PM Modi's work from home call for austerity: Can your company deny you WFH? Labour laws explained

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday doubled down on his austerity push and appealed to people to opt for work from home, among other measures such as avoiding destination weddings abroad and reducing consumption of edible oils.

The PM reiterated his call for reduced fuel consumption, greater use of public transport and electric vehicles by citizens, and urged people to defer gold purchases in view of the ongoing West Asia crisis.

India relies heavily on Strait of Hormuz for crude oil and gas imports. The Strait has been badly hit by the conflict between US-Israel and Iran, with tightened control over vessel crisis.

PM Modi's appeal to return to the 'Covid-era measure' of working from home has left employees wondering whether India's labour laws have a separate framework allowing WFH.

Indian labour laws and work from home

As of now, the labour laws in India do not provide any legal right to the employees to work from home. Such arrangements are mainly governed by an employment contract, company/HR policy, collective agreement between the employee and the employer, or a government notification.

Employers generally have the right to decide attendance rules and location of the employee, based on Indian contract rules.

For white-collar jobs in India, the key legal framework remains state-level Shops and Establishments laws which regulate working hours, leave, overtime, employee welfare, and workplace conditions. However, none of them currently give employees right to work from home.

What do new labour codes say about WFH?

The Central government has fully operationalised the four labour codes by publishing the final rules, ensuring minimum wage and universal social security for all workers.

The four codes -- namely the Code on Wages, 2019; the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; the Code on Social Security, 2020; and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 -- came into effect from November 21, 2025.

The new codes, for the first time, formally recognise remote work and hybrid work, but there is no mention of right to work from home for employees.

How WFH was enforced during Covid?

The Covid-19 pandemic was the first instance of work from home being adopted globally, in order to contain the spread of the corona virus.

During the pandemic, Union and State governments used emergency powers under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and State disaster-management regulations to make WFH legally enforceable.

The Union Home Ministry had also issued binding guidelines asking offices to operate remotely wherever possible.

Exceptions

In absence of a separate law concerning WFH arrangement, employers can legally ask employees to work from office.

However, there are some situations when employees may have stronger grounds to request flexible work arrangements. Under laws related to disability accommodation, maternity protection, workplace safety, or medical needs, employees can ask for WFH or remote work arrangements.

For example, Section 5(5) of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 specifically allows employers and employees to mutually agree on WFH arrangements after childbirth.

These laws, however, do not mandate universal right to work from home and are only exceptions.