codes Effective from today:

Biggest Labour Reform in Indian History: 4 Labour Codes Effective from today In a historic decision, Modi Government has announced implementation of four Labour Codes, the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 rationalising 29 existing labour laws. The same is effective from 21st November 2025. A comparison of the labour ecosystem, before and after the implementation of the Labour Codes, is as follows:

Difference	Pre Labour Reforms	Post Labour Reforms
Formalisation of Employment	No mandatory appointment letters	Mandatory appointment letters to all workers.
Social Security Coverage	Limited Social Security Coverage	Under Code on Social Security, 2020 all workers including gig & platform workers to get social security coverage.
Minimum Wages	Minimum wages applied only to scheduled industries/employments; large sections of workers remained uncovered	Under the Code on Wages, 2019, all workers to receive a statutory right minimum wage payment.
Preventive Healthcare	No legal requirement for employers to provide free annual health check-ups to workers	Employers must provide all workers above the age of 40 years with a free annual health check-up.
Timely Wages	No mandatory compliance for employers payment of wages	Mandatory for employers to provide timely wages
Women workforce participation	Women’s employment in night shifts and certain occupations was restricted	Women are permitted to work at night and in all types of work across all establishments, subject to their consent and required safety measures.
ESIC coverage	ESIC coverage was limited to notified areas and specific industries; establishments with fewer than 10 employees were generally excluded, and hazardous-process units did not have uniform mandatory ESIC coverage across India	ESIC coverage and benefits are extended Pan-India - voluntary for establishments with fewer than 10 employees, and mandatory for establishments with even one employee engaged in hazardous processes.
Compliance Burden	Multiple registrations, licenses and returns across various labour laws.	Single registration, PAN-India single license and single return.

Read More: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2192463