Srinagar: In a major step towards overhauling labour laws in the Union Territory, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has notified the Draft Code on Wages Rules, 2026, proposing a comprehensive framework to regulate minimum wages, payment of wages, working hours, overtime, deductions and labour administration in line with the Code on Wages, 2019.
The government has invited objections and suggestions from the public within 45 days before the rules are finalised.
Issued by the Labour and Employment Department, the draft rules have been framed under Section 67 of the Code on Wages, 2019, read with Section 24 of the General Clauses Act, 1897. Once notified, they will supersede the Jammu and Kashmir Payment of Wages Rules, 1972 and the Jammu and Kashmir Minimum Wages Rules, 1972, which stand repealed following the enactment of the Code on Wages, 2019. The proposed rules will come into force after their final publication in the Official Gazette.
The draft rules lay down detailed norms for fixing minimum wages, prescribing that wage calculations should take into account the requirements of a standard working-class family comprising an earning employee, spouse and two children, equivalent to three adult consumption units.
They also factor in a daily nutritional intake of 2,700 calories per consumption unit, annual clothing requirements of 66 metres per family, housing expenditure amounting to 10 per cent of food and clothing expenses, fuel and electricity costs constituting 20 per cent of minimum wages, and an additional 25 per cent towards children’s education, medical needs, recreation and contingencies.
The proposed framework also prescribes the methodology for calculating hourly, daily and monthly minimum wages. Daily wages will be divided by eight to determine hourly rates and multiplied by twenty-six to arrive at monthly wages, with separate provisions for establishments following a five-day working week.
For the purpose of fixing minimum wages, the government proposes to classify Jammu and Kashmir into two geographical categories—Municipal/Urban Areas and Rural Areas—while employees will be categorised according to their skill levels as unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled. The rules clarify that the provisions relating to minimum wages under the Code shall not apply to government employees.
To ensure scientific classification of occupations and skill levels, the draft provides for the constitution of a Technical Committee comprising senior government officials, technical experts and representatives of employers and employees. The committee will advise the government on skill categorisation, hazardous occupations, arduous work and other occupational classifications, taking into account the National Classification of Occupations and the National Skills Qualification Framework.
The draft also provides for revision of dearness allowance twice every year, with the cost-of-living allowance proposed to be reviewed before April 1 and October 1 annually.
On working conditions, the proposed rules prescribe a normal working day of eight hours, excluding rest intervals, with breaks not exceeding one hour in total. The spread-over of work, including rest intervals, shall ordinarily not exceed twelve hours in a day. Employees will be entitled to a weekly day of rest, ordinarily on Sunday, although employers may designate another day subject to prescribed conditions. The draft also contains provisions governing substituted weekly holidays, overtime payments, night shifts and exceptional circumstances where working hours may exceed the normal limits.
The rules further prescribe detailed procedures governing the payment of wages, authorised deductions, recovery of advances and loans, approval for imposition of fines, display of statutory notices, recovery of excess deductions and maintenance of records. Employers would be required to notify the Inspector-cum-Facilitator of deductions made from wages, while Assistant Labour Commissioners have been designated as the competent authorities for adjudicating claims relating to wage payments under the Code.
In addition, the draft provides for the constitution of the Jammu and Kashmir Advisory Board, comprising representatives of employers, employees, government departments and independent experts. The Board will advise the government on matters relating to fixation and revision of minimum wages and other issues arising under the Code on Wages, 2019.
The proposed rules also define key terms such as family, skilled and unskilled occupations, Inspector-cum-Facilitator, rural and municipal areas, registered trade unions and wage-related classifications to ensure uniform implementation of the law across the Union Territory.
The Labour and Employment Department has urged all stakeholders to examine the draft provisions and submit their views within the notified period, after which the government will consider the feedback before issuing the final Code on Wages Jammu and Kashmir Rules, 2026.
