Uttar Pradesh Labour Law Compliance Guide for Employers, 2026 Edition

The 4 Labour Codes, What Changed (Effective 21 November 2025)

The four labour codes replaced 29 central laws and came into force on 21 November 2025. Labour is a concurrent subject, so each state has to notify its own rules before the codes fully bite locally.

Uttar Pradesh is further ahead than most states here. UP has notified final rules under all four codes. The Uttar Pradesh Code on Wages Rules were notified on 12 August 2026 under notification 1377/XXXVI-03-2026-1901341, following a draft issued on 10 March 2026. UP is one of only a handful of states with final rules in place across all four codes, so employers here cannot treat the codes as something still to come.

Uttar Pradesh-Specific Labour Laws

UP is an unusual state to run payroll in, because two of the deductions employers normally expect do not exist here at all.

1. No Professional Tax in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh does not levy professional tax. There is no state law requiring you to deduct PT from salaries, no PT registration, no return and no payment. If your payroll software is showing a PT line for a UP employee, it is misconfigured.

The catch is multi-state employment. If the same company also employs people in Maharashtra, Karnataka or Gujarat, PT applies to those employees, because the obligation follows the state where the employee works rather than where your head office sits.

2. No Labour Welfare Fund in Uttar Pradesh

UP has no Labour Welfare Fund Act in force for private establishments. There is no LWF deduction, no half-yearly remittance and no LWF return. Sixteen states plus Chandigarh do levy LWF and UP is not among them, alongside Rajasthan and Bihar.

3. UP Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1962

Formally the Uttar Pradesh Dookan Aur Vanijya Adhishthan Adhiniyam, 1962. This is the state law that most offices, shops and commercial establishments in UP sit under, and it is the registration a new business is most likely to miss.

• Register with the Chief Inspector within three months of commencing business
• Renew the registration certificate as prescribed, and update it when your details change
• Follow the Act on opening and closing hours, weekly closure and public holidays
• Maintain the prescribed registers and records, and display the certificate at the establishment

4. Uttar Pradesh Minimum Wages

UP notifies minimum wages across 74 scheduled employments, covering everything from plastics and plywood to dairy, private hospitals and educational institutions. The variable dearness allowance moves twice a year, tracking the All India Consumer Price Index.

Those figures were notified on 18 February 2026 and run from 1 April 2026 to 30 September 2026, so a fresh notification is due from 1 October 2026. Rates differ by skill level and by scheduled employment, so confirm the schedule your activity actually falls under. Our guide to the October minimum wage revision explains what to update when a new notification lands.

Central Laws in Uttar Pradesh

With no PT and no LWF, compliance in UP is mostly central law plus the Shops Act. The pieces that matter most to a small employer are these.

• EPF, where the wage ceiling rose from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 with effect from 17 September 2026
• ESIC, on a Rs 21,000 monthly wage ceiling, with the employee at 0.75 per cent and the employer at 3.25 per cent
• TDS on salary, with Form 24Q each quarter and Form 16 each year
• Payment of Bonus, Payment of Gratuity and the Maternity Benefit Act
• POSH, where an internal committee is mandatory once you reach 10 employees

Uttar Pradesh Compliance Calendar

There is no PT or LWF line in that calendar, which is the single biggest difference between running payroll in UP and running it in Maharashtra or Karnataka.

Industries in Uttar Pradesh

Noida and Greater Noida carry IT, electronics and shared service centres. Lucknow is services and government facing business. Kanpur is leather and manufacturing. Ghaziabad and Meerut cover light engineering, and Agra is footwear. Each of those activities can sit on a different scheduled employment, so two businesses on the same street can owe different minimum wages.

HRTailor in Uttar Pradesh

We run payroll and statutory compliance for small and mid-sized employers across UP, including companies whose staff sit in Noida while the founders sit somewhere else. That means Shops Act registration and renewals, EPF and ESIC filings, TDS returns, and keeping your wage floor correct each time the VDA moves.

FAQs, Uttar Pradesh Labour Compliance

Is professional tax applicable in Uttar Pradesh?

No. Uttar Pradesh does not levy professional tax, so there is no PT deduction, registration or return for employees working in the state. PT still applies to any of your employees based in states that do levy it.

Does Uttar Pradesh have a Labour Welfare Fund?

No. UP has no Labour Welfare Fund Act in force for private establishments, so there is no LWF contribution or return. This is different from neighbouring states such as Haryana and Delhi, which both levy it.

Has Uttar Pradesh notified its labour code rules?

Yes. UP has final notified rules under all four labour codes. The Code on Wages Rules were notified on 12 August 2026, which puts UP ahead of most states, where the rules are still at draft stage.

When do minimum wages change in Uttar Pradesh?

Twice a year, with the variable dearness allowance revised with effect from 1 April and 1 October. The rates notified on 18 February 2026 ran to 30 September 2026, so a new notification is due from 1 October 2026.

Do I need Shops Act registration for a small office in Noida?

Yes. Registration under the UP Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1962 is required within three months of commencing business, and it applies to offices and commercial establishments, not just retail shops.

Uttar Pradesh Compliance Made Easy

UP looks simpler than most states on paper, and in one real sense it is, because two deductions fall away. The risk sits elsewhere: the Shops Act registration deadline, the twice yearly wage revision, and the fact that UP has already notified rules under all four labour codes while many employers are still waiting for their state to act. If you want that handled, outsourced payroll and compliance is what we do.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Please confirm rates and schedules for your industry with your payroll or legal adviser.