Gig Worker Rights & Social Security in India (2026)

India is home to one of the world’s largest gig and platform workforces, the delivery riders, cab drivers, home-service professionals and online freelancers who power apps like Zomato, Swiggy, Ola, Uber, Blinkit and Urban Company. For years these workers fell outside almost every labour protection. That has now changed. With the four Labour Codes brought into force on 21 November 2025, gig and platform workers are, for the first time, formally recognised in central labour legislation and entitled to a structured social-security safety net.

This guide explains the current legal framework, what benefits gig workers can claim in 2026, and where the law is still evolving.

Who is a gig worker under Indian law?

The Code on Social Security, 2020 (now in force) created three new definitions that did not previously exist in Indian labour law:

• A gig worker is a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of a traditional employer-employee relationship.
• A platform worker is a person engaged in “platform work”, an arrangement where organisations or individuals use an online platform to access other organisations or individuals to solve specific problems or provide services in exchange for payment.
• An aggregator is a digital intermediary or marketplace that connects buyers or users of a service with the workers who provide it.

A crucial legal point: gig and platform workers are not classified as employees. The Code preserves the flexible, on-demand model of the gig economy rather than forcing platforms to treat riders and drivers as full-time staff (which would trigger gratuity, provident fund and severance liabilities). Instead of individual employment rights, the law gives gig workers collective welfare and social-security benefits. This employee-versus-contractor distinction remains the most contested issue in the sector and is the subject of ongoing litigation and policy debate.

Aggregator contributions and the Social Security Fund

The heart of the framework is funding. Under Sections 113 and 114 of the Code on Social Security, 2020:

• The Central Government may frame social-security schemes for gig and platform workers covering life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, old-age protection, and crèche facilities.
• Aggregators must contribute between 1% and 2% of their annual turnover toward the social-security fund, as notified by the Government. The contribution cannot exceed 2% of turnover, and is also capped at 5% of the total amount paid or payable by the aggregator to gig and platform workers.
• The categories of aggregators liable to contribute are listed in the Code’s Seventh Schedule (covering ride-sharing, food and grocery delivery, logistics, e-marketplaces, professional services and similar platforms).

A national Social Security Fund for unorganised, gig and platform workers receives these contributions and channels them into welfare schemes.

The 2025 national rollout: e-Shram, PM-JAY and pension

The framework moved from paper to practice through the Union Budget 2025-26 and subsequent ministry action:

• e-Shram registration: Gig and platform workers are being issued identity cards and enrolled on the e-Shram portal, the national database of unorganised workers. An aggregator module lets platforms register themselves and their workers directly. In the first phase, aggregators including Urban Company, Zomato, Blinkit and Uncle Delivery completed registration, and the portal had recorded over 30 crore workers overall.
• Health cover under PM-JAY: The Government announced that gig and platform workers and their families will be covered under Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), entitling them to annual health insurance of ₹5 lakh per family at empanelled public and private hospitals.
• Pension and accident cover: The labour ministry has been finalising a scheme to deduct social-security contributions on a per-transaction basis to fund pension, provident-fund-style savings and accident/disability insurance for registered gig workers.

Registration on e-Shram is the gateway: a gig worker must be enrolled to access most of these benefits, so it is the single most important practical step.

State laws: Rajasthan and Karnataka lead

Because welfare is a concurrent subject, several states moved ahead of the centre:

• Rajasthan became the first state to legislate specifically for this workforce, passing the Rajasthan Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023 in July 2023. It mandates registration of gig workers and aggregators, sets up a Welfare Board, and creates a Social Security and Welfare Fund financed by a welfare fee (cess) of 1% to 2% of each transaction, plus state grants.
• Karnataka introduced the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Ordinance, 2025, later moved as a Bill in August 2025. It similarly provides for registration, a welfare board and a welfare fund, but with a broader fee of 1% to 5% of the payment per transaction, along with provisions on transparency, grievance redressal and protection against arbitrary deactivation of worker accounts.
• Other states, including Telangana, have draft bills following this model.

Where a state law applies, it operates alongside the central Code, so workers in those states may have access to both state and national welfare boards.

What rights and benefits can gig workers claim now?

In 2026, a registered gig or platform worker can broadly expect:

1. A legal identity as a recognised worker via an e-Shram card.
2. Health insurance of up to ₹5 lakh per family under PM-JAY (as schemes are notified and rolled out).
3. Accident and disability cover and life insurance under central and state welfare schemes.
4. Old-age / pension benefits funded by aggregator contributions.
5. Grievance redressal and fair-conduct protections under state laws such as Karnataka’s, including notice before deactivation.
6. Welfare-board representation in states with dedicated legislation.

What gig workers generally do not get (unless reclassified as employees) are minimum wages, paid leave, gratuity and the full bundle of rights enjoyed by formal employees. Whether some workers are mis-classified, and should in fact be treated as employees, is a live legal question that depends on the actual degree of control the platform exercises. If you believe your working arrangement crosses the line into employment, our civil and employment lawyers can assess your specific facts. You may also find our overview of the fundamentals of labour laws in India useful for context.

Practical steps for gig workers

• Register on e-Shram and obtain your card; keep your Aadhaar and bank details linked.
• Check whether your state (e.g. Rajasthan, Karnataka) has a welfare board and register there too.
• Keep records of your earnings, the platform’s terms, and any account deactivation or payment disputes, these are vital if you ever need to argue misclassification or claim benefits.
• Verify benefit enrolment with your aggregator, since platforms are now obliged to register their workers.

Conclusion

The combination of the Code on Social Security, 2020 (in force since 21 November 2025), the 2025 national rollout of e-Shram, PM-JAY and pension cover, and pioneering state laws in Rajasthan and Karnataka has transformed the legal standing of India’s gig workers from invisible to recognised. The framework is still being operationalised scheme by scheme, and the underlying classification debate is far from settled, so the precise benefits available will keep evolving through 2026 and beyond.

This is general information, not legal advice. Consult our lawyers for advice on your situation.