Haryana revises minimum wages from 1 April 2026: unskilled Rs 15,220.71 a month, first revision under the Code on Wages

The Labour Department of Haryana notified revised minimum wages on 9 April 2026 (No. 2/25/26-2 Lab./914/2026) under section 8(3) of the Code on Wages, 2019. It is the first revision since October 2015 and applies from 1 April 2026 to all employments in the State, so there is no schedule of industries to check. The rates are a single basic amount for each skill category and, unlike the earlier rates, they cannot be split into allowances.

The monthly rates are: unskilled Rs 15,220.71 (Rs 585.41 a day), semi-skilled Rs 16,780.74 (Rs 645.41 a day), skilled Rs 18,500.81 (Rs 711.56 a day) and highly skilled Rs 19,425.85 (Rs 747.14 a day). Reports put the increase at about 35 per cent, as the previous unskilled rate was about Rs 11,275 a month.

How the rates work. The daily rate is the monthly wage divided by 26, while deductions use 30 days. Inflation is handled by 100 per cent neutralisation of any rise or fall in the consumer price index, on a pro rata basis, as prescribed in the Code on Wages Rules, so the notification has no separate dearness allowance line. Trainees are to be paid at least 75 per cent of the applicable wage, subject to a floor of the unskilled rate, for a maximum of one year. Apprentices are governed by the Apprentices Act, 1961. Principal employers are responsible for making sure that their contractors pay at least the minimum wages. Separate rates for brick kiln workers are to be notified independently.

What payroll teams should do: move Haryana employees to at least the revised rate for their skill category from 1 April 2026, stop treating part of the minimum wage as allowances, and check whether arrears are due for April and later months if the rates were applied late.