Gig Worker (India)

Who Is a Gig Worker in India?

A gig worker in India is, for the first time in central labour law, a formally recognised category of non-employee worker. Section 2(35) of the Code on Social Security, 2020 defines a gig worker as a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of the traditional employer-employee relationship. The Code separately defines a platform worker in Section 2(61) — a person whose work arrangement uses an online platform or app to connect them with organisations or individuals seeking specific services. The two categories overlap; every platform worker is a gig worker, but a gig worker who works through offline arrangements is not necessarily a platform worker.

The recognition is significant. Until the Code, India’s labour-law architecture was binary: a worker was either an employee (covered by PF, ESI, gratuity, and labour codes) or an independent contractor (covered by general contract law and tax). Gig workers fell uncomfortably between the two, exposing aggregators to misclassification risk and leaving workers without statutory protection. Chapter IX of the Code creates a third lane.

Key Provisions of the Code on Social Security, 2020

• Section 2(35) — Gig worker definition. Person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of the traditional employer-employee relationship.
• Section 2(61) — Platform worker definition. Person engaged in platform work, defined in Section 2(60) as a work arrangement outside a traditional employer-employee relationship in which organisations or individuals use an online platform to access other organisations or individuals to solve specific problems or to provide specific services in exchange for payment.
• Section 2(2) — Aggregator definition. A digital intermediary for a buyer or user of a service to connect with the seller or service provider, in nine notified service categories including ride sharing, food and grocery delivery, logistics, e-marketplace, professional services, healthcare, travel and hospitality, content and media, and any other goods and services provider platform.
• Section 113 — Registration of unorganised, gig, and platform workers on a unified portal, with self-declaration and Aadhaar-based authentication.
• Sections 114-115 — Schemes for gig and platform workers covering life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, old-age protection, and other benefits as notified.
• Section 141 — Social Security Fund financed by aggregator contributions of one to two per cent of annual turnover, capped at five per cent of the amount paid or payable by the aggregator to gig and platform workers.

State Legislation

Two States have moved ahead of the Central Government’s pace of implementation:

Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023

Received assent on 24 July 2023 and notified shortly thereafter. Key features:

• Constitutes the Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers Welfare Board at Jaipur, comprising state officials, two representatives each from aggregators and gig workers, and civil-society members.
• Requires registration of every platform-based gig worker, every aggregator, and every primary employer operating in Rajasthan, with a unique ID for each gig worker.
• Establishes the Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers Social Security and Welfare Fund financed by welfare cess, State grants, and other contributions.
• Mandates deposit of the Platform Based Gig Workers Welfare Cess by the fifth of every calendar month at a rate notified by the State Government, statutorily ranging between one and two per cent of the value of each transaction relating to platform-based gig workers.
• Empowers the Board to track and monitor all payments generated on the platforms.

Karnataka Platform Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2025

Published in the Karnataka Gazette on 12 September 2025, replacing an earlier ordinance. Rules notified on 19 November 2025. Key features:

• Applies to aggregators in ride sharing, food and grocery delivery, logistics, e-commerce marketplace, professional services, healthcare, travel and hospitality, and content and media services.
• Establishes the Karnataka Platform Based Gig Workers Welfare Board with a Welfare Fund financed by welfare fees, gig-worker contributions, government grants, and other sources.
• Every aggregator with more than fifty platform workers must constitute an Internal Dispute Resolution Committee to resolve complaints within thirty days, with arbitration as a fallback.
• Mandates algorithmic transparency and fair-contract obligations between aggregators and gig workers.
• Penalties for aggregator contraventions extend up to one lakh rupees with additional daily fines up to five thousand rupees for continuing default.

Applicability

Together, the Code and the State Acts now cover the great majority of platform-based gig work in India. The Central Code applies pan-India once notified into operational force; the Rajasthan and Karnataka Acts apply within their respective State jurisdictions and impose obligations on aggregators that operate within those States, regardless of where the aggregator is incorporated.

Recent Implementation Developments

Several Central scheme drafts have been issued for consultation, including a comprehensive social-security scheme for gig and platform workers covering insurance and pension. As of 2026, the Centre has not yet operationalised the welfare-cess collection mechanism nationally, but the e-Shram portal continues to serve as the registration backbone for unorganised, gig, and platform workers. Rajasthan and Karnataka have begun aggregator registration and welfare-cess collection on their State platforms.

Penalties for Aggregator Non-Compliance

• Code on Social Security, 2020 (Section 137): Failure to pay aggregator contribution attracts fine extending to one lakh rupees, with imprisonment for repeat offences.
• Rajasthan Act, 2023: Failure to register, pay welfare cess, or comply with Board directions attracts fine extending to fifty thousand rupees for first contravention and one lakh rupees for subsequent contravention.
• Karnataka Act, 2025: Aggregator contraventions attract fine extending to one lakh rupees with daily continuing fine extending to five thousand rupees.
• Additional misclassification exposure: Where the aggregator-worker relationship is held in substance to be employment under the Sushilaben / Hussainbhai test, the aggregator faces retrospective PF, ESI, and gratuity dues independent of the welfare-cess regime.

Common Scenarios

Food-delivery aggregator in Bengaluru. Operating in Karnataka, the aggregator must register with the Karnataka Welfare Board, contribute to the Welfare Fund, set up an Internal Dispute Resolution Committee for its rider population (which typically exceeds fifty), and ensure algorithmic transparency.

Ride-share platform in Jaipur. Subject to the Rajasthan Welfare Cess at the rate notified by the State Government within the one-to-two per cent statutory band, deposited by the fifth of every month, plus Welfare Board registration of every driver-partner.

Multi-State logistics platform. Faces overlapping obligations — Central Code on Social Security obligations once operationalised, plus distinct State welfare-cess regimes in Rajasthan and Karnataka, with more States expected to enact similar legislation.

How Omnivoo Helps

Omnivoo’s primary engagement model is direct full-form employment via EOR, which sits outside the gig-worker regime. For client businesses that operate genuine aggregator platforms, Omnivoo’s compliance dashboard tracks Code on Social Security registration on e-Shram, State welfare-cess obligations under the Rajasthan and Karnataka Acts, Internal Dispute Resolution Committee constitution, and welfare-fund payments, with monthly returns auto-generated for the Boards. For platforms whose worker engagement may cross the line into employment in substance, Omnivoo’s misclassification audit applies the Sushilaben multi-factor test and flags conversion candidates. Read our contractor versus employee classification deep dive for the analytical framework.