How the New Labour Codes will expand insurance and social security coverage

The Government of India recently announced the Four Labour Codes, consolidating 29 existing labour laws into a unified framework. The Codes cover wages, industrial relations, social security, and occupational safety, and are designed to streamline compliance, formalise employment, and extend statutory benefits to all categories of workers, including permanent, contract, fixed-term, gig, and platform workers.

Under the Social Security Code,

all workers are now eligible for Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), Employees’ State Insurance (ESI), gratuity, and other social protection schemes.

Employers are required to provide preventive healthcare, including free annual health check-ups for workers above 40 years, while high-risk sectors must ensure protective equipment, medical facilities, and accident coverage.

Maternity benefits, disability protection, and workplace safety standards are now standardised across industries.

The Codes introduce portability of benefits through Aadhaar-linked Universal Account Numbers, allowing workers to access social-security entitlements and insurance coverage across states.

Gig and migrant workers can claim benefits regardless of location, improving inclusivity and coverage.

Experts highlight that the expanded definition of “worker” will affect employer-provided insurance programmes.

Devasheesh Mathur, Assistant Professor at IMI Delhi, said that group health insurance is likely to become standard across industries and that preventive health check-ups may require partnerships with diagnostic labs.

Nochiketa Dixit, MD of Industries at EDME Insurance Brokers, noted that companies will need to strengthen statutory benefits such as EPF, ESI, gratuity, and workplace safety coverage to comply with the Codes.

The Labour Codes also aim to reduce informal employment practices and ensure timely payment of wages, while formalising benefits for all categories of workers. Employers may face higher compliance obligations, but the reforms are expected to create a structured, secure, and standardised framework for employee insurance and social protection.