Setting Up of Business, Industrial and Labour Laws · Constitution and Labour Laws

Four Labour Codes and Consolidation of Laws Explained

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

The four Labour Codes are 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. They merge 29 central labour laws into four. They came into force on 21 November 2025, repealing the old Acts subject to savings and transitional provisions.

Understand Four Labour Codes and Consolidation of Laws

For decades India had many separate central labour laws. Each had its own definitions, authorities, registers and returns. The same word, such as "wages" or "employee", meant different things in different Acts. This made compliance costly and caused disputes.

Codification means gathering the laws on related subjects into one Code, with common definitions and fewer authorities. The government grouped the laws by theme: wages, industrial relations, social security, and safety and working conditions. Twenty-nine central laws were merged into four Codes.

The four Codes are 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 (the OSH Code). All four came into force on 21 November 2025. Your Paper 3 Part II is taught on these Codes.

Labour is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, so both Parliament and State legislatures can make laws on it. The Codes are central laws. The appropriate Government, Centre or State, then makes rules and runs them for its sphere.

Remember the main aims: one set of definitions, wider coverage (including unorganised, gig and platform workers under the social security code), simpler registration and returns, and a faster dispute process. The Codes repeal and replace the old Acts with effect from 21 November 2025, subject to the savings and transitional provisions, but they keep many of their core ideas.

Key rules to remember

Code on Wages, 2019: laws replaced: Payment of Wages Act, 1936 + Minimum Wages Act, 1948 + Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 + Equal Remuneration Act, 1976; Four laws merged into one Code. Question: "which Acts are subsumed under the Code on Wages" - give these four.
Industrial Relations Code, 2020: laws replaced: Trade Unions Act, 1926 + Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 + Industrial Disputes Act, 1947; Three laws merged. It deals with unions, standing orders, strikes, lay-off, retrenchment and dispute resolution.
Code on Social Security, 2020: laws replaced: Employees' Compensation Act, 1923 + ESI Act, 1948 + EPF and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 + Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959 + Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 + Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 + Cine-Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981 + Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Cess Act, 1996 + Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008; Nine laws merged. Covers PF, ESI, gratuity, maternity benefit, compensation and schemes for gig and unorganised workers.
OSH Code, 2020: laws replaced: Factories Act, 1948 + Plantations Labour Act, 1951 + Mines Act, 1952 + Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1955 + Working Journalists (Fixing of Rates of Wages) Act, 1958 + Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961 + Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966 + Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 + Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976 + Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 + Cine-Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1981 + Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986 + Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996; Thirteen laws merged. Learn the main ones: Factories, Mines, Contract Labour, Inter-State Migrant Workmen, Plantations, Dock Workers and Building Workers.
Count check: 4 + 3 + 9 + 13 = 29 central laws; Use this total to check that your lists are complete.

How to solve Four Labour Codes and Consolidation of Laws questions

Questions on this topic ask you to list, compare or explain. Use one method for all of them.

1Read the question and mark the exact ask: list the laws, compare old and new, or explain the purpose.
2Name the Code in full with its year, for example Code on Wages, 2019.
3State the central laws it replaced, in year order, in a short list.
4Give the main subject of the Code in one or two lines, such as minimum wages, bonus, unions or gratuity.
5For comparison questions, use a point-wise contrast: number of laws, definitions, authorities, registration, coverage, dispute process.
6Add the common features: uniform definitions, fewer authorities, wider coverage and easier compliance.
7End with a conclusion: 29 laws became four Codes, in force from 21 November 2025.

Quickest way: Four-Code grid

When to use it: Use when you have under five minutes for a short note or a list-the-laws question.

Draw four rows: Wages, IR, Social Security, OSH.
Against each, write the number of laws merged: 4, 3, 9, 13.
Write the two or three best-known laws in each row.
Write one line of purpose per row.
Close with the date 21 November 2025 and the total of 29.

Common mistakes in Four Labour Codes and Consolidation of Laws

Writing that the Code on Wages replaced the Factories Act or the Payment of Gratuity Act.
Students remember the laws but not which Code holds them.
Fix: Link by theme. Pay, bonus and equal pay go to Wages. Gratuity, PF, ESI and maternity go to Social Security. Factories and mines go to OSH.
Saying the Codes are still not in force or quoting old enforcement dates.
Many older notes were written when the Codes were only passed by Parliament.
Fix: State that all four Codes came into force on 21 November 2025, and use the Codes, not the old Acts, in answers.
Counting the replaced laws wrongly, such as saying 44 laws.
Older discussion spoke of about 44 central laws, and students mix the figures.
Fix: Use 29 central laws merged into four Codes, with the 4, 3, 9, 13 split.
Missing the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 from the Code on Wages list.
It is the least known of the four.
Fix: Remember the order: Payment of Wages, Minimum Wages, Bonus, Equal Remuneration.
Writing section-level detail from the old Acts as if it still applies.
Old textbooks and habit.
Fix: Cite the Code and its provision. Mention the old Act only to show what was replaced.
Giving a one-line answer to a comparison question.
Students know the facts but do not structure them.
Fix: Write at least four contrast points: laws, definitions, coverage, authorities, compliance.

Worked examples

Example 1

List the Acts subsumed under the Code on Wages, 2019 and state what the Code deals with.

Show the solution

Provision: The Code on Wages, 2019 is one of the four Labour Codes, in force from 21 November 2025.
It consolidates four central laws: the Payment of Wages Act, 1936; the Minimum Wages Act, 1948; the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965; and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.
It deals with minimum wages, payment of wages and permitted deductions, bonus, and equal remuneration without discrimination on gender.
These four were separate Acts with different definitions of wages and different authorities. The Code brings them under one definition and one framework.

Answer: The Code on Wages, 2019 subsumes four Acts: Payment of Wages 1936, Minimum Wages 1948, Payment of Bonus 1965 and Equal Remuneration 1976. It covers minimum wages, wage payment, bonus and equal remuneration.

Example 2

Distinguish the old labour laws from the new Labour Codes.

Show the solution

Number: earlier there were 29 separate central laws on the subjects. Now there are four Codes: Wages, Industrial Relations, Social Security and OSH.
Definitions: the old Acts defined terms like wages, employee and establishment differently. The Codes give more uniform definitions.
Subject grouping: the Codes group laws by theme. For example, gratuity, PF, ESI, maternity benefit and compensation are now in the Code on Social Security, 2020.
Coverage: the Social Security Code extends to gig, platform and unorganised workers, which the old laws covered only weakly.
Compliance: the Codes aim at fewer authorities, simpler registration and returns, and a clearer dispute process.
Status: the old Acts are repealed and replaced by the Codes with effect from 21 November 2025, subject to the savings and transitional provisions.

Answer: The old regime had 29 scattered central laws with varied definitions and compliance. The new regime has four themed Codes with common definitions, wider coverage and simpler compliance, in force from 21 November 2025, with the old Acts repealed subject to savings and transitional provisions.

Exam tips

Learn the four lists with their counts (4, 3, 9, 13). A "name the Acts subsumed" question is common and easy to score.
Write the full name and year of each Code and Act. Marks are lost on vague names.
For short notes, use the order: background, the four Codes, laws merged, features, date of commencement.
Never use the old Acts as the current law. They are repealed by the Codes, subject to savings and transitional provisions. Mention them only when asked what was replaced or to contrast.
Link this topic to the Constitution: labour is a Concurrent List subject, so both the Centre and the States act.

Practice questions from Constitution and Labour Laws

Four Labour Codes and Consolidation of Laws in other exams

The same ground in other exams, if you are preparing for more than one or want another angle on it.

CS ProfessionalClassification and Codification of Labour Laws

Four Labour Codes and Consolidation of Laws: frequently asked questions

Which Acts are subsumed under the Code on Wages, 2019?

Four Acts: the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. The Code now governs these subjects.

What are the four Labour Codes?

They are 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. Together they merge 29 central labour laws.

When did the Labour Codes come into force?

All four came into force on 21 November 2025. Your Paper 3 Part II is taught on these Codes, so write answers using the Codes.

Do I still need to study the old labour Acts?

Only to know which Act went into which Code and to contrast old and new. For provisions, rely on the Codes.