An all-in-one business management solution for all your business needs!
Book a free demo to know more!
Built to scale with your business.
AI-powered solution to automate workflow.
Cost-effective for growing businesses.
An all-in-one business management solution for all your business needs!
Book a free demo to know more!
The latest minimum wages in West Bengal, effective 01 July 2026, are fixed under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and notified by the Labour Department, Government of West Bengal. Rates are notified as a monthly figure per skill category across two zones, and West Bengal runs a half-yearly cycle with revisions taking effect on 01 January and 01 July each year.
The short answer For 01 July 2026 to 31 December 2026, the minimum wages rate in West Bengal runs from ₹9,760 a month (₹375 per day) for unskilled work in Zone B to ₹14,054 a month (₹541 per day) for highly skilled work in Zone A. Four skill categories apply across every scheduled employment, and the zone is decided by the type of local body governing the place where the work is performed. The governing notification is dated 22 June 2026.
West Bengal notifies a monthly figure for each skill category and zone, and the daily rate is that figure divided by 26. Unskilled work in Zone A at ₹10,558 a month works out to ₹406 a day. A normal working day is eight hours subject to 48 hours a week. Work beyond normal hours, or on a weekly rest day, must be paid at double the ordinary rate. Where an employee already receives more than the notified figure, that higher wage is protected and cannot be reduced to the floor.
The mistake to avoid: reducing an existing wage to the notified minimum. The notification protects higher existing wages explicitly, so a revision is a floor to rise to, never a ceiling to fall back to. Employers who “align to minimum wage” after a revision and cut people who were already above it are in breach even though they are paying the notified rate.
Worked example – unskilled, Zone A
Notified monthly rate = ₹10,558
Per day = 10,558 ÷ 26 = ₹406
Per year = 10,558 × 12 = ₹1,26,696
Per hour at an 8-hour day = 406 ÷ 8 = ₹50.75
One overtime hour = 50.75 × 2 = ₹101.50
West Bengal uses four skill categories and applies them uniformly — the scheduled employment sector does not change the rate once the skill category and the zone are fixed. What does catch employers out is where the notification places office roles. Clerks, typists, data entry operators and accountants are classified as skilled, not clerical or semi-skilled, and that puts them a full ₹2,219 a month above unskilled work in Zone A.
Act on this: audit your clerical and back-office roles first. Because West Bengal treats clerks, typists and data entry operators as skilled, a generic office-staff band set near the unskilled rate will be short by more than ₹2,000 a month per head in Zone A – and that is where wage claims in the state usually start.
The minimum wages rate in West Bengal applies to every worker in a scheduled employment notified by the state government, and coverage does not depend on headcount. The notification is explicit that the revised wages apply to contractor employees as well, so a principal employer cannot discharge the obligation by routing staff through an agency. It is equally explicit that men and women must receive equal wages for the same or similar work, and that existing higher wages must continue to be protected.
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, and because West Bengal revises twice a year, a missed notification builds arrears across two cycles before an annual audit would catch it.
Act on this: diarise 01 January and 01 July, and hold both payroll runs for a rate check before disbursement. The July 2026 notification was signed on 22 June, which is unusually early – do not assume the next one will arrive before its effective date.
Minimum wages in West Bengal are fixed by the Labour Department under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and revised on a half-yearly cycle, with rates taking effect on 01 January and 01 July each year. Each notification states the period it governs, so there is no ambiguity about which figure applies to which wage period. The current notification, dated 22 June 2026, governs 01 July 2026 to 31 December 2026 and raised unskilled Zone A wages from ₹10,386 to ₹10,558 a month.
Act on this: track the notification by its period, not by its date. West Bengal states the applicable window on the face of each order, which makes reconciliation straightforward — file the notification against the wage periods it governs and an inspector’s question about any given month answers itself.
Revision history for shops and establishments in West Bengal, showing the half-yearly cycle.
| Applicable Period | Notified On | Unskilled Zone A / Month | Unskilled Zone A / Day | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Jul 2026 – 31 Dec 2026 | 22 Jun 2026 | ₹10,558 | ₹406 | Current rates |
| 01 Jan 2026 – 30 Jun 2026 | 09 Jan 2026 | ₹10,386 | ₹399 | Preceding half-year |
| 01 Jul 2025 – 31 Dec 2025 | – | – | – | Earlier revision |
Figures marked – are to be filled from the corresponding notification. Daily figures are derived as the notified monthly rate ÷ 26. Always verify against the notification of the Labour Department, Government of West Bengal before finalizing payroll.
West Bengal notifies among the lower wage floors in India despite housing Kolkata, and the gap against the western and southern states is substantial – unskilled work in Zone A sits well below the equivalent figure in Goa or Gujarat. The structure is also simpler: no dearness allowance line, no basic split, just a notified monthly figure.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| West Bengal – Zone A | ₹406 | Consolidated monthly rate ₹10,558, revised 01 Jan and 01 Jul |
| West Bengal – Zone B | ₹375 | Consolidated monthly rate ₹9,760, same revision cycle |
| Goa – Zone A | ₹561.00 | Basic ₹412.00 + VDA ₹149.00 a day, revised 01 Apr and 01 Oct |
| Gujarat – Zone I | ₹512.50 | Basic ₹452.00 + VDA ₹60.50 a day |
| Odisha | – | Consolidated daily rate by scheduled employment |
| National Floor Wage | – | Advisory floor, not directly enforceable on employers |
Act on this: if you recruit across the eastern states, do not assume the West Bengal figure is a safe regional baseline. It is a floor for West Bengal only, and neighbouring states run their own schedules on their own cycles.
The table below sets out the minimum wages rate in West Bengal for shops and establishments, effective 01 July 2026 to 31 December 2026. Rates are shown for both zones. Daily figures are the notified monthly rate divided by 26.
| Category | Zone | Per Month | Per Day | Per Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unskilled | Zone A | ₹10,558 | ₹406 | ₹1,26,696 |
| Unskilled | Zone B | ₹9,760 | ₹375 | ₹1,17,120 |
| Semi-Skilled | Zone A | ₹11,615 | ₹447 | ₹1,39,380 |
| Semi-Skilled | Zone B | ₹10,733 | ₹413 | ₹1,28,796 |
| Skilled | Zone A | ₹12,777 | ₹491 | ₹1,53,324 |
| Skilled | Zone B | ₹11,807 | ₹454 | ₹1,41,684 |
| Highly Skilled | Zone A | ₹14,054 | ₹541 | ₹1,68,648 |
| Highly Skilled | Zone B | ₹12,990 | ₹500 | ₹1,55,880 |
Source: Labour Department, Government of West Bengal – notification dated 22 June 2026, applicable 01 July 2026 to 31 December 2026, for shops and establishments. Daily figures are the notified monthly rate ÷ 26; annual figures are monthly × 12.
West Bengal uses two zones, decided by the type of local body governing the place where the work is performed – not by district and not by where the employer is registered.
Thermal power townships are Zone A
This is the clause employers miss. A township attached to a thermal power plant carries Zone A rates even where the surrounding area is otherwise Zone B, which matters across the industrial belt in Bardhaman, Bankura and Purulia.
No West Bengal city carries a separate notification. Kolkata, Howrah, Asansol, Durgapur, Siliguri and Bidhannagar are all Zone A, so an unskilled worker in any of them earns ₹10,558 a month or ₹406 a day, and a highly skilled worker earns ₹14,054 a month. An establishment in a gram panchayat area applies Zone B, where unskilled work pays ₹9,760 a month or ₹375 a day. The zone follows the workplace, so a Kolkata-registered company with a warehouse in a rural block applies both rates in the same payroll.
From 01 July 2026 to 31 December 2026, minimum wages in West Bengal are ₹10,558 a month or ₹406 a day for unskilled work in Zone A, ₹11,615 for semi-skilled, ₹12,777 for skilled and ₹14,054 a month or ₹541 a day for highly skilled. Zone B rates run ₹798 to ₹1,064 a month lower by category.
Twice a year, with rates taking effect on 01 January and 01 July. Each notification states the period it governs. The current one is dated 22 June 2026 and covers 01 July 2026 to 31 December 2026, so the next revision is due from 01 January 2027.
Zone A covers areas under Municipal Corporations, Municipalities, Notified Areas and Development Authorities, plus Thermal Power Plant areas including township areas. Kolkata, Howrah, Asansol, Durgapur and Siliguri all sit in Zone A. Zone B is the rest of the state.
Divide the notified monthly figure by 26. Unskilled Zone A at ₹10,558 a month gives ₹406 a day and ₹1,26,696 a year. A normal working day is eight hours subject to 48 hours a week, and work beyond that or on a weekly rest day is paid at double the ordinary rate.
Yes. The notification states expressly that the revised wages apply to contractor employees as well. Routing staff through an agency does not shift the obligation — where a contractor pays below the notified rate, the principal employer is liable for the shortfall.
No. The notification protects higher existing wages. A revision sets a floor to rise to, not a level to fall back to, so cutting an employee who was already paid above the notified rate is a breach even though the resulting figure matches the schedule.
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.
Superworks keeps minimum wage slabs, zones, and statutory deductions correct across all your locations.
