What “expected questions” means here

These are original practice questions selected from important concepts in the four Labour Codes. They are not leaked questions, official predictions or a guarantee of the examination’s topic distribution. Their purpose is to test definitions, thresholds, institutions, exceptions and numerical application. Attempt each question before reading the explanation, then verify difficult provisions in the relevant statutory text.

The four Codes were brought into effect from 21 November 2025 through the notified framework. The Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 are also available in the official Gazette notification dated 8 May 2026. Distinguish the Code, rules, regulations, schemes and commencement notifications. A central rule does not automatically answer every state-specific procedural question, and a statutory power to notify a scheme does not itself prove that every possible benefit is payable immediately.

First build the four-Code map

Do not assume that one threshold applies throughout an entire Code. Establishment coverage, a particular chapter’s applicability and an individual’s eligibility are separate questions. When making revision cards, include the subject and condition beside every number. A bare “300” or “50” is easy to confuse with an unrelated provision.

Questions on the Code on Wages

Question 1. Which authority fixes the floor wage under the Code on Wages? A. Every trade union independently. B. The Central Government. C. Only the Finance Commission. D. The employer in its appointment letter.

Answer: B. Section 9 provides for the Central Government’s floor wage, taking account of minimum living standards, with scope for different floor wages for different geographical areas. The appropriate government’s minimum wage cannot be lower than the applicable floor wage. A floor wage and a minimum wage are connected but distinct concepts. An employer’s contractual wage is not a substitute for statutory wage protection.

Question 2. Which statement about the minimum-wage framework is correct? A. It is confined to the old scheduled-employment list. B. It applies only to permanent factory workers. C. The Code extends the minimum-wage framework beyond that old scheduled-employment limitation. D. It permits any wage if the employee agrees.

Answer: C. The Code replaces the earlier scheduled-employment approach with a broader framework. However, actual rates, the appropriate government and applicable notifications still matter. Do not infer that every employee in every location receives one identical national rate. Examiners can test the broad extension while also asking who fixes rates and which factors are relevant.

Question 3. Remuneration is ₹40,000, consisting of ₹18,000 basic pay plus DA and ₹22,000 in excluded components falling within the relevant 50% test. What is the wage after the statutory add-back, on these assumptions? A. ₹18,000. B. ₹22,000. C. ₹40,000. D. ₹20,000.

Answer: D. Fifty per cent of ₹40,000 is ₹20,000. The relevant exclusions exceed that figure by ₹2,000, so that excess is added to the included ₹18,000. The result is ₹20,000. This is an illustration of the definition’s test, not a rule that every salary structure must have a contractual basic pay equal to exactly 50% of cost to company. Identify the statutory components before calculating.

Question 4. What is the general ceiling on total deductions in a wage period under the Code’s deduction provision? A. Fifty per cent of wages. B. Ten per cent in every case. C. The whole salary whenever authorised orally. D. No ceiling exists.

Answer: A. The Code provides a 50% ceiling on total deductions for the wage period, subject to the statutory framework for handling excess. This does not make every deduction lawful merely because the total stays below 50%. The deduction must also belong to a permitted category and satisfy the applicable conditions. Read legality and the aggregate ceiling as two separate tests.

Questions on the Industrial Relations Code

Question 5. Where multiple registered trade unions operate, the Code’s negotiating-union provision uses which support threshold for a single negotiating union? A. Ten per cent. B. Twenty per cent. C. Fifty-one per cent or more. D. Unanimity of all workers.

Answer: C. Section 14 uses support of 51% or more of workers on the muster roll, verified in the prescribed manner. Where no union meets the required threshold, the negotiating-council framework becomes relevant, including the separate 20% support condition for representation. Do not substitute the council’s representation threshold for the single negotiating union’s threshold.

Question 6. The standing-orders chapter generally applies at which worker threshold under the Code’s text? A. Twenty. B. Three hundred. C. Fifty. D. Five hundred in all cases.

Answer: B. The chapter applies to industrial establishments employing 300 or more workers, or having employed that number on any day in the preceding twelve months, within the statutory provision. This is a chapter-specific rule. It should not be used to claim that establishments below 300 workers have no labour-law duties. Other provisions and applicable rules must be considered separately.

Question 7. Which is the correct general relationship between strike notice and commencement under the Code? A. No notice is ever required. B. A notice permits a strike immediately. C. Only public utility workers can face a notice requirement. D. The notice framework includes a fourteen-day waiting restriction and further prohibited periods.

Answer: D. The Code’s strike provision includes notice within sixty days before striking, a prohibition within fourteen days of giving notice, and other restrictions concerning the stated date and dispute-resolution proceedings. Memorising only “fourteen days” is incomplete. A scenario question may be decided by conciliation or adjudication restrictions even after the initial waiting period has passed.

Question 8. What employer contribution is associated with the worker re-skilling fund for a retrenched worker under the statutory text? A. Fifteen days’ last-drawn wages, or another notified number of days. B. One year’s total salary in every case. C. Only the worker’s own savings. D. A fixed amount of ₹500 regardless of wages.

Answer: A. The employer contribution is linked to fifteen days’ wages last drawn, or the number of days notified by the Central Government. The fund has a distinct purpose from retrenchment compensation. Do not merge two separate liabilities into one item merely because both arise in a retrenchment situation. The crediting arrangements and prescribed manner should be revised with the section.

Questions on the Social Security Code

Question 9. Which statement about gig-worker social security is most accurate? A. Every registered gig worker automatically receives every EPF and ESI benefit. B. The Code recognises gig and platform workers and enables notified schemes for them. C. Registration itself creates a universal government salary. D. The Code contains no gig-worker provisions.

Answer: B. Section 114 provides a scheme-making framework covering specified social-security needs. Entitlement depends on the relevant scheme and its conditions. Recognition of a category is significant, but it is different from automatically establishing an employer–employee relationship or making every existing employee scheme applicable to every registered person.

Question 10. What is the statutory aggregator-contribution range and cap in section 114? A. Exactly 12% of each worker’s earnings. B. Unlimited turnover contribution. C. One to two per cent of annual turnover at the notified rate, capped at 5% of amounts paid or payable to gig and platform workers. D. Always 5% of turnover.

Answer: C. The Code specifies the 1–2% turnover range and the separate 5% cap linked to payments to workers. The rate and commencement operate through notification. The two percentages use different bases, so applying 5% to turnover would be a serious error. Exclude taxes, levies and cesses payable to the Central Government from turnover as the statutory explanation directs.

Question 11. Which situation is an exception to the ordinary five-year continuous-service condition for gratuity? A. Every voluntary absence. B. Any salary increase. C. Completion of probation alone. D. Death or disablement, among the statutory exceptions.

Answer: D. The Code contains exceptions including death, disablement and expiration of fixed-term employment, along with the specified framework. The Ministry’s March 2026 clarification states that a fixed-term employee is eligible on rendering one year of service under the contract. Distinguish a directly engaged fixed-term employee from labour supplied by a contractor; labels should not replace the legal relationship.

Question 12. Which institution administers the ESI framework? A. Employees’ State Insurance Corporation. B. Election Commission of India. C. Finance Commission. D. Every individual bank independently.

Answer: A. ESIC is the relevant social insurance institution. EPFO administers provident fund, pension and deposit-linked insurance arrangements within its framework. Both belong to the wider social-security system, but their benefits, contribution structures and administrative mechanisms differ. A matching question can test these institutional distinctions without asking for any calculation.

Questions on occupational safety and working conditions

Question 13. Under the OSHWC Code’s general factory definition, what are the principal worker thresholds for manufacturing with and without power? A. Five and ten. B. One hundred and two hundred. C. Twenty and forty respectively. D. Three hundred for both.

Answer: C. The general definition uses twenty workers with power and forty without power, subject to its complete text and relevant provisions. This does not mean every establishment below those numbers is outside all safety obligations. General establishment coverage, hazardous activities and sector-specific provisions must be examined separately. Learn what the threshold defines before using it to answer a coverage question.

Question 14. Which statement about inter-state migrant workers is correct? A. Only workers recruited through contractors can ever be covered. B. The Code’s definition includes specified workers who migrate on their own and obtain employment, subject to its conditions. C. Every tourist is covered. D. The concept was removed entirely.

Answer: B. The definition extends beyond the older contractor-only understanding and includes specified self-migrating workers, subject to the wage and other statutory conditions. For a problem question, identify origin, destination, employment and the applicable definition. A person crossing a state boundary for a holiday is plainly different from a worker migrating to obtain employment.

Question 15. Which approach best describes women’s employment under the Code? A. Women are prohibited from all night work in every circumstance. B. Consent alone removes every safety duty. C. Only office work is permitted. D. Employment in establishments and types of work is recognised, with consent and prescribed safeguards relevant to specified hours.

Answer: D. The Code recognises women’s employment and contains conditions for work before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m., including consent and prescribed safety-related safeguards. Avoid both extremes: an absolute universal prohibition and an assumption that consent eliminates statutory protection. The applicable government rules help determine the operational requirements.

How to review this set

Score one mark for each correct answer for learning purposes; this is not a claim about any examination’s marking scheme. Mark answers made with low confidence even when correct. Revisit the exact section behind every incorrect or guessed answer, write a contrasting example and retest after three days. Keep separate cards for definitions, percentages, worker thresholds and institutional responsibilities.

Before the examination, recheck current notifications and your examination’s syllabus. Old Acts remain useful for historical comparison and older PYQs, but label the period being discussed. A strong answer explains both the current provision and why a tempting alternative belongs to a different Code, chapter or legal period.