To make it easier for employees to grasp the work requirements and the perks that come with them, the new labour code from the central government now requires employers to provide appointment letters in a specific format. Previously only certain industries had to follow this rule, which led to some confusion for employees in informal, traditional or semi-organised sectors.
Now that all employers must use this standard format for appointment letters, employees can look forward to receiving a standard appointment letter which specifies all details such as the employee’s designation, category, wages, applicable social security benefits (including EPFO and ESIC entitlements), allowances, and a general view of their responsibilities.
Keep reading to know what Rule 6 of the central government labour code entails and how it can help employees.
What does Rule 6 say about appointment letters
Moksha Bhat, Managing Partner, AP & Partners said to ET Wealth Online that Rule 6 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 requires employers to issue appointment letters in a prescribed format, including details such as the employee’s designation, category, wages, applicable social security benefits (including EPFO and ESIC entitlements), allowances, and the broad nature of duties.
Preetha Soman, Partner, JSA Advocates & Solicitors, explained to ET Wealth Online that the old labour law and its rules mandated a prescribed standard appointment letter only in limited and sector-specific circumstances. But now this has been extended to all companies.
According to Soman, the prescribed format is designed to ensure that the foundational terms of employment including the employee's designation, wages, nature of appointment, place of work, and other key conditions of service are formally recorded and communicated in writing before work commences.
Also read: New labour code: 3 employee-friendly changes that could make working life easier
Do all companies need to follow the central government’s labour code rule 6 for issuing appointment letters?
The new labour code and the central government rules requires the appropriate government to prescribe the format of the appointment letter. This means companies which are governed by state government labour code and rules don’t need to follow Rule 6 until the state government notifies it.
Soman says that employers in the private sector for whom the "appropriate government" is a state government will instead be governed by the respective state-level OSH rules (labour code rules) once notified by each state, and the Central Rules prescribed appointment letter format will not automatically apply to them.
How it can help employees
The practical significance of this requirement will, however, vary across sectors. Soman from JSA explains how the standardised appointment letter can help employees:
Reducing scope of ambiguity or dispute about basic terms of employment
The prescribed format of appointment letters reduces the scope for ambiguity or disputes regarding the basic terms of the employment relationship besides ensuring that employees have a clear written record of their engagement.
Employees working in traditional, informal, or semi-organised sectors can benefit more
In most of the organised and corporate sector, employers already issue detailed appointment letters or employment contracts that comprehensively document the terms of employment.
For such employers, the requirement largely reinforces and formalises what is already standard practice, while ensuring a baseline of statutory minimum disclosures.
The more transformative impact is likely to be felt in traditional, informal, or semi-organised sectors, and in segments of the workforce where formal written employment documentation has often been lacking or inconsistent; these are exactly the situations where disputes over service conditions and entitlements are most common, and where employees are most vulnerable.
In these scenarios, the mandated appointment letter format represents a meaningful step towards greater formalisation, transparency, and accountability in employment practices.
