The new labour codes to become enforceable very soon have tried to consolidate the numbers of existing Acts into just four codes and has also tried to standardize some common and critical terms, which erstwhile are being defined differently under different Acts. One such very important and critical term uniformly defined under all the four codes is the definition of the term ‘wages’. All establishments shall have to restructure their existing wage structures in conjunction with the new definition of wages as defined in The Code on Wages, 2019. Wage structure has to be designed in such a manner that it does not adversely impact the employees or the employers, and at the same time should be compliant of new statutory definition of the term ‘wages’. Wage structures are designed by different establishments in different ways, inter alia, like :-
i. By keeping basic components in the wage structure without numerically highlighting the statutory benefits like ESI, EPF, bonus, gratuity etc.
