The ministry of labour and employment is considering making the four Labour Codes effective from April 1 to align their rollout with companies’ financial year. The move is aimed at easing the impact of higher provident fund and gratuity costs arising from changes in salary structures under the new framework.According to officials familiar with the matter, implementing the Codes at the start of the financial year would help companies manage the potential impact on their balance sheets. Although the draft Rules are expected to be finalised by mid-February, the government has received multiple suggestions to defer operationalisation to the next financial year, as February and March fall in the last quarter.The ministry had notified on December 31 regarding draft Rules for the Code on Wages, the Code on Social Security, the Industrial Relations Code and the Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions. It also invited comments from stakeholders within 30 to 45 days. Once the final Rules are notified, the Codes will become operational unless the government separately announces a later date.While the four Labour Codes were notified on November 21, they will take effect only after the final Rules are issued. As the current timeline places their implementation in the closing months of the financial year, April 1 is being seen as a more practical date for rollout, as reported by ET.The ministry is also open to easing eligibility norms for gig and platform workers under the Code on Social Security, 2020. Officials said the mandatory requirement of 90 days of work with a single aggregator, or 120 days across multiple platforms in a financial year, could be reduced to allow more gig workers to qualify for benefits such as health, life and accident insurance.Separately, the ministry highlighted progress under the Scheme to Promote Registration of Employers and Employees (SPREE), which aims to expand formal employment and social security coverage. Since its rollout last year, the scheme has led to the registration of 1.03 crore new employees under the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).The SPREE scheme is operational from July 1, 2025 to January 31, 2026 and provides a one-time opportunity for employers and employees who were previously left out of ESI coverage to register without the risk of retrospective compliance or penalties. As of January 11, around 1.17 lakh employers and 1.03 crore employees had registered under the scheme.In addition, the ministry has introduced several reforms under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, including allowing subscribers to withdraw up to 75% of their provident fund corpus while maintaining a minimum balance of 25% with the retirement fund body.
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