First employee
Confirm the employing model, work state, role, wage structure, probation, notice, and social-security coverage before drafting documents.
India EOR Guide
Hiring in India after the 2025 labour-code commencement
India brought four labour codes into effect on 21 November 2025. Employers still need a state- and establishment-specific review because rules, registrations, and implementation details do not reduce to one national checklist.
Verified snapshot
What changes the hiring plan in India
Major legal changeFour labour codes effective from 21 November 2025
Payroll rhythmMonthly payroll is common
Social securityEPF and ESI treatment depends on coverage, employee profile, and wage structure
LocationState rules and the employee's work location remain operationally important
Figures and rules are planning inputs, not a quote or legal opinion. Employee category, location, compensation, immigration status, and later rule changes can alter the result.
Hiring decision
Scope the establishment, state, and wage structure together
India payroll cannot be designed from annual CTC alone. Break the package into components and identify the actual work state.
Multi-state team
Track state-specific professional tax, shops-and-establishments requirements, holidays, and local registrations separately.
Foreign national
Review the visa, tax residency, payroll, and registration path as a single case; an employment contract does not create work authorization.
Country-specific requirements
The details that deserve separate review
The four labour codes changed the legal baseline
The Ministry of Labour and Employment states that the Code on Wages, Industrial Relations Code, Code on Social Security, and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code took effect on 21 November 2025. The change makes older summaries of the pre-code framework unreliable without a current implementation check.
Because central and state rulemaking still matters, record the effective rule set used for each hiring decision and revisit payroll configuration when implementing rules change.
Primary source: Ministry of Labour & Employment β 2025 year-end review
CTC is not the same as monthly cash salary
Indian offers often use cost-to-company language. For budgeting, separate fixed cash, variable pay, employer contributions, insurance or benefits, gratuity treatment, and any location-specific items. Payroll needs the component-level design, not only an annual headline number.
Primary source: Employees' Provident Fund Organisation β employers
Termination and fixed-term choices need local review
Notice, retrenchment, fixed-term employment, misconduct, and final-pay steps depend on the worker category, facts, applicable code provisions, and state implementation. Avoid inserting a universal notice period into every offer or treating probation as a period without statutory protection.
Common mistakes
What to catch before onboarding
These issues often change cost, timing, or the correct employing model.
Using a pre-November-2025 labour-law summary without checking current rules
Treating CTC as take-home pay
Ignoring the employee's state and establishment registration
Assuming every technology role has the same working-hours or exit rules
Primary sources
Official references used for this guide
Open the current official guidance before making a final employment, payroll, tax, or immigration decision.
- Ministry of Labour & Employment β 2025 year-end review
- Ministry of Labour & Employment β labour-code FAQs
- Employees' Provident Fund Organisation β employers
- Employees' State Insurance Corporation β employer portal
Reference links checked: 15 September 2026. Farlinko content is general operational information and does not replace case-specific legal, tax, or immigration advice.
Plan the hire
Review the India case before the offer goes out.
Share the work location, role, compensation, worker status, target date, and any immigration dependency. We will identify the employing path and the items that still need local confirmation.