Gig and Platform Workers in India — Rights, Social Security, and the Code on Social Security 2020

This article is for educational and legal awareness purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice or solicitation. Please consult a qualified advocate for advice on specific legal matters.

Introduction

Drivers on ride-hailing apps, delivery executives for food and grocery platforms, freelancers on digital marketplaces — the “gig” and “platform” workforce — sat almost entirely outside traditional labour law, which is built around an “employee” working under an “employer”. The Code on Social Security, 2020 (Act 36 of 2020) is the first central statute to define “gig worker” and “platform worker” and provide a framework for social-security schemes covering them.

This article sets out the statutory definitions, what the Code provides, the role of e-Shram and the National Social Security Board, aggregator contribution obligations, the dedicated State legislation in Rajasthan and Karnataka, and the pending IFAT writ petition.

Statutory Definitions

”Gig Worker” — Section 2(35) of the Code

“Gig worker” means a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of traditional employer-employee relationship.

The hallmark is the absence of the traditional employer-employee relationship — piece-rate, task-based work without a contract of employment in the conventional sense.

”Platform Work” and “Platform Worker” — Section 2(60) and (61)

“Platform work” means a work arrangement outside of a traditional employer-employee relationship in which organisations or individuals use an online platform to access other organisations or individuals to solve specific problems or to provide specific services or any such other activities which may be notified by the Central Government, in exchange for payment.

“Platform worker” means a person engaged in or undertaking platform work.

Every platform worker is a gig worker; not every gig worker is a platform worker. A plumber found by word of mouth is a gig worker; the same plumber engaged through an app aggregator is a platform worker.

”Aggregator” — Section 2(2) and the Seventh Schedule

“Aggregator” means a digital intermediary or a market place for a buyer or user of a service to connect with the seller or the service provider.

The Seventh Schedule to the Code lists categories of aggregators, including ride-sharing services, food and grocery delivery services, logistics services, e-marketplaces for both goods and services, professional services, healthcare, travel and hospitality, content and media services, and any other goods and services provider platform.

The Code consolidates nine earlier labour-welfare statutes (EPF Act 1952, ESI Act 1948, Maternity Benefit Act 1961, Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act 2008, among others). Chapter IX (Sections 109–114) is dedicated to unorganised workers, gig workers, and platform workers.

Section 109 — Schemes for Unorganised Workers

The Centre (and States) may frame schemes on life and disability cover, health and maternity benefits, old-age protection, education, housing, and any other benefit.

Section 114 — Schemes for Gig and Platform Workers

The Central Government may frame schemes on life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, old-age protection, crèche, and any other benefit. Funding may come from the Centre, States, aggregators, and beneficiaries. Section 114(3) authorises aggregator contributions as a percentage of annual turnover.

Aggregator Funding — Section 114(4)

The aggregator contribution must be between 1 per cent and 2 per cent of annual turnover, as notified by the Centre, subject to an outer cap of 5 per cent of the amount paid or payable by the aggregator to gig and platform workers. This is the statutory backbone of the much-discussed “1–2% of turnover” aggregator levy.

Section 6 — Constitution and Functions

Section 6 constitutes a National Social Security Board to recommend social-security schemes for unorganised, gig, and platform workers, monitor their implementation, and advise the Centre on administration of the Code. The Board includes representatives of aggregators, gig workers, platform workers, and unorganised workers alongside Central and State nominees — a statutory voice for the workforce in scheme design.

Registration — The e-Shram Portal

Any scheme needs an identifiable beneficiary base. The Ministry of Labour and Employment’s e-Shram portal (https://eshram.gov.in) is the national database of unorganised workers, including gig and platform workers. Registration is free and yields a 12-digit Universal Account Number (UAN) on the e-Shram card.

Eligibility for e-Shram Registration

Age between 16 and 59 years.
Not a member of EPFO or ESIC.
Aadhaar-linked mobile number.
Bank account in the worker’s name.

Registration enables access to schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (accident insurance) and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (life insurance), and any future schemes notified under Section 114 of the Code.

Status of Implementation

The Code received Presidential assent on 28 September 2020 but full operationalisation has been staggered. Several States have notified Rules; the Centre’s draft Rules are in consultation; Section 114 schemes and aggregator-contribution modalities are being phased in through subordinate legislation.

Until the Section 114 scheme is fully operational, gig and platform workers rely on:

e-Shram registration and the linked PMSBY/PMJJBY benefits.
State-level schemes (Rajasthan, Karnataka — see below).
Existing welfare schemes available to all unorganised workers.

State Initiatives — Rajasthan and Karnataka

Two States have moved ahead of the Centre:

Rajasthan Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023

The first State statute in India for platform-based gig workers. It provides for mandatory State registration, a Welfare Board with worker and aggregator representation, a welfare fee on aggregator transactions credited to a State Welfare Fund, and a grievance-redressal mechanism.

Welfare board, welfare fee, and grievance redressal on similar lines. The Karnataka Act notably introduces a due-process requirement before deactivation of a worker’s account by an aggregator — addressing one of the most significant practical grievances of platform workers: sudden, opaque de-platforming.

Uttar Pradesh has not enacted comparable State legislation; UP gig and platform workers fall under the Central framework of the Code on Social Security, 2020 supplemented by existing unorganised-worker schemes.

Judicial Recognition — IFAT and Notice to the Centre

In Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) v. Union of India, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1068 of 2021, gig-worker federations seek recognition as “workmen” or “employees” and consequent application of labour-welfare statutes. The Supreme Court has issued notice and directed the Centre to clarify the steps taken to extend social-security cover under the Code. The matter remains pending; the eventual ruling is expected to shape the “employee vs. independent contractor” question in Indian gig-economy law.

Comparatively, Uber BV v. Aslam, [2021] UKSC 5 (United Kingdom) and several European labour-tribunal decisions have recognised platform workers as workers entitled to minimum wage and paid leave. Indian courts have not yet definitively ruled, but the statutory recognition in the Code on Social Security, 2020 points toward increasing protection.

Aggregator Obligations Under Existing Law

Even before Section 114 schemes are notified, aggregators are subject to a patchwork:

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (as amended in 2019) — ride-hailing aggregators must be licensed under State Aggregator Rules; obligations on driver verification, insurance, and consumer grievance redressal.
Consumer Protection Act, 2019 — aggregator liability as “intermediary” or “service provider” for deficient services through the platform.
Information Technology Act, 2000 — Section 79 intermediary safe-harbour, conditional on due-diligence under the Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021.

These laws regulate the consumer-facing side and do not confer social-security rights on the gig worker — the gap the Code on Social Security, 2020 begins to fill.

Common Grievances and Available Remedies

Sudden de-platforming or account deactivation

In Karnataka, the State Act requires due process before deactivation — the worker can approach the State Welfare Board / grievance mechanism.
Elsewhere, remedies lie under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, in contract, or — rarely — under Article 226 where the platform is a State instrumentality.

Non-payment for completed work

A civil suit for recovery; or a consumer-forum complaint where the aggregator is a service provider.
A police complaint under Section 318 BNS (cheating) lies where the non-payment is fraudulent.

Accidents while on duty

e-Shram registration triggers PMSBY accidental insurance cover.
Notified Section 114 schemes will provide accident cover once operational.
In Rajasthan and Karnataka, the State Welfare Board may cover medical expenses.
A Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 claim against the at-fault party for road accidents.

Maternity benefits

Section 114(2) lists maternity benefits as an eligible head — schemes once notified will extend such benefits to platform workers.

Important Points to Remember

“Gig worker” and “platform worker” are now statutory categories under the Code on Social Security, 2020 — no longer a legal vacuum.
e-Shram (https://eshram.gov.in) is the entry point for existing unorganised-worker welfare schemes.
Under Section 114, aggregators may be required to contribute 1–2% of annual turnover to gig/platform-worker social security, subject to the 5%-of-payouts outer cap.
The National Social Security Board (Section 6) recommends and monitors schemes covering gig and platform workers.
Dedicated State Acts: Rajasthan (2023), Karnataka (2024–25); Uttar Pradesh has not enacted one.
The pending IFAT writ before the Supreme Court is expected to settle the recognition of gig workers as workmen under other labour-welfare statutes.
Workers should preserve platform communications, payouts, ratings, and deactivation notices — primary evidence in any grievance, consumer complaint, or writ.

Useful Resources

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