Gig Workers, Platform Workers and Unorganised Workers

Most Indian workers are outside formal employment, and a fast-growing group works through apps rather than for an employer in the traditional sense. Neither fitted the old social security laws, which assumed an employer who could be made to contribute. The Code on Social Security is the first central law to recognise gig and platform workers, and it funds their benefits partly through contributions from the aggregators they work through. This note covers the definitions, registration, funding, the 2026 Rules and the wider debate.

1. Who Is Covered

The four categories

Figure 1: The four categories

Outside employment. Gig and platform workers are defined by the absence of a traditional employer-employee relationship, so the Code gives them benefits without deciding whether they are employees.
Unorganised workers, ss.109 to 112. The Central and State Governments frame schemes for life and disability cover, health and maternity, old age protection, education, housing and skill upgradation, supported by helplines and facilitation centres.

2. Registration, Funding and the 2026 Rules

From eligibility to benefits

Figure 2: From eligibility to benefits

Counting days. Under the 2026 Rules, a worker is engaged on any day on which he earns any income from an aggregator; work for three aggregators on one day counts as three days.
Aggregator group. The definition of aggregator extends to associate and holding companies, subsidiaries, LLPs and third parties, so that contributions cannot be avoided through group structures.
Institutions. The National Social Security Board recommends and monitors schemes for gig and platform workers, and the Social Security Fund under s.141 receives the contributions.
Status of schemes. When the Rules were notified in May 2026, no scheme under s.114 had yet been notified, so the specific benefits remained to be defined.
Existing support. Gig workers have been asked to register on the e-Shram portal, and the Union Budget 2025-26 announced health cover for them under PM-JAY.

3. State Laws and the Wider Debate

State legislation. Rajasthan enacted the first State law for platform-based gig workers in 2023, with a welfare board and a fee on aggregators; Karnataka followed in 2025.
Classification debate. In Uber BV v Aslam (2021) the UK Supreme Court held that Uber drivers were workers entitled to minimum wage and holiday pay. Indian law has so far taken a different route, providing social security without treating gig workers as employees.
Pending litigation. A petition by app-based transport workers seeking recognition as workers and social security cover has been pending before the Supreme Court.

⚠ Exam trap

Know the clause numbers: aggregator s.2(2), gig worker s.2(35), platform worker s.2(61), unorganised worker s.2(86). Registration needs age 16, self-declaration and Aadhaar (s.113). Aggregators contribute 1% to 2% of annual turnover, capped at 5% of what they pay gig and platform workers (s.114). Under the 2026 Rules, eligibility needs 90 days with one aggregator or 120 days across aggregators in the previous financial year, and ends at 60.

4. Frequently Asked Questions

How much do aggregators contribute for gig workers?

Section 114 allows the Central Government to require aggregators to contribute between 1% and 2% of their annual turnover to schemes for gig and platform workers, but the contribution cannot exceed 5% of the amount paid or payable by the aggregator to those workers.

Are gig workers employees under the Labour Codes?

No. The Code on Social Security defines gig and platform workers as working outside a traditional employer-employee relationship, and gives them social security through registration, schemes and aggregator contributions rather than through the employment-based chapters such as provident fund and ESI.

5. Related Topics

Topic 19: Social Security Code, Scheme and Coverage. Definitions and the Social Security Fund.
Topic 25: Building and Other Construction Workers. Another cess-funded welfare model.