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Minimum wages in Punjab are fixed under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and notified by the Labour Department, Government of Punjab. The current notification is dated 01 May 2026 and took effect the same day, applying to all employments in the state. Punjab notifies eight categories - four worker grades and four staff categories graded by qualification - and applies them uniformly statewide with no zone split.
The short answer Under the notification dated 01 May 2026, the latest minimum wages in Punjab run from ₹13,486 a month (₹518.69 per day) for unskilled work to ₹19,431 a month (₹747.34 per day) for Staff Category-A, effective 01 May 2026. Punjab is unusual in two respects: the notified figure is the basic rate of wages and the employer is not permitted to segregate it into allowances, and the notification sets two different divisors – monthly divided by 26 to derive the daily wage, but divided by 30 when deducting for absence.
Punjab notifies a consolidated monthly figure per category. Divide by 26 for the daily wage and by 8 for the hourly rate – unskilled work at ₹13,486 a month gives ₹518.69 a day and ₹64.83 an hour. The notified daily rates already include the wages payable for the weekly or substituted rest day. Overtime is paid at twice the ordinary rate. The one divergence: where wages are being deducted for a day of absence, the notification directs that the daily wage be calculated by dividing the monthly figure by 30, not 26.
The mistake to avoid: using the 26-day divisor for absence deductions. The notification sets 26 for computing the daily wage and 30 for deducting it. For an unskilled worker that is ₹518.69 versus ₹449.53 – applying the pay divisor to a deduction over-deducts by ₹69.16 for every day of absence. Across a workforce and a year that becomes a material unlawful deduction.
Worked example – unskilled worker
Notified monthly rate = ₹13,486 (basic rate of wages, no allowance split permitted)
Per day for payment = 13,486 ÷ 26 = ₹518.69
Per hour = 518.69 ÷ 8 = ₹64.83
Per day for absence deduction = 13,486 ÷ 30 = ₹449.53
Per year = 13,486 × 12 = ₹1,61,832
Punjab runs two parallel ladders – four worker grades based on skill and four staff categories based on qualification and responsibility — and they interleave rather than sitting one above the other. Staff Category-D at ₹14,406 sits just above Semi-Skilled at ₹14,383, while Staff Category-A at ₹19,431 sits well above Highly Skilled at ₹16,601. Placing an employee on the wrong ladder is a different error from placing them at the wrong level on the right one.
Technical depth combined with responsibility for supervising skilled employees. Supervisors, foremen and specialised technicians.
A post-graduate degree, MBA in marketing, finance or human resources development, Company Secretary or equivalent, or any professional degree. The highest notified rate in the Punjab schedule.
A graduate in any discipline, or an undergraduate with a diploma or certificate in stenography, computer applications or accountancy — and supervisory staff who have to take independent decisions.
Above matriculate but not graduate, or an undergraduate with a certificate in steno typing, computer applications, data entry or accountancy. Expressly includes timekeepers, salesmen, assistants and storekeepers.
Any Class-IV employee, whether casual, engaged through a contractor or on a contract basis. Note this sits above the semi-skilled worker rate.
Act on this: decide which ladder each employee belongs on before deciding the level. A salesman or storekeeper is Staff Category-C at ₹15,786, not a semi-skilled worker at ₹14,383 – a difference of ₹1,403 a month for a role that sounds administrative either way.
Minimum wages in Punjab apply to all employments in the state, and coverage does not depend on headcount. The notification is framed against the Code on Wages, 2019 definitions – employee under section 2(k), worker under section 2(z) and contract labour under section 2(g) – so contract workers and Class-IV staff engaged through a contractor are covered expressly. No employee may be paid less than the minimum fixed for a similar category having the same skills and experience.
Paying below the notified rate exposes an employer to recovery of the shortfall for the whole affected period, compensation on top, and prosecution. Under the Code on Wages, 2019 a first offence attracts a fine of up to ₹50,000, and a repeat offence within five years can mean up to three months imprisonment and a fine of up to ₹1 lakh. Claims reach back three years.
Act on this: review any structure that splits the Punjab minimum wage into basic plus allowances. The notification states expressly that the fixed rate is the basic rate of wages and is not permitted to be segregated into components in the form of allowances – so a structure that nets to the right total by way of HRA and conveyance does not comply, even though the arithmetic looks correct.
The Labour Department, Government of Punjab fixes minimum wages under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 read with the Code on Wages, 2019. The notification dated 01 May 2026 revised the basic minimum rates of wages in respect of all employments in the state with effect from the same date. Punjab notifies consolidated figures rather than a basic plus dearness allowance split, so the whole rate moves at each revision rather than an allowance line drifting between them.
Act on this: note that the trainee rule is time-limited and narrow. A trainee or learner is entitled to the unskilled minimum or more for six months or the training period, whichever is shorter, after which the wage of their actual category applies – and no employer is permitted to engage an unskilled employee as a trainee or learner at all. Diarise the six-month point for every trainee on the books.
Revision history for minimum wages in Punjab. Rates are consolidated basic figures, notified statewide.
| Effective From | Notified On | Unskilled / Month | Highly Skilled / Month | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 May 2026 | 01 May 2026 | ₹13,486 | ₹16,601 | All employments in the State of Punjab |
| Preceding revision | – | – | – | To be filled from the Labour Department archive |
| 01 Sep 2022 | – | ₹9,907.68 | ₹12,616.68 | Historic reference point for arrears calculations |
Figures marked – are to be filled from the corresponding notification. The September 2022 rates are shown as a reference point because Punjab has previously directed employers to pay arrears against earlier slabs. Cross-verified against compliance-maintained datasets, July 2026. Always confirm against the official notification of the relevant State Labour Department before finalizing payroll.
Punjab sits in the upper-middle of the national range and is structurally distinctive in two ways: it runs parallel worker and staff ladders that interleave rather than stack, and it expressly forbids splitting the notified wage into allowances. Neither Haryana nor Himachal Pradesh, its immediate neighbours, does both.
Unskilled minimum wage per day, compared with other states. Comparison figures are to be filled from each state’s own notification.
| State / Benchmark | Unskilled / Day | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| Punjab | ₹518.69 | Consolidated ₹13,486 a month, eight categories, no allowance split permitted |
| Haryana | ₹585.41 | Consolidated ₹15,220.71 a month, sub-categories within skill bands |
| Chandigarh (UT) | ₹560 | Consolidated monthly rate, nine categories, no zone split |
| Himachal Pradesh | ₹425 | Consolidated ₹12,750 a month, four grades, 30-day divisor |
| Delhi (NCT) | ₹709.85 | Basic ₹18,066 + VDA ₹390 a month, single uniform rate |
| National Floor Wage | – | Advisory floor, not directly enforceable on employers |
Act on this: if you run establishments across Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, hold three separate rate masters. All three notify consolidated figures with no zone split, which makes them look interchangeable – but the category structures differ (eight, sub-categorised, and nine respectively) and so do the rates.
The table below sets out the latest minimum wages in Punjab, effective 01 May 2026, across both the worker grades and the staff categories. Rates apply to all employments in the state with no zone split. Daily figures are the monthly rate divided by 26 and hourly figures the daily rate divided by 8, as the notification directs.
| Category | Per Month | Per Day | Per Hour | Per Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unskilled | ₹13,486 | ₹518.69 | ₹64.83 | ₹1,61,832 |
| Semi-Skilled | ₹14,383 | ₹553.19 | ₹69.14 | ₹1,72,596 |
| Skilled | ₹15,414 | ₹592.84 | ₹74.10 | ₹1,84,968 |
| Highly Skilled | ₹16,601 | ₹638.50 | ₹79.81 | ₹1,99,212 |
| Staff Category-A | ₹19,431 | ₹747.34 | ₹93.41 | ₹2,33,172 |
| Staff Category-B | ₹17,510 | ₹673.46 | ₹84.18 | ₹2,10,120 |
| Staff Category-C | ₹15,786 | ₹607.15 | ₹75.89 | ₹1,89,432 |
| Staff Category-D | ₹14,406 | ₹554.07 | ₹69.25 | ₹1,72,872 |
Source: Labour Department, Government of Punjab – Revision of Minimum Wages notification dated 01 May 2026, effective 01 May 2026, in respect of all employments in the State of Punjab. The notified figure is the basic rate of wages and is not permitted to be segregated into allowances. Cross-verified against compliance-maintained datasets, July 2026. Always confirm against the official notification of the relevant State Labour Department before finalizing payroll.
No. Punjab notifies one set of rates applying to all employments across the state, with no zone, district or urban-rural split. What Punjab has instead of zones is a second ladder of staff categories running alongside the worker grades.
The notification is explicit that the fixed minimum is the basic rate of wages and may not be segregated into components in the form of allowances. That closes the structuring route many employers use in other states.
Monthly divided by 26 gives the daily wage for payment; monthly divided by 30 gives the daily figure for deducting absence. Both appear in the same notification and both must be applied in their own context.
Because Punjab has no wage zones, the notified rate is identical everywhere in the state. An unskilled worker earns ₹13,486 a month or ₹518.69 a day whether the workplace is a hosiery unit in Ludhiana, a shop in Amritsar, an IT office in Mohali, a cycle-parts factory in Jalandhar or a site in a rural block. The same holds at every grade. What does change the figure is which of the eight categories applies – and for office and sales roles in the Mohali and Ludhiana belts, the staff categories usually govern rather than the worker grades.
From 01 May 2026, minimum wages Punjab are ₹13,486 a month or ₹518.69 a day for unskilled work, ₹14,383 for semi-skilled, ₹15,414 for skilled and ₹16,601 for highly skilled. Staff categories run from ₹14,406 for Category-D up to ₹19,431 a month or ₹747.34 a day for Category-A.
Punjab notifies four staff categories alongside the four worker grades. Category-A covers post-graduates, MBAs, Company Secretaries and professional degree holders; Category-B graduates and supervisory staff taking independent decisions; Category-C those above matriculate but not graduate, expressly including timekeepers, salesmen, assistants and storekeepers; and Category-D any Class-IV employee, including those engaged casually or through a contractor.
No. The notification states expressly that the fixed rate is the basic rate of wages and is not permitted to be segregated into components in the form of allowances. A structure that reaches the notified total through HRA, conveyance or similar allowances does not comply, even though the total arithmetic matches.
Divide the monthly figure by 26 for the daily wage and by 8 for the hourly rate — ₹13,486 a month gives ₹518.69 a day and ₹64.83 an hour for unskilled work. But where wages are deducted for absence, the notification directs dividing the monthly figure by 30 instead, giving ₹449.53. Using the wrong divisor for a deduction over-deducts by ₹69.16 a day.
No. Punjab applies one set of rates to all employments across the state with no zone split, so Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Mohali and every rural block read the same figures. The variable that changes the rate is which of the eight categories the employee falls in.
A trainee is entitled to the unskilled minimum wage or more, for six months or the training period, whichever is shorter. After that the wage of their actual category applies. The notification also provides that no employer is permitted to engage an unskilled employee as a trainee or learner at all.
Alpesh Vaghasiya (CEO)
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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