Minimum wages in Karnataka: current rates (from 25 May 2026 (Gazette publication), with VDA revised every 1 April)

Minimum wage rates in Karnataka (from 25 May 2026 (Gazette publication), with VDA revised every 1 April)

Notification ಕಾಇ 411 ಎಲ್ ಡಬ್ಲ್ಯೂಎ 2023 dated 22 May 2026, published in Karnataka Gazette Part IV-A No. 389 on 25 May 2026, applies with immediate effect. Shops and commercial establishments are item 51 of Schedule 1; Schedule 4 rates apply to all Schedule 1 and Schedule 3 employments, which include most manufacturing. Foundries, chemical units, power plants and some other work in Schedule 2 have higher rates. The variable DA is revised every 1 April from the previous calendar year's average CPI, at 4 paise a day for each point above 9469.

Zones and who is covered

Zone 1: the Greater Bengaluru Authority area. Zone 2: other municipal corporations and all district headquarters. Zone 3: all other areas.

Minimum wages apply to every employee, whether paid monthly, daily or by the hour, permanent, temporary or through a contractor. Under the Code on Wages, 2019 the employer must pay at least the notified rate for the category and area. If you use a contractor, check that contract workers are paid at least the same rates.

Worked example

A retailer has stores in Bengaluru (Zone 1) and in a taluk town (Zone 3), each with an unskilled helper.

• Bengaluru helper: at least ₹23,376.43 a month. That is above the ₹21,000 ESI limit, so a new joiner at this wage is outside ESI.
• Taluk helper: at least ₹19,319.36 a month, within ESI: employee 0.75% = ₹145 and employer 3.25% = ₹628 (rounded up).
• A helper paid by the day in Zone 3 for 20 days: ₹743.05 × 20 = ₹14,861.

Press reports say employer bodies have challenged the notification in the High Court; we have not verified any court order, so check for one before paying below these rates.

Compliance checklist for employers

1. Classify every employee in the notification's categories (unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, highly skilled or the staff grades) based on the actual work, not the job title alone.
2. Compare gross wages for normal hours with the rate for the employee's zone, before PF, ESI and other deductions.
3. Revise payroll from the first day of each new rate or VDA period and pay arrears for any period already paid at the old rate.
4. Pay overtime at twice the ordinary rate for work beyond normal hours, as the Code on Wages requires.
5. Keep wage registers and payslips that show the rate, days worked and deductions.

Minimum wage revisions move PF and ESI too: PF is 12% of wages up to ₹25,000, and ESI applies while gross wages are within ₹21,000 a month.

Keep payroll in step with each revision

Check take-home pay with the salary calculator, the employer and employee shares with the PF calculator and ESI calculator, and show every deduction clearly using the salary slip format. FundRaksha HR turns attendance and leave into paid days, calculates salary with PF, ESI, professional tax and TDS, and issues payslip PDFs, so a VDA revision is a rate change in one place rather than in every row of a spreadsheet.

Sources

• karmikaspandana.karnataka.gov.in/uploads/media_to_upload1780292271.pdf