Picture an employee who joined in April on a verbal “we’ll send the letter later.” Eight months on, a PF query lands on your desk. Nobody can say which skill category she was hired under, or whether her allowances were meant to count as wages. The offer email is vague and her manager has moved on.
That mess used to be an untidy habit. Since 21 November 2025, when the four Labour Codes came into force, it is a compliance gap. The mandatory appointment letter is now a statutory duty for every employer, and the format is prescribed.
Is a mandatory appointment letter required for every employee in India?
Yes. Section 6 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Code, 2020 requires a written appointment letter for every employee. Rule 6 of the OSH (Central) Rules, 2026, notified on 8 May 2026, says no employee can be employed unless the letter has been issued in the prescribed format.
The Ministry of Labour’s own summary of the OSH Code lists the same duty. Every employee gets a letter in the prescribed format covering their details, designation, category, wages and social security (PIB’s OSH Code summary).
Who must receive one?
Everyone on your rolls. That covers:
- Regular employees
- Fixed-term employees
- Contractual employees
The format asks you to record which of these three the person is, so the law expects all three to hold a letter.
Timing matters too. The letter has to be issued on or before the date of joining, not after the first salary cycle. Existing staff were different: the Code gave employers three months from commencement to cover people already employed, and that window closed in February 2026. Anyone still without a letter is a gap to fix now.
Contract labour needs a separate note. The contractor usually issues the letter, but as principal employer you should check that it was actually done.
What HR must include in a mandatory appointment letter
The central rules set out 16 particulars. Here they are, with the practical note HR teams usually need.
| # | Particular | What to watch |
| 1 | Name of employee | Match it to the Aadhaar and PAN records |
| 2 | Date of birth | Same source documents |
| 3 | Father’s / Mother’s name | Required field, easy to forget |
| 4 | Aadhaar number | Only after obtaining the employee’s consent; keep a record of it |
| 5 | Labour Identification Number (LIN) of the establishment | Comes from your registration on the Shram Suvidha Portal |
| 6 | UAN and/or insurance number | Only “if available”. New joiners often have neither yet |
| 7 | Designation | Use the actual title, not a band or grade code |
| 8 | Type of employment | Regular, fixed-term or contractual |
| 9 | Category of skill | Unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled or highly skilled. It affects minimum wage treatment |
| 10 | Date of joining | The date the person actually starts |
| 11 | Wages: basic pay and dearness allowance | Keep this consistent with your salary structure |
| 12 | Other allowances, including accommodation | List what applies |
| 13 | Social security applicability | EPFO and ESIC coverage |
| 14 | Broad nature of duties | A short description is enough |
| 15 | Maternity benefit under Chapter VI of the Code on Social Security | Applies to women employees |
| 16 | Any other information | Your space for extra terms |
The letter closes with the employer’s signature or digital signature. Digital signing is allowed, which makes issuing letters to a large or remote workforce far easier.
Appointment letter vs offer letter: why one can’t stand in for the other
An offer letter is a proposal. It says: here’s the role, here’s the pay, here’s when we’d like you to start. An appointment letter confirms the employment has begun and records its terms.
Can an old offer letter pass as the appointment letter? Rarely. Look at what the prescribed format asks for: LIN, skill category, employment type, social security applicability, maternity benefit details. Most offer letters skip those entirely. Review your templates side by side with the 16 particulars before deciding anything can be reused.
What to add beyond the 16 particulars
Field 16, “any other information,” is where you can put the terms that prevent disputes later. These are good practice, not a legal requirement under the format:
- Probation period and confirmation conditions
- Notice period and how any shortfall is handled
- Confidentiality and outside-work expectations
- A reference to the HR policies that bind the employee
Keep them short. A letter that runs to eight pages usually gets signed without being read, which defeats the purpose of having one.
Six mistakes HR teams are making right now
Treating the offer letter as done: Covered above, and still the most common one.
Leaving skill category blank: It looks minor. It isn’t, because it links to how wages are assessed.
Taking Aadhaar without recording consent: The format says “after obtaining consent.” Build a consent line into the joining checklist.
Ignoring the salary structure: Basic pay and dearness allowance go into the letter. If your CTC split puts less than half of total pay in basic plus DA, the Code on Wages’ 50% rule is going to catch up with you. Fix the structure and the letter together.
Forgetting the maternity benefit line: Field 15 is easy to drop from a generic template. Women employees’ letters need it.
Filing and forgetting: A signed copy should sit in the employee file and be retrievable in minutes, not days.
How to roll out appointment letters across your workforce
- List every employee without a compliant letter: Pull the headcount from payroll, not from the HR file, because payroll is usually more accurate.
- Collect the missing data: UAN, ESIC number, Aadhaar consent, skill category.
- Build one template from the 16 particulars: Add your extra clauses in field 16 only.
- Issue and collect signatures: Digital signing saves weeks for distributed teams.
- Change the joining workflow: The letter is now a day-one document, so it belongs on the pre-boarding checklist.
One thing to check: state rules
Labour is a concurrent subject in India, so both the Centre and the states frame rules. The Central OSH Rules apply mainly where the Central Government is the appropriate government. For establishments under a state’s authority, check your state labour department’s notified format before you finalise a template. The particulars are likely to look similar, but don’t assume.
Frequently asked questions
Is an appointment letter mandatory for existing employees?
Yes. Employees already on the rolls who never received one should be issued a letter recording their current terms.
When should the letter be issued?
On or before the date of joining. Rule 6 says no employee shall be employed unless the letter has been issued.
Does a fixed-term or contract employee need one?
Yes. The format has a field for the type of employment, and fixed-term and contractual are both listed.
Can the appointment letter be digital?
Yes. The format provides for a signature or digital signature of the employer.
Is the offer letter enough?
Usually not. Most offer letters miss particulars like LIN, skill category and social security applicability.
Where this leaves you
The appointment letter has moved from a courtesy to the first document in every employee’s file. Get the template right once, wire it into your joining process, and clear the backlog for existing staff. After that it stops being a project and becomes routine.
If you’re also reviewing the wider set of people practices around hiring, exits and documentation, our piece on severance planning and workforce strategy covers the exit side of the same paperwork. And if you want an outside view of how your practices measure up, you can apply for Amazing Workplaces certification.
Note: this article is for general HR guidance and isn’t legal advice. Confirm your state’s rules with your labour counsel.
