Glossary
Code on Wages
One of the four Labour Codes (9 chapters, 69 sections), defining "wages" (§2(y)) and the 50% deeming rule, and setting the floor wage, minimum wages, overtime and bonus.
The Code on Wages replaces four older wage laws — Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Wages Act, Payment of Bonus Act and Equal Remuneration Act. It is a single statute governing pay across all sectors, not just scheduled employments.
Its single wages definition at §2(y), and the deemed-wages 50% floor, have the widest ripple effect on gratuity, PF and leave-encashment calculations elsewhere in the Codes.
Why it matters now: it is the foundational Code — get its wages definition and deeming rule right, and the gratuity/PF/overtime math in the other Codes follows correctly.