Minimum wages: what you must be paid, and how to recover arrears

You work full days as a guard, helper, cleaner, shop assistant or farm worker, and your pay feels too low. Is there a legal minimum? How do you find it? What if the employer pays late, or pays in cash and refuses a slip? This guide answers those questions.

The law that applies now

From 21 November 2025, the Code on Wages, 2019 is in force across India. It replaced four older laws, including the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and the Payment of Wages Act, 1936. The old Minimum Wages Act covered only jobs listed in its schedules. The Code is wider: it covers almost every employee in every kind of establishment, whether an office, shop, factory, farm, construction site or home-based unit.

• No one may pay below the minimum. Sec 5 forbids paying less than the minimum rate notified for your type of work.
• Governments fix the rates. Under Sec 6, the Central Government (for central sectors such as railways, mines, banks and central PSUs) and your State Government (for most other work) fix minimum rates. They consider skill level (unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, highly skilled), the area (zone) and how arduous or hazardous the work is.
• Rates must keep pace. Rates are to be revised ordinarily at least once every five years. Most states also add a variable dearness allowance (VDA), a cost-of-living component updated twice a year. So the rate in force today may be higher than last year's chart.
• No gender discrimination. Sec 3 forbids paying anyone less for the same or similar work because of gender, and bars discrimination in recruitment.

The national floor wage

Sec 9 lets the Central Government fix a national floor wage. No state may then set its minimum below that floor. As of October 2026, no floor wage figure has been formally notified under the Code, so be careful of numbers shared on social media. What binds your employer is the rate notified by your state (or the Centre, for central sectors) for your job.

How to find your minimum wage

1. Search for "[your state] minimum wages notification" on your State Labour Department's website (it ends in gov.in or nic.in). For central sector jobs, see the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) website.
2. Find the latest notification, with VDA added.
3. Pick your skill category. A helper or cleaner is usually unskilled; a machine operator or driver semi-skilled or skilled; a supervisor or senior technician skilled or highly skilled.
4. Pick your zone. Big cities often have a higher rate than towns and villages.
5. Compare with what you get. Look at gross wages, not just basic pay, but remember deductions for PF and ESI are lawful.

Paid on time and in full

• When. Under Sec 17(1), monthly wages must be paid within seven days of the end of the month; weekly wages on the last working day of the week; daily wages at the end of the shift. If you are removed, dismissed, retrenched or you resign, your pending wages must be paid within two working days Sec 17(2).
• Deductions. Only those the law permits, such as tax, PF and ESI contributions, recovery of advances, or fines and damages for proven loss after a fair process. Total deductions in a wage period cannot exceed 50% of wages.
• Overtime. Work beyond normal hours must be paid at least twice your ordinary rate.
• Proof. Your employer should give you a wage slip. Keep every slip. If you are paid in cash, note the date and amount in a diary, and if possible ask to be paid by bank transfer or UPI.

Step by step: recovering unpaid wages

1. Collect proof. Wage slips, bank or UPI statements, attendance records, appointment letter, ID card, photos of your workplace, and names of co-workers who can confirm your hours and pay.
2. Write to your employer. State the notified rate, what you were paid, the months, and the difference. Keep a copy and proof of delivery. Many disputes end here.
3. File a claim. Under Sec 45, apply to the authority appointed by the government (usually a labour officer or Assistant Labour Commissioner) for unpaid wages, underpayment, or illegal deductions. Your registered trade union or the Inspector-cum-Facilitator can also file for you, and several workers can file together.
4. Mind the time limit. File within three years from the date the claim arose. A late claim can be admitted if you show sufficient cause.
5. The order. The authority hears both sides and can order the employer to pay the arrears, plus compensation of up to 10 times the amount due.

Separately, paying less than the minimum wage is an offence under the Code, punishable with a fine, and repeat offences can lead to imprisonment.