Employment & Labour refers to the body of statutes, administrative rulings, and precedents that govern the relationship between employers, employees, and trade unions in India. This legal framework, which is a subject on the Concurrent List of the Indian Constitution, mediates issues like wages, working conditions, social security, and dispute resolution. Its history traces back to the colonial era, with early acts like the Factories Act, 1881, and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, enacted post-independence, to protect workers' interests and resolve industrial conflicts. The core problem it solved was the exploitation of workers, ensuring minimum standards for wages and safety.
The concept is currently defined by a major reform that consolidated 29 central labour laws into four comprehensive Labour Codes between 2019 and 2020. These codes, which came into effect on November 21, 2025, aim to simplify compliance and modernize the law.
The four codes are: the Code on Wages, 2019, which mandates a National Floor Wage and a uniform definition of "wages"; the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, which raises the threshold for requiring government approval for layoffs from 100 to 300 workers; the Code on Social Security, 2020, which extends benefits like provident fund and insurance to gig workers and platform workers for the first time; and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, which sets uniform safety standards and limits daily working hours to a maximum of eight.
This framework connects directly to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the federal ministry responsible for enforcement and policy formulation. It also draws its fundamental principles from the Constitution of India, particularly Article 23, which prohibits forced labour, and Article 24, which prohibits child labour under 14 years in hazardous employment. A key change is the eligibility for gratuity for fixed-term employees after just one year of service, down from the previous five-year requirement.