Kamal Ghorui
Labour and employement ministry has detailed a compliance checklist for employers in order to tighten accountability and minimise legal disputes. The ministry has listed almost two dozen requirements under the four labour codes: the Code on Wages, the Code on Social Security, the Industrial Relations Code and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code. A senior government official told ET that although most of the requirements existed under the earlier labour framework, the newly prepared handbook is meant to remove ambiguity and clearly spell out employer responsibilities during the transition. “It will act as a to-do list for establishments to ensure that no evasion on compliances happens for lack of clarity due to transition from the old labour laws to the new labour codes,” the official said on condition of anonymity.The four labour codes came into force on November 21, 2025, replacing 29 central labour laws with a unified structure.Under the new system, employers must complete seven foundational compliances from the time a business is set up or a new worker joins. Beyond this, establishments are also required to meet four monthly and five annual compliance obligations. The framework further specifies six event-related compliances that become applicable in situations such as workplace accidents, disease outbreaks, employee exits, maternity benefit cases, large-scale layoffs, and lockouts or strikes within factory premises. Officials indicated that the ministry is in the final phase of finalising central rules under the four codes. The government’s intent is to ensure employers begin complying with statutory requirements early, thereby reducing the scope for litigation later. Among the basic obligations are registering the establishment and securing required licences, maintaining key records on attendance, wages, deductions and overtime, fixing wage periods, ensuring minimum workplace safety standards, enrolling eligible workers for social security, and forming work committees along with grievance redressal bodies. Every month, employers must ensure timely wage payments, deposit social security contributions with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation and the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, and provide wage slips to workers. On an annual basis, establishments are required to file a unified return, revise minimum wages where applicable, renew licences, carry out safety audits, and conduct annual health check-ups for specified employees aged 40 years and above. In event-based scenarios, employers must report workplace accidents or disease occurrences within 24 to 72 hours, clear final dues within two days and gratuity within 30 days, obtain government approval for layoffs, retrenchment or closure in units employing more than 300 workers, extend maternity benefits where applicable, and issue lockout notices to workers and the relevant authority.
