India Introduces New Social Security Rules for Gig Workers

The Indian government has introduced new rules under the Code on Social Security, requiring gig and platform workers to work for at least 90 days annually with an aggregator to be eligible for social security benefits. The threshold is raised to 120 days for workers engaged with multiple aggregators.

The rules, which will affect workers with companies such as Swiggy, Zomato, Uber, Ola, and Rapido, define an eligible gig and platform worker as anyone engaged by an aggregator directly or through an associate company.

The rules also put the onus on aggregators to upload details of every gig worker engaged with them on the central government portal within 45 days, including registering all new appointments and exits on a real-time or daily basis.

The government will issue identity cards to each eligible registered gig and platform worker, and aggregators will face an annual interest of 12% if they fail to contribute towards social security benefits.

The rules will be implemented by the states, which will notify their own rules based on the central guidelines. The court is expected to review the implementation of the rules, and the government will monitor compliance by aggregators.