India: Employee Rights/ Labour Relations

Human Resources departments handle some of the most extensive collections of personal information within an organisation. Recruitment records, identity documents, salary details, bank information, attendance records, health information, performance reviews and employee communications can all involve personal data. For this reason, data protection laws for HR departments are no longer simply an IT or legal concern.

The increasing use of remote working, Bring Your Own Device (“BYOD”) arrangements, cloud-based platforms and workplace monitoring software has made employee privacy an important consideration for employers in India. Organisations routinely collect and process employee data through access-control systems, company email accounts, endpoint security tools, attendance systems, CCTV, location services, and cybersecurity platforms.

The article discusses the new Provident Fund Scheme, 2026, including its effective date, the transition period, statutory minimum versus voluntary higher contributions, voluntary contributions under the 2026 Scheme, and what are the practical implications for employers.

India's new Labour Codes have taken effect with comprehensive central rules governing wages, industrial relations, occupational safety, and social security. How will these sweeping reforms reshape employer obligations, worker protections, and compliance frameworks across the country? This update examines the key provisions, state-level developments, and emerging legal challenges that will define India's employment landscape in the months ahead.

Strong corporate governance extends beyond financial reporting to encompass employment-related risks and compliance. As India's employment laws evolve with new Labour Codes, organizations must implement robust governance practices that promote legal compliance, ethical decision-making, and workplace accountability to reduce disputes and strengthen business resilience.

For years, Indian professionals on temporary assignments in the UK faced a quiet but costly problem: paying into two social security systems for the same job, with no additional pension benefit to show for it. That changed on 15 July 2026, when the India-UK Double Contributions Convention (DCC) came into force alongside the broader Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), finally addressing what officials on both sides had long acknowledged as a sunk cost for mobile talent.

Broadly, GCCs in India may be categorised into two segments: (i) entities that have been operating in India for several years, in some cases for over a decade; and (ii) entities that have recently established or are in the process of establishing operations in India.

The Model Standing Orders, 2026 (“MSO 2026”), notified by the Ministry of Labour and Employment on 8 May 2026, represent a structural recalibration of India’s standing orders regime under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (“IR Code”).

The platform-based gig economy has emerged as one of the fastest-growing labour markets in India, with the workforce projected to increase significantly over the coming decade. Women constitute a growing share of this workforce, attracted by the promise of flexible working hours, greater autonomy and economic independence.