Gig and Platform Worker Agreements in India: What the Social Security Code Changes and How to Contract at Scale
Platforms engaging delivery partners, drivers and freelancers now contract under the Code on Social Security, 2020, in force since November 2025, with aggregator registration duties under the 2026 central rules and a contribution regime awaiting a start date. What the agreement should say and how to manage thousands of them.
Delivery platforms, ride-hailing companies, marketplaces for services and staffing apps engage workers who are neither employees nor conventional contractors. The Code on Social Security, 2020 gave them a legal category and gave aggregators duties. With the Code in force from 21 November 2025 and central rules notified in 2026, the agreement a platform signs with each worker now has a statutory backdrop. This guide covers what has changed and how to contract with thousands of workers without losing control of the paper. Position as of October 2026.
The categories
The Code on Social Security, 2020 defines a "gig worker" (section 2(35)) as a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from it outside the traditional employer-employee relationship, and a "platform worker" (section 2(61)) as a person engaged in platform work. "Aggregators" are digital intermediaries listed in the Seventh Schedule, which covers nine categories including ride sharing, food and grocery delivery, logistics, e-marketplaces, healthcare and travel, with a residual "any other goods and services provider platform".
What the Code and rules require of aggregators
- Registration of workers. Section 113 provides for registration of unorganised, gig and platform workers through self-declaration; the Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026, notified on 8 May 2026, require aggregators to register each new gig or platform worker on the designated portal promptly. ****
- Contributions. Section 114(4) provides for an aggregator contribution at a rate between one and two per cent of annual turnover, "not to exceed five per cent of the amount paid or payable by the aggregator to gig workers and platform workers". Section 114(5) says the commencement of the contribution is to be notified; as of September 2026 commentary reports no notification of a start date or rate. Budget for it; do not yet remit it.
- Schemes. The Central Government may frame social security schemes for gig and platform workers (life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, old age protection).
State legislation (for example in Rajasthan and Karnataka) has separately created gig-worker welfare frameworks with their own levies; platforms operating in those states should track both. ****
The agreement: what it should say
Because the Code recognises the relationship as outside employment, the agreement should describe it accurately rather than disguise it:
- Nature of engagement: independent, non-exclusive, worker decides when and whether to accept tasks; no obligation to offer or accept work. The Supreme Court's tests in Sushilaben Indravadan Gandhi (2020) weigh control, integration and economic reality; the agreement should match the platform's real practices.
- Payment: rate card, incentive rules, payment cycle, deductions, dispute process for payouts.
- Statutory items: registration on the designated portal (and the worker's self-declaration), social security contributions once notified, insurance provided by the platform.
- Conduct and safety: standards, deactivation grounds and process, appeal.
- Data: the platform processes the worker's personal data (identity, location, performance); notice under section 5 of the DPDP Act, 2023 and a lawful basis (consent or the employment-related legitimate use under section 7(i) where applicable) from 13 May 2027; location data needs a specific consent.
- Termination and deactivation: notice, reasons, reactivation.
- Dispute resolution: internal grievance, then the forum the Code and state law provide; arbitration for commercial aspects.
- No post-term non-compete (void under section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872).
Contracting at scale
A platform with 50,000 workers needs:
- One template, versioned, with city or state schedules.
- Onboarding flow: identity verification (Aadhaar offline verification or eSign at signature), bank details, portal registration.
- Electronic acceptance: OTP eSign or platform signature with audit trail, proportionate to the document; Aadhaar eSign where state law or the platform's risk policy requires.
- Re-acceptance campaigns when the template changes (a rule change or a new scheme), with tracking of who has and has not accepted.
- A register of statutory events: registration status per worker, contribution commencement, scheme enrolments, insurance renewals.
- Reports: workers on old template versions; workers not registered on the portal; deactivations pending appeal.
Where Legatio fits. Legatio runs the template, onboarding acceptance, re-acceptance campaigns and the statutory register for high-volume worker agreements, with dispatch and acceptance tracking per worker. The Code's obligations are the platform's.
Position stated as of October 2026. General information; aggregators should confirm the current rules and any state levies with counsel.