The Labour Department, Govt. of Chandigarh on July 02, 2026, issued the Draft Chandigarh Code on Wages Rules, 2026.
The following has been stated:
• The draft rules prescribe the framework for fixation and revision of minimum wages, calculation of wage rates, working hours, weekly rest days, payment of wages, overtime, deductions, payment of bonus, maintenance of registers, wage slips, annual returns, inspections, claims, appeals, and compounding of offences under the Code. They also provide detailed procedures for the constitution of a Technical Committee to classify occupations into unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, and highly skilled categories and advise the Administration on wage fixation.
• A notable proposal is that employees continuously working in the same skill category for more than five years will be entitled to a 5% increase over the prevailing minimum wage for that category after every successive five-year period. The draft also requires revision of dearness allowance (cost-of-living allowance) twice a year, before April 1 and October 1, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Chandigarh. Employers shall ensure payment of at least the notified minimum wage irrespective of the employer's headquarters or branch location.
• The draft further mandates maintenance of electronic or physical wage registers, employee registers, wage slips, and unified annual returns, introduces procedures for handling undisbursed wages, empowers Inspector-cum-Facilitators to conduct inspections and enforce compliance, and specifies forms for wage claims, appeals, employee registers, wage slips, and annual returns. It also proposes the repeal of the existing Punjab Payment of Wages Rules, 1937, Punjab Payment of Wages (Procedure) Rules, 1965, and Punjab Minimum Wages Rules, 1950, as applicable to Chandigarh, upon implementation of the new rules.
• Public comments on the draft have been invited until August 01, 2026.
[Notification no. - 662869-HII(2)-2026/6249]
