Two recent rulings change how employers should approach gratuity at the edges. The first concerns eligibility: who has served long enough to qualify. The second concerns liability: who must pay when the worker was engaged through a contractor. The rulings address one question each. Both set aside orders of gratuity authorities in the employer’s favour, and both are short orders whose reach is narrower than their outcome suggests.

Notification No. 1607-F.T. dated 16 September 2026: lower deductions for most employees from 1 October 2026, and a simpler income- and turnover-based structure with a longer flat-rate list from 1 April 2027

The EPFO has issued consolidated FAQs on the enhanced wage ceiling of Rs 25,000, and the PF authorities have confirmed their contents.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has published corrigenda to the three social security schemes notified on 29 June 2026. Most of the corrections are typographical.

On 20 August 2026, a nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court delivered its judgment in State of Uttar Pradesh v Jai Bir Singh, resolving a reference that had been pending in one form or another since 2002.