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Minimum Wages Gujarat
Minimum Wages in Gujarat
The latest minimum wages in Gujarat, effective 01 April 2026, fixed under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and notified by the Office of the Labour Commissioner, Gujarat State, Gandhinagar. Gujarat minimum wages are paid as basic plus a cost-of-living allowance, revised every six months on 01 April and 01 October.
For the wage period 01 April 2026 to 30 September 2026, minimum wages in Gujarat carry a special allowance of ₹60.50 per day for scheduled employments including ship breaking and sweeping and cleaning work, and ₹45.00 per day for brick manufacturing, zari, ready-made garments, salt, tobacco and bidi making and agricultural work. At a monthly divisor of 26 days, that is ₹1,573.00 and ₹1,170.00 per month respectively. Gujarat notifies rates as basic plus allowance, so this is payable in addition to the basic rate fixed for the employment, zone and skill category – it is not the whole wage.
How to Calculate Minimum Wages in Gujarat
The daily minimum is the notified basic rate for the zone and skill category plus the current allowance – for unskilled Zone I work that is ₹452.00 plus ₹60.50, or ₹512.50 per day. Monthly wages are the daily rate times the divisor; annual is monthly times twelve. A normal day is nine hours and a normal week 48 hours with one weekly rest day; work beyond that is overtime at 2× the ordinary rate. Part periods are paid proportionately, allowance included.
The mistake to avoid: derive the overtime hourly rate from basic plus allowance, not basic alone. Overtime computed on the basic rate is the second most common underpayment in Gujarat after misclassification.\
Worked example – unskilled, Zone
Basic = ₹452.00 / day · VDA = ₹60.50 / day
Total per day = 452.00 + 60.50 = ₹512.50
Per month = 512.50 × 26 = ₹13,325.00
Per year = 13,325.00 × 12 = ₹1,59,900.00
One overtime hour at 8 std hrs = 512.50 ÷ 8 × 2 = ₹128.13
Skill-Wise Classification of Employees in Gujarat
Classification follows the nature of the work actually performed, not the job title on the appointment letter. Misclassification is the most common cause of underpayment claims: a worker doing skilled work on a semi-skilled designation is owed the difference for every wage period, and the designation is no defence.
UnskilledHelpers, loaders and unloaders, sweepers and cleaners, packers, general farm labour, site labour on construction.
Semi-skilledMachine operators on set jobs, assemblers, sewing-machine operators, delivery drivers, storekeepers, cutting and finishing hands in zari work.
SkilledFitters, electricians, welders, gas cutters on ship-breaking yards, carpenters, masons, plant and boiler operators.
Highly skilledShift supervisors and foremen, senior technicians, instrumentation and maintenance leads, quality inspectors, master craftsmen.
Act on this: hold the skill category as a field on the employee master, not just inside the job title, and review it whenever duties change. The register of workers has to show the category, and an inspector will compare it against what people are actually doing on the floor.
Employer Compliance for Minimum Wages in Gujarat
Minimum wages in Gujarat apply to every worker in a scheduled employment notified by the state government, from ship breaking and construction to shops, textiles, security services, salt works, brick kilns and agriculture. There is no small-establishment exemption – headcount does not decide coverage, the scheduled employment does. Contract workers are covered on the same footing, and where a contractor underpays, the principal employer carries the liability. A signed agreement at a lower figure is void to that extent.
Records an inspection actually examines
Wage register with the rate, days worked, overtime and wages paid per wage period.
Register of workers recording the skill category against each name, kept current.
Wage slips per wage period, showing basic and allowance as separate lines.
Attendance and overtime records, with overtime logged on the day it was worked.
Rate notice displayed at the workplace in Gujarati, refreshed at each revision.
A declared wage period of not more than one month, paid by a permitted mode with proof retained.
Penalty for Not Paying Minimum Wages in Gujarat
Underpayment exposes an employer to recovery of the shortfall for the whole affected period, compensation on top, and prosecution. Because the allowance revises every six months, an unnoticed circular quietly builds arrears across every worker until it is caught – and the arrears usually cost more than the fine.
Act on this: ask contractors for a rate-wise breakup on every invoice showing basic, allowance and headcount per skill category. A lump sum per head per month gives you nothing to check and no defence if it turns out to sit below the floor.
How Minimum Wages in Gujarat Are Fixed and Revised
Gujarat minimum wages are fixed in two parts. The basic rate for each scheduled employment is set by the Government of Gujarat under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. On top of it the Labour Commissioner declares a cost-of-living-linked allowance and reissues it every six months. The April 2026 circular was signed by the Deputy Labour Commissioner as competent authority and circulated through the Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot offices. The index period and CPI point value behind it are stated in the circular itself.
Act on this: put 01 April and 01 October in the payroll calendar. Circulars often reach employers after the effective date, so hold those two runs for a rate check before disbursement – and keep every circular on file, because arrears and inspector queries both reach back into closed wage periods.
Revision history of Gujarat minimum wages. The basic rate has been frozen at ₹452.00 per day for unskilled Zone I work since March 2023, so every revision since has moved the special allowance only.
Effective From
Notified On
VDA / Day
Unskilled Zone I / Day
VDA Change
01 Apr 2026
01 Apr 2026
₹60.50
₹512.50
+₹12.00
01 Oct 2025
01 Oct 2025
₹48.50
₹500.50
+₹4.50
01 Apr 2025
01 Apr 2025
₹44.00
₹496.00
+₹5.00
Minimum Wages in Gujarat vs Other States
Gujarat minimum wages sit on a basic-plus-allowance structure that not every state uses, which is what makes a like-for-like comparison misleading. The structural difference is the part that matters for a multi-location employer, more than the headline gap between any two rates.
Unskilled minimum wage per day — Gujarat by zone, compared with the national floor wage and comparable states. Comparison-state figures are to be filled from each state’s own notification.
State / Benchmark
Unskilled / Day
Structure
Gujarat — Zone I
₹512.50
Basic ₹452.00 + VDA ₹60.50, revised on 01 Apr and 01 Oct
Gujarat — Zone II
₹501.50
Basic ₹441.00 + VDA ₹60.50, same allowance as Zone I
National Floor Wage
—
Advisory floor, not directly enforceable on employers
Maharashtra
—
Basic + VDA, zone-based
Rajasthan
—
Consolidated rate by skill category
Madhya Pradesh
—
Basic + VDA by skill category
Act on this: a single all-India wage band will underpay in some states and overpay in others, and the underpayment is the one that creates liability. Hold rates per state, per zone and per skill category, and let the notification drive the rate.
Current Minimum Wages in Gujarat for 2026
The table below sets out the latest minimum wages in Gujarat as notified on 01 April 2026, effective to 30 September 2026. Rates run from ₹501.50 to ₹534.50 per day depending on skill category and zone. Monthly and annual figures are recalculated from the daily rate at a 26-day divisor.
Skill Category
Zone
Unskilled Total / Day
VDA / Day
Total / Day
Total / Month
Unskilled
Zone I
₹452.00
₹60.50
₹512.50
₹13,325.00
Unskilled
Zone II
₹441.00
₹60.50
₹501.50
₹13,039.00
Semi-skilled
Zone I
₹462.00
₹60.50
₹522.50
₹13,585.00
Semi-skilled
Zone II
₹452.00
₹60.50
₹512.50
₹13,325.00
Skilled
Zone I
₹474.00
₹60.50
₹534.50
₹13,897.00
Skilled
Zone II
₹462.00
₹60.50
₹522.50
₹13,585.00
Which Areas Fall in Zone I and Zone II in Gujarat?
Zone IAll municipal corporations and municipalities, plus areas under an Urban Development Authority. Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot sit here.
Zone IIEverywhere else – towns and areas outside a municipality, municipal corporation or Urban Development Authority. Zone II runs ₹11.00 per day below Zone I for unskilled work.
Daily Wage Rate in Ahmedabad, Surat and Other Cities
No Gujarat city has a separate notification. Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot are all Zone I, so an unskilled worker in any of them earns ₹512.50 per day or ₹13,325.00 per month. A workplace in a smaller town outside any municipality falls in Zone II at ₹501.50 per day.
Minimum Wages in Gujarat - FAQs
What are the latest minimum wages in Gujarat?
For 01 April 2026 to 30 September 2026, minimum wages in Gujarat are ₹512.50 per day or ₹13,325.00 per month for unskilled Zone I work, ₹522.50 per day for semi-skilled and ₹534.50 per day or ₹13,897.00 per month for skilled. Zone II is ₹11.00 to ₹12.00 per day lower. Each figure is basic plus a ₹60.50 per day allowance.
How often are Gujarat minimum wages revised?
Twice a year. The Labour Commissioner, Gujarat State issues a circular effective 01 April and 01 October. The current one runs to 30 September 2026, so expect the next change from 01 October 2026.
Is VDA added on top of the basic minimum wage in Gujarat?
Yes. Gujarat notifies basic plus VDA, not a consolidated figure. The 01 April 2026 circular fixes the allowance at ₹60.50 per day on top of the basic rate — so unskilled Zone I is ₹452.00 basic plus ₹60.50 VDA, totalling ₹512.50 per day. Paying the ₹452.00 basic alone underpays by ₹1,573.00 a month.
Are rates different by zone, and what is the daily wage rate in Ahmedabad?
Yes. Unskilled work pays ₹512.50 per day in Zone I against ₹501.50 in Zone II — a gap of ₹11.00 per day, or ₹286.00 a month. Zone I covers municipal corporations, municipalities and Urban Development Authority areas, so Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot all sit in Zone I. The ₹60.50 allowance is the same in both zones.
How is the monthly figure derived from the minimum wage per day in Gujarat?
Multiply the daily total by 26. Unskilled Zone I at ₹512.50 per day gives ₹13,325.00 per month and ₹1,59,900.00 per year. Skilled Zone I at ₹534.50 per day gives ₹13,897.00 per month. Gujarat uses a 26-day divisor, not 30.
Are contract workers covered under minimum wages in Gujarat?
Yes. Contract workers get the same notified rate as directly employed workers in the same skill category and zone — ₹512.50 per day for unskilled Zone I work, allowance included. If the contractor underpays, the principal employer is liable for the shortfall, and a contract at a lower figure is void to that extent.
Alpesh Vaghasiya is the Co-founder and CEO of Superworks, a smart business management solution that Indian SMBs and large enterprises use to run attendance, payroll, and statutory compliance from a single system. He has spent over 15 years building software out of Surat, founding Artoon Solutions, now a 350+ person product engineering firm serving clients across 30+ countries, in 2009, before launching Superworks in 2020.
His writing comes from the operator's side of compliance - what actually breaks when payroll has to absorb a minimum wage revision, reconcile attendance across multiple sites, or file returns under different state rules in the same month. A Charter Member of TiE Surat and an active angel investor in early-stage Indian startups, he holds a B.E. in Computer Engineering from Gujarat University.
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