From fragementation to framework - Change in Labour Codes reshaping employer compliance

India’s labour law landscape has undergone a paradigm shift with the consolidation of 29 Central labour enactments into four comprehensive codes: (i) the Code on Wages, 2019; (ii) the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; (iii) the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020; and (iv) the Code on Social Security, 2020 (collectively, the “Labour Codes”). This reform is regarded as the most consequential employment law overhauls in independent India, affecting an estimated workforce of over 500 million workers, including organised, unorganised, gig and platform sectors.