The Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 replaces 12 old Labour Laws – Notification No. G.S.R. 344(E)
MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, the 8th May, 2026
G.S.R. 344(E).—Whereas, the draft of the Social Security (Central) Rules, 2025 were published as required under sections 154, 155, 158 and 159 of the Code on Social Security, 2020 (36 of 2020) in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-Section (i) vide notification number G.S.R. 935(E), dated the 30th December, 2025, inviting objections and suggestions from all persons likely to be affected thereby within a period of forty-five days from the date on which the Gazette containing the said notification were made available to the public;
And whereas, the notification was made available to the public on the 30th December, 2025;
And whereas, the objections and suggestions received from persons and stakeholders have been duly considered by the Central Government;
Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 154 read with subsection (2) thereof, and sub-section (1) of section 155 read with sub-section (2) thereof and Section 158 and sub-section (1) read with sub-section (2) of section 159 of the Code on Social Security, 2020 (36 of 2020) and read with section 24 of the General Clauses Act, 1897(10 of 1897) in supersession of the-
(i) Employee‘s Compensation Rules, 1924;
(ii) Employee‘s Compensation (Transfer of Money) Rules, 1935;
(iii) Employees‘ State Insurance (Central) Rules, 1950;
(iv) Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Rules, 1960;
(v) Maternity Benefit (Mines and Circus) Rules, 1963;
(vi) Payment of Gratuity (Central) Rules, 1972;
(vii) Cine-Workers Welfare Fund Rules, 1984;
(viii) Employee‘s Compensation (Venue of Proceedings) Rules, 1996;
(ix) Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1997;
(x) Employees‘ Provident Funds Appellate Tribunal (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1997;
(xi) Building and other Constructions Workers‘ Welfare Cess Rules, 1998; and
(xii) Unorganised Workers‘ Social Security Rules, 2009;
except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Government hereby makes the following rules, namely:-
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title and commencement.– (1) These rules may be called the Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026.
(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
2. Definitions.– (1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires, —
(a) “agency” means any corporation, body or institution, established under an Act of Parliament or central public sector undertaking or special purpose vehicle as notified by the Central Government;
(b) “appeal” means an appeal preferred under the Code;
(c) “Appellate authority” means in Central sphere, the Central Government or the authority specified by the Central Government under sub-section (8) of section 56 or in State sphere, an officer, senior in rank to the Assessing Officer for the purposes of section 105, appointed by the State Government, as the case may be;
(d) “Assessing Officer” means a gazetted officer of a State Government or an officer of a local authority holding an equivalent post to a gazetted officer of the State Government appointed by such State Government for assessment of cess under Chapter VIII of the Code;
(e) “Authorised Officer for Employees‘ Compensation” means any officer whom the State Government may designate either generally or in respect of any area or class of areas, for the purpose of performing the functions assigned by these rules to the Authorised Officers;
(f) “authority” means the Central Government or the authority specified by the Central Government for the purpose of sub-section (3) of section 72;
(g) “average daily wages during a contribution period” under Chapter IV of the Code in respect of an employee, means the aggregate amount of wages payable to him during that period divided by the number of days for which such wages were payable;
(h) “average daily wages during a wage period” under Chapter IV of the Code means —
(i) in respect of an employee who is employed on time-rate basis, the amount of wage which would have been payable to him for the complete wage period had he worked on all the working days in that wage period, divided by 26 if he is monthly rated, 13 if he is fortnightly rated, 6 if he is weekly rated and 1 if he is daily rated;
(ii) in respect of an employee employed on any other basis, the amount of wages earned during the complete wage period in the contribution period divided by the number of days in full or part for which he has worked for wages in that wage period:
Provided that where an employee receives wages without working on any day during such wage period, he shall be deemed to have worked for 26, 13, 6 or 1 day or days if the wage period be a month, a fortnight, a week or a day respectively.
Explanation. — Where any night shift continues beyond midnight, the period of the night shift after midnight shall be counted for reckoning the day worked as part of the day preceding;
(i) “benefit period” means the period not exceeding six consecutive months corresponding to the contribution period, as specified in the regulations made under section 157;
(j) “career centre (central)” means that career centre as notified by the Central Government;
(k) “career centre (regional)”, throughout India, except the Union territory of Chandigarh, means the career centre as notified by the respective State Government or the Administration of the Union territory as having jurisdiction–
(i) over the area in which the establishments concerned are situated; or
(ii) over specified classes or categories of establishments concerned or vacancies;
(l) “career centre (regional) in the Union territory of Chandigarh” means the career centre established either by the Union territory Administration of Chandigarh or by the State Government of Punjab or Haryana, as the case may be, notified by the respective States as having jurisdiction over specified classes or categories of establishments or vacancies:
Provided that the career centres established by the State Government of Punjab or Haryana shall not have jurisdiction over—
(i) the public sector offices or establishments other than those belonging to the respective States; and
(ii) private sector establishments;
(m) “cess collector” means an officer appointed by the State Government for collection of cess under Chapter VIII of the Code;
(n) “chairperson” means the chairperson of the Corporation, the Central Board, the National Social Security Board, the State Unorganised Workers‘ Social Security Board, the Standing Committee, the Medical Benefit Committee or the Executive Committee, as the case may be;
(o) “chartered engineer” means a person having an engineering degree and the corporate membership of the Institution of Engineers (India);
(p) “Code” means the Code on Social Security, 2020 (36 of 2020);
(q) “contribution period” means the period not exceeding six consecutive months, as specified in the regulations made under section 157;
(r) “electronically” means any information submitted by email or uploading on the designated Portal or digital payment in any mode for the purpose of the Code;
(s) “excluded vacancies” means those vacancies which have been excluded from the purview of the section 139 under the provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 140;
(t) “Form” means a form appended to these rules;
(u) “fund” means the Employees‘ State Insurance Fund referred to in section 25, the Provident Fund, the Pension Fund and the Employees‘ Deposit-Linked Insurance Fund referred to in section 16 or the Social Security Fund referred to in section 141, as the case may be;
(v) “Government Securities” means Government Securities as defined in the Government Securities Act, 2006 (38 of 2006);
(w) “immovable property” includes land, benefits to arise out of land, things attached to the earth, or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth;
(x) “movable property” means property of every description except immovable property;
(y) “nodal officer” means a person designated by the Building Workers‘ Welfare Board or the State Government to facilitate the registration, renewal and updation electronically or otherwise or to perform any other function relating to building workers from the private sector, State Government, Central Government and public sector undertakings or local authority including supervising and monitoring the functions of the beneficiary registering officers designated by the appropriate Government;
(z) “nomination” means nomination made under section 55;
(za) “register of women employees” means a register of women employees maintained under rule 53;
(zb) “Schedule” means the Schedule to the Code;
(zc) “section” means a section of the Code;
(zd) “ShramSuvidha Portal” means the portal of the Ministry of Labour and Employment with such name;
(ze)”specified” means specified by an order of the Central Government or any State Government or any officer so authorised by such Government;
(zf) “standard benefit rate” means average daily wages obtained by dividing the total wages paid during the contribution period by the number of days for which these wages were paid;
(zg) “transferring authority” means any authority in any country which transfers or causes to be transferred any lump sum awarded under the law relating to employees compensation in such country and applicable for the benefit of any person residing or about to reside in India; and
(zh) “year” means the financial year, beginning from the 1st day of April and ending with the 31st day of March of the following year.
(2) The words and expressions used in these rules which are not defined therein, but are defined in the Code, shall have their respective meaning as assigned to them in the Code.
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