India: Employee Benefits & Compensation

The Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923, is a beneficial piece of social welfare legislation designed to provide relief to workmen and their dependants in cases of injury or death arising out of and in the course...

The consolidation of India’s labour laws into four Labour Codes i.e, the Code on Wages, 2019; Code on Social Security, 2020; Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020; and Industrial Relations Code...

The High Court of Delhi, through its Judgment dated 18.05.2026 in the matter of Moolchand Khairati Ram Hospital v. Vijender Singh & Ors., inter alia, held that the obligation under Section 17-B of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (“ID Act”) is a continuing statutory obligation and takes into account the minimum wages revised from time to time by the Appropriate Government.

India's Ministry of Labour and Employment has notified the Central Rules under all four labour codes, marking a pivotal shift from legislative reform to operational compliance. What do these new rules mean for employers in sectors like railways, telecom, banking, IT/ITES, and other multi-state operations, and what immediate steps must organizations take to ensure workplace readiness?

In a recent ruling, the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench (“Bombay HC”) in Dr. Meenakshi Muthiah v. State of Maharashtra1, observed that the right to maternity leave is an integral facet of a woman’s fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,1950 (“Constitution”) and cannot be curtailed by service bonds, contractual obligations, or administrative instructions. The Bombay HC emphasised that maternity leave cannot be treated as a break in service and that penalising a woman for availing maternity leave would undermine the dignity of motherhood and the constitutional mandate of social justice.

On 21 November 2025, the Ministry of Labour and Employment notified India's four Labour Codes, the Code on Wages, 2019 (Wage Code); the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (IR Code); the Code on Social Security, 2020 (SS Code); and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code), bringing one of the most sweeping overhauls of Indian employment regulation since Independence into force.

In Hamsaanandini Nanduri v Union of India, the Supreme Court examined whether adoptive mothers could be denied maternity benefit merely because the adopted child was older than three months. The challenge was first mounted against the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (“the Act”), but after the Code on Social Security, 2020 (“the Code”) came into force on November 21, 2025, the Court treated the Code as the operative provision.

This comprehensive update examines significant regulatory reforms and landmark judicial decisions reshaping India's employment law landscape in early 2026. From Delhi's expanded working hour thresholds and Karnataka's gig worker welfare framework to Supreme Court rulings on maternity benefits and the constitutional definition of 'industry', these developments signal a transformative period for workplace rights, gender equity, and labour relations across public and private sectors.

India's new labour codes came into force on November 21, 2025. The Code on Industrial Relations, 2020 ("IR Code") consolidates the following 3 laws ─ the Trade Unions Act, 1926 ("TU Act"); the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947; and the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 (collectively as "Erstwhile Laws") into a unified framework.