Salary structure, PF and ESI, overtime, gratuity and exit settlements under the four Labour Codes — each figure tied to the section it comes from.
48 guides · Last updated 9 Sept 2026 · Written by Oscar Jamuar
Every establishment owes an equal opportunity policy for persons with disabilities. The 20 employee line decides what goes in it, not whether you need one.
9 Sept 2026 · 9 min read
IT, retail, hospitality and healthcare came inside the Apprentices Act in September 2025. At 30 workers the 2.5 percent quota binds. Here is the full rule.
9 Sept 2026 · 11 min read
Professional tax runs on two clocks: the period the slab is read in and the date the state collects. Plus the February top-up and PTRC for remote staff.
9 Sept 2026 · 12 min read
The Rs 15,000 ceiling dates from 2014 and above it was always voluntary. What changed on 29 June 2026, what cutting saves, and why the ceiling is about to move.
8 Sept 2026 · 13 min read
The Factories Act capped consecutive working days at ten. Section 26 of the OSH Code counts six days per fixed week instead, and two legal rosters give twelve.
8 Sept 2026 · 13 min read
Your Form-I update on Shram Suvidha is due 8 November 2026. Section 3(7) of the OSH Code bars an unregistered establishment from employing anyone at all.
8 Sept 2026 · 9 min read
Section 60 of the Factories Act was repealed. Its replacement bars a second job in a factory only within twelve hours, and the penalty falls on the employer.
8 Sept 2026 · 10 min read
Private establishments with 20+ employees must report vacancies to a career centre before filling them. What the Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 actually require.
8 Sept 2026 · 10 min read
Form 16 is Form 130, Form 24Q is Form 138, Section 192 is Section 392. What the Income-tax Act, 2025 renamed, and why Form 143 is not your salary return.
8 Sept 2026 · 11 min read
EPFO moved UAN allotment to Aadhaar face authentication on UMANG. You can no longer generate it for an Indian joiner, but you still owe the ECR. What to do on day one.
8 Sept 2026 · 10 min read
A 17 year old cannot work past 7 pm, cannot do overtime, and cannot work three hours without a break. The rules the labour codes deliberately left standing.
8 Sept 2026 · 11 min read
PM-VBRY pays employers for extra jobs, but the amount is pro rata against net additional employment. One resignation among your old staff cuts the whole cheque.
7 Sept 2026 · 11 min read
The labour codes repealed 29 central Acts and left national and festival holidays alone. Four states, four different bills for the same worked holiday.
· 11 min read
Chapter VII of the Code on Social Security bites where ESI does not. One fatal accident, a worker aged thirty on Rs 22,000, and the bill is Rs 22,87,780.
· 17 min read
One union needs 30 percent to be recognised. Two or more need 51 percent of the muster roll, verified by a secret ballot the employer pays for.
· 15 min read
Three duties, three duty-holders. Contract labour gets Form XXIII on demand. A service certificate is due in ten days, but only above 300 workers.
· 13 min read
The Code on Wages sets one deadline for everyone. Monthly wages by the 7th, daily wages at the end of the shift, and two working days on exit.
· 13 min read
Produce wage records and you settle an ESI dispute at the actual contribution with damages waived. Produce nothing and the floor is 30% of the Corporation’s own assessment.
· 12 min read
Chapter VI of the Code on Social Security worked through: when ESIC pays, when section 61 makes you pay, the 80 day test, and what 26 weeks really costs.
· 13 min read
An inspection now ends in a written direction, not a prosecution. Except for underpaid wages, which are excluded, and the IR Code, which has no such clause.
· 13 min read
A raise past the ESI ceiling in June does not end coverage. Contributions run to 30 September, on the full wage. And the Rs 21,000 figure itself has a date on it.
· 15 min read
Part II of the OSH Code applies at ten migrant workers on any one day. The wage ceiling, the 180-day fare, and the displacement allowance the Code dropped.
· 15 min read
Section 18 of the Code on Wages is a closed list. The lawful deductions, the 3 per cent fine cap, the 50 per cent ceiling, and the seven days you owe first.
· 14 min read
LWF survived the labour codes. Karnataka cut its threshold to 10 employees on 7 January 2026. Who pays, how much, and why a missed December run costs you twice.
· 14 min read
Section 67 triggers the crèche duty at fifty employees. The OSH Code says more than fifty workers, and excludes your managers. The two counts do not match.
· 13 min read
Form XI lands on day 10, PF is due on day 15, Form XII on day 20. The liability is not new. The monthly paperwork proving it is.
· 16 min read
The 1 October revision is a central sphere event. Your state runs its own clock, can notify late and backdate it, and the floor is compared to Section 2(y) wages.
· 14 min read
Section 28 counts workers employed on any day of the preceding twelve months, not an average. The draft deadline was 21 May 2026, and the model is already deemed adopted.
· 16 min read
The 1 to 2 per cent aggregator levy has no notified rate and no start date. The eShram registration deadline passed on 21 June 2026. Which one applies to you.
· 13 min read
Section 4 orders every employer to constitute an Internal Committee and contains no number. The only ten in the POSH Act sits in section 6, and it says workers.
· 14 min read
Section 70 has no minimum headcount, so a twelve person business owes notice and compensation too. And the re-skilling fund is a second fifteen days on a different base.
· 15 min read
EPFO reprices pre-2024 PF damages at 0.25 to 1% a month. The slabs, the interest that is not waived, the 15 day clock, and the cost worked through.
· 12 min read
Every vendor checklist says get employee consent for biometric and GPS attendance. Section 7(i) means you do not need it, and asking switches on rights you would not otherwise owe.
· 12 min read
Rule 6 of the OSH Central Rules 2026 prescribes 16 fields for every appointment letter. The three-month catch-up window closed on 21 February 2026, not in the future.
· 12 min read
Section 43 lets women work nights nationwide. Rule 83 of the OSH Central Rules 2026 sets eight conditions, and its CCTV duty is narrower than reported.
· 14 min read
Below 50 contract workers there is no licence and no security deposit. Section 43 of the Code on Wages still makes you pay when the contractor does not.
· 13 min read
Rule 5 of the OSH Central Rules 2026 gives the free annual check-up to dock and construction employees over 40. State drafts cover every establishment.
· 12 min read
The qualifying bar for annual leave fell from 240 days to 180, unused leave above 30 days can no longer lapse, and encashment is now an annual right. What it costs an Indian SME.
· 12 min read
The Payment of Bonus Act is repealed. Section 26 of the Code on Wages, the 25 August 2026 notification, the Rs 7,000 ceiling trap and the 30 November deadline.
· 12 min read
Section 53 of the Code on Social Security pays gratuity to fixed-term staff after one year, pro rata. The tests, the 15/26 formula, what the 50% wage rule adds, and the 30-day clock.
· 11 min read
Declare workers who were never enrolled in EPF and damages fall to a flat ₹100. The deadline, the waived employee share, the undertaking, and the cost worked through.
· 11 min read
The Labour Codes cap excluded allowances at half of total pay and add back the excess. Two worked restructures, what it does to PF, gratuity, ESI and overtime, and the three routes open to an SME.
· 12 min read
The Labour Code Central Rules of 8 May 2026 name the registers by form number. Form I, Form IV, Form IX, the Form V wage slip, electronic maintenance and five-year retention, explained.
· Updated · 11 min read
India’s four Labour Codes are in force and the final Central Rules landed in May 2026. A 12-point compliance checklist for Indian SMEs with dates and formulas.
· 11 min read
Indian overtime is 2x the ordinary rate on Basic + DA, capped at 50 hours per quarter. Here are the exact formulas under the Factories Act and state Shops Acts, plus the eight mistakes SMEs repeat every payroll cycle.
· Updated · 8 min read
Section 17(2) of the Code on Wages makes final wages due within two working days of exit, not 45. What counts, what does not, and how SMEs actually hit it.
· 9 min read
A plain-language checklist covering PF thresholds, ESI rates, monthly due dates, and penalties for late payment. Written for business owners, not accountants.
· 8 min read
From CTC breakup to net salary calculation, PF deductions to Professional Tax slabs. A practical payroll calculation guide for Indian SME owners doing it manually in Excel.
· Updated · 9 min read
Work out gratuity, PF, ESI, overtime and full-and-final settlement figures without opening a spreadsheet.
Plain-English definitions of the payroll and compliance terms these guides use, each tied to the law it comes from.