The minimum rate and the floor wage, when wages are due, what may be deducted, and equal pay for the same work.
Written from the official text · not reviewed by a lawyer · follows the Central Rules
Key points
No employer may pay any employee less than the minimum rate of wages notified by the appropriate Government s. 5.
Minimum rates are fixed by skill category (unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, highly-skilled), geographical area, or both s. 6(6), and are to be reviewed or revised ordinarily at intervals of not more than five years s. 8(4).
No minimum rate may be lower than the floor wage fixed by the Central Government, and a rate already above the floor wage may not be reduced s. 9(2).
Wages are due at the end of the shift for daily work, on the last working day of the week for weekly work, and before the end of the seventh day of the following month for monthly work s. 17(1).
When an employee is removed, dismissed or retrenched, resigns, or loses their job because the establishment closes, their wages are due within two working days s. 17(2).
Only the deductions the Code allows may be made, and all of them together may not exceed fifty per cent of the wages in any wage period s. 18(3); fines in one wage period may not exceed three per cent of the wages for that period s. 19(4).
There may be no discrimination on the ground of gender in wages for the same work or work of a similar nature s. 3(1), and no employer may reduce anyone’s wages to remove a difference s. 3(2)(i).
If you are an employer
Fix a wage period of a day, a week, a fortnight or a month for each employee s. 16, and pay within the time limit for that period s. 17(1).
If you are a worker
No fine may be imposed on an employee under the age of fifteen years, and a fine may not be recovered in instalments or after ninety days from the day it was imposed s. 19(5)–(6).
Answer: No: the employer may not reduce the rate of wages of any employee to comply
An employer may not reduce the rate of wages of any employee to comply with the rule against discrimination on the ground of gender in wages s. 3(2)(i).
for the purposes of complying with the provisions of sub-section (1), reduce the rate of wages of any employee
The law's words: Code on Wages, s. 3 — Prohibition of discrimination on ground of gender
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Guides
Minimum wages and the floor wage— Who fixes minimum wages, how they are set and revised, and what an employer must pay under the Code on Wages, 2019.
Equal pay for women and men— No discrimination on the ground of gender in wages, recruitment or conditions of employment for the same or similar work, under the Code on Wages, 2019.
Bijay Cotton Mills Ltd. v. State of Ajmer([1955] 1 S.C.R. 752; decided on the Constitution: whether the restrictions the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 puts on the freedom of trade or business are reasonable under Article 19)
Sanjit Roy v. State of Rajasthan([1983] 2 S.C.R. 271; decided on the Constitution, on wages below the minimum wage notified under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948: Article 23 (forced labour) in the opinion of Bhagwati J., and Article 14 (equality) in that of Pathak J)
Workmen v. Management of Reptakos Brett & Co. Ltd.([1991] Supp. 2 S.C.R. 129; decided on an industrial dispute over a dearness allowance scheme under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, in which the Court set out norms for fixing the minimum wage)
Official text reproduced from the Gazette of India, India Code and State Government sources. This is not legal advice; check the source PDF before relying on any provision.