Compliance & ContractsFree referencePDF, Excel, Word exportIndia

India Four Labour Codes and the Old Acts They Replace

India consolidated 29 central labour laws into four codes. Plant HR and compliance teams still carry registers, ERP payroll references and licences named after the older Acts, so a mapping table saves a lot of searching.

Download:

Older Act	New code that absorbs it	Where it shows up in a plant
Payment of Wages Act, 1936	Code on Wages, 2019	Wage payment timing, deductions, wage slips
Minimum Wages Act, 1948	Code on Wages, 2019	Statutory minimum wage floors for scheduled employment
Payment of Bonus Act, 1965	Code on Wages, 2019	Annual bonus payout and eligibility
Equal Remuneration Act, 1976	Code on Wages, 2019	Pay parity between men and women for same work
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947	Industrial Relations Code, 2020	Layoff, retrenchment, closure, dispute resolution
Trade Unions Act, 1926	Industrial Relations Code, 2020	Union registration and recognition
Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946	Industrial Relations Code, 2020	Standing orders, service conditions, misconduct rules
Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952	Code on Social Security, 2020	PF contributions and returns
Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948	Code on Social Security, 2020	ESI contributions and benefits
Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972	Code on Social Security, 2020	Gratuity liability and payout
Maternity Benefit Act, 1961	Code on Social Security, 2020	Maternity leave and benefits
Employees' Compensation Act, 1923	Code on Social Security, 2020	Compensation for workplace injury and death
Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959	Code on Social Security, 2020	Notification of vacancies
Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008	Code on Social Security, 2020	Gig and unorganised workers schemes
Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996	Code on Social Security, 2020	Cess on construction cost for plant expansion
Factories Act, 1948	Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020	Factory licence, working hours, safety, welfare
Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970	Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020	Contractor licence and principal employer duties
Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979	Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020	Migrant worker registration and benefits
Mines Act, 1952	Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020	Mining operations (not plant floors)
Working Journalists Acts	Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020	Not relevant to factories
Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966	Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020	Sector-specific rules

This table maps Acts to codes at a summary level. Implementation depends on the notification date, the rules framed by the central and state governments, and transitional provisions. Confirm what applies to your establishment with a labour law adviser before changing registers or payroll logic.

Payroll wage definition review

Optional review of how your ERP payroll treats statutory wage components.

Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.

How to use the mapping table

Search the older Act name you know, such as Factories Act or Payment of Gratuity, and read off the new code. The third column shows where that law touches day to day plant work, so you can see which register, ERP field or licence is affected. Filter by code name to see everything one code absorbs, then export to Excel and attach it to your compliance calendar.

Search by old Act name or by new code
Use the plant area column to find the affected register or process
Export to Excel and add owner and review date columns

What the four codes cover

The Code on Wages deals with wage definition, minimum wages, payment timing and bonus. The Industrial Relations Code covers unions, standing orders, layoffs, retrenchment and dispute resolution. The Code on Social Security covers provident fund, ESI, gratuity, maternity benefit and employee compensation. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code covers factory licensing, working hours, safety, welfare and contract labour. A uniform wage definition under the Code on Wages affects PF, gratuity and bonus calculations together.

Impact on ERP and payroll configuration

Wage definition is the item most likely to change payroll logic, because the codes use a common definition of wages that feeds PF, ESI, gratuity and bonus. Payroll modules in SAP, Oracle, Infor and Indian HRMS tools usually keep statutory wage components as configuration, so the change is a set of component and rule updates rather than a rebuild. Maintain the old Act reference in your documentation until your auditors and licences have moved over.

Common mistakes

Teams assume that all older rules vanish the moment a code is notified. In practice, rules, forms and state notifications decide the effective position, and transitional provisions often keep old registers valid for a period. Another mistake is updating payroll without updating gratuity and leave encashment calculations that depend on the wage definition. Keep a dated change log for every compliance change.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many labour codes are there in India?

There are four: 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 consolidate 29 central labour laws.

Does the Factories Act still apply?

The Factories Act is among the laws the OSH Code absorbs, but what applies to your plant today depends on notification of the code and the rules framed by the central and state governments. Check the current position with your adviser.

Does this table replace legal advice?

No. It is a navigation aid that maps Acts to codes at a summary level. Provisions, thresholds, forms and transition dates need to be confirmed against the official text and state rules for your establishment.

Which code affects payroll the most?

The Code on Wages, because its wage definition flows into PF, ESI, gratuity and bonus calculations. The Code on Social Security then governs the contributions and benefits that use those wages.

If you want payroll and compliance reports in your ERP reviewed against the new wage definition, we can help assess what needs to change, working on your own data and hardware.

Talk to an Expert Explore More Free Tools

Related Tools

Safety & Workforce

More Compliance & Contracts tools

See all

Back to All Tools