{"id":91046,"date":"2026-11-12T21:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/?p=91046"},"modified":"2026-11-12T21:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T16:00:00","slug":"west-bengal-minimum-wages-july-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/west-bengal-minimum-wages-july-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"West Bengal Minimum Wages from 1 July 2026: Zone A and Zone B Rates for Shops and Offices, and Employer Compliance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>West Bengal revised its minimum wages from 1 July 2026, under a Labour Department notification of 22 June 2026, for the period up to 31 December 2026. For shops and commercial establishments, the monthly minimum in Zone A (municipal corporations, municipalities, notified areas and development authority areas, including Kolkata) is \u20b910,558 for unskilled, \u20b911,615 for semi-skilled, \u20b912,777 for skilled and \u20b914,054 for highly skilled staff.<\/strong> Zone B covers the rest of the state at lower rates. The state revises rates every January and July, so the next change is due from 1 January 2027.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rates for shops and commercial establishments, 1 July to 31 December 2026<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Category<\/th>\n<th>Zone A per month<\/th>\n<th>Zone A per day<\/th>\n<th>Zone B per month<\/th>\n<th>Zone B per day<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Unskilled<\/td>\n<td>\u20b910,558<\/td>\n<td>\u20b9406<\/td>\n<td>\u20b99,760<\/td>\n<td>\u20b9375<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Semi-skilled<\/td>\n<td>\u20b911,615<\/td>\n<td>\u20b9447<\/td>\n<td>\u20b910,733<\/td>\n<td>\u20b9413<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Skilled<\/td>\n<td>\u20b912,777<\/td>\n<td>\u20b9491<\/td>\n<td>\u20b911,807<\/td>\n<td>\u20b9454<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Highly skilled<\/td>\n<td>\u20b914,054<\/td>\n<td>\u20b9541<\/td>\n<td>\u20b912,990<\/td>\n<td>\u20b9500<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rates differ for other scheduled employments, such as construction, hotels and restaurants, security agencies and engineering. Check the schedule for your industry.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Zones<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Zone A:<\/strong> areas under municipal corporations, municipalities, notified areas and development authorities, and thermal power plant townships. Kolkata, Howrah, Bidhannagar (Salt Lake), New Town and most towns fall here.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Zone B:<\/strong> the rest of West Bengal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who is in which category?<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Category<\/th>\n<th>Typical roles in shops and offices<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Unskilled<\/td>\n<td>Peon, cleaner, sweeper, security guard, bearer, messenger<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Semi-skilled<\/td>\n<td>Duftry, assistant accountant<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Skilled<\/td>\n<td>Clerk, typist, office assistant, data entry operator, accountant<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Highly skilled<\/td>\n<td>Head assistant, senior accountant, computer operator, sales representative, office supervisor, godown-in-charge<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Classify by the work actually done, not the designation. An &#8220;office executive&#8221; doing data entry is skilled.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What employers must do<\/h2>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Pay at least the notified rate<\/strong> for the category and zone, from 1 July 2026. Arrears are due if you paid less.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Update payroll each January and July.<\/strong> The rates move with the cost of living.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keep registers and wage slips,<\/strong> and display the notified rates at the workplace.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Check deductions:<\/strong> EPF, ESI, profession tax and labour welfare fund contributions are deducted from wages, but the gross wage must meet the minimum.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Overtime:<\/strong> pay overtime at twice the ordinary rate for work beyond the permitted hours.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new central Labour Codes, in force since 21 November 2025, set a national floor wage and common definitions. State rates continue to apply and cannot fall below the floor.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FAQs<\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the minimum wage in Kolkata from July 2026?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For shops and commercial establishments, \u20b910,558 a month for unskilled staff, rising to \u20b914,054 for highly skilled staff (Zone A).<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How often does West Bengal revise minimum wages?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twice a year, from 1 January and 1 July.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is Kolkata in Zone A?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes. Municipal corporation areas, including Kolkata, are in Zone A.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do minimum wages apply to small offices with two employees?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes. Minimum wages apply regardless of the number of employees.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">TAXAJ runs payroll, EPF, ESI, profession tax and labour compliance for businesses in Kolkata. See our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com\/payroll-hr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">payroll services<\/a> or talk to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com\/ca-in-kolkata\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kolkata team<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/wa.me\/918802912345?text=I%20need%20help%20with%20payroll%20and%20minimum%20wages%20in%20West%20Bengal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WhatsApp our Kolkata team<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-outline\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"tel:+918802812345\">Call 88028 12345<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Last updated 11 November 2026. Sources: West Bengal Labour Department notification on minimum rates of wages effective 1 July 2026 (dated 22 June 2026), as reported by compliance publishers; Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and the Code on Wages, 2019. Verify your industry&#8217;s rates against the official notification. General information only.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>West Bengal minimum wages for shops and commercial establishments from 1 July 2026 to 31 December 2026: Zone A and Zone B monthly and daily rates for unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled staff, who falls in which category, and what employers must do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-payroll"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91046"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91703,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91046\/revisions\/91703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}