New Labour Laws 2025: How They Will Impact Your Salary & Financial Security

Think of the new labour laws like a family upgrading from a rented house to their own flat. The EMI pinches a bit in the beginning, but long-term security improves for everyone. The New Labour Codes 2025 work similarly for employees’ financial wellness in India. 

Quick overview 

India has merged 29 older labour laws into 4 Labour Codes, most of which are now effective from 21 November 2025: Code on Wages, Code on Social Security, Industrial Relations Code, and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code. These bring changes in minimum wages, social security, gratuity, working hours and safety, all of which shape the financial wellbeing of employees over time.  

Key changes that affect money 

• Universal minimum wages and a national floor wage ensure every worker, across organised and unorganised sectors, is legally entitled to a basic income level that cannot go below a central benchmark.  

• A new standard definition of “wages” means basic pay must form at least 50 percent of total pay, which can reduce immediate take‑home for some, but boosts statutory benefits like EPF, gratuity, ESIC and leave encashment.  

• The Codes also consolidate compliance, create clearer processes for disputes, and define working hours and leave more uniformly, which supports job stability and predictability of income. 

Stronger retirement and separation benefits 

• Higher basic pay leads to higher employer and employee contributions to EPF and higher gratuity amounts, which significantly improves retirement corpus and lump sum benefits when an employee exits.  

• Gratuity rules are more employee‑friendly: fixed‑term employees can now be eligible after 1 year of continuous service (with conditions), and contract workers have clearer entitlement, which means more people build some long‑term cushion even in non‑permanent jobs. 

Wider social security and protection 

• ESIC coverage now extends almost pan‑India, with scope for even small establishments to opt in, so more workers and their families can access subsidised healthcare and insurance.  
• Gig, platform and unorganised workers are formally recognised for social security for the first time, with schemes that can include life and disability cover, accident cover, health and maternity benefits and old‑age protection. 

Income stability and health 

• Standardised working hours capped at 48 hours per week, clearer overtime rules and mandatory appointment letters make earnings more predictable and enforceable, which helps in budgeting and loan planning.  

• Mandatory health checkups for employees above 40 and stronger safety norms reduce the risk of health shocks that can derail family finances through large medical bills or income loss. 

Aspect	Earlier regime	Under new Codes	Impact on financial wellness
Minimum wages	Applied only to notified sectors and categories	Universal minimum wages with a national floor wage	Better protection at the lower end, less wage exploitation
Basic vs allowances	Basic could be a smaller share of CTC with high allowances	Basic must be at least 50 percent of total pay	Lower take‑home for some, but higher EPF, gratuity and other benefits
Gratuity eligibility	Typically 5 years for most employees	1 year for fixed‑term employees; expanded coverage for contract staff	More workers build a meaningful exit corpus sooner
ESIC coverage	Limited to notified areas and certain establishments	Pan‑India coverage, with more establishments covered or able to opt in	Improved healthcare access and lower out‑of‑pocket costs
Gig & platform workers	Largely outside formal social security	Included in social security schemes via dedicated funds and boards	New layer of protection for a fast‑growing  workforce

What employees and HR should do now 

For employees, the key is to treat higher deductions towards EPF and gratuity as a forced long‑term savings plan rather than a loss in salary. Using the increased predictability of income and benefits, employees can: 

• Re‑work monthly budgets and SIPs assuming slightly lower take‑home pay but better retirement funding in the background.  

• Track EPF balances and understand gratuity entitlement, and then consciously reduce unnecessary short‑term EMIs so that long‑term compounding works in their favour.  

From a wealth planning lens at Maxiom Wealth, the way to use these reforms is to integrate statutory benefits (EPF, gratuity, ESIC, social security schemes) into a personal financial plan, and then build equity and debt investments on top of that base. When an employee sees EPF and gratuity as the “safety net” and uses mutual funds or direct equities as the “growth engine”, financial wellness stops depending on the employer alone and starts compounding for the family over decades.