Kerala minimum wage calculator
Turn the notified daily rate for your scheduled employment into a monthly minimum, a per-employee difference, and an exposure across your payroll. Enter the rates from your own notification — there is no single statewide minimum wage in Kerala, and this tool does not pretend to know which rate applies to you.
This is an information tool, not advice. It performs arithmetic on figures you enter. It does not decide whether a salary structure is lawful, compliant or correct, it is not a substitute for professional advice, and GHR assumes no duty of care to you in respect of it. Position stated as at 2026-09-25.
Why you enter the rate and we do not look it up. Kerala notifies minimum wages for dozens of scheduled employments — shops, hotels, hospitals, security, plantations and many more — and within an employment the rate varies by skill category and area, and is revised by notification. A rate this page supplied could be wrong for your establishment, or out of date, and you would have no way to tell. The one on your notification is the one that applies.
From your notification
What you are paying
Before you use this figure
- · Confirm the scheduled employment and the skill category for each employee. The rate that applies turns on both, and on the area in some employments.
- · Use the notification currently in force. Kerala revises minimum wages by notification, and the VDA component is revised separately, typically twice a year.
- · Minimum wage is a floor. A wage above it is not automatically lawful, and a difference below it is arithmetic rather than a finding — what is recoverable, and over what period, is a question for advice.
- · Employees on piece rates, and those in employments with a consolidated rate, need a different calculation.
Not sure which rate applies to your staff?
GHR maps each employee to the correct scheduled employment, category and area, confirms the current notified rate, and advises on any arrears.
Ask GHR about thisFrequently asked questions
How are Kerala minimum wages set?
By notification for each scheduled employment, with rates that vary by skill category and area, plus Variable Dearness Allowance revised periodically. There is no single statewide minimum wage.
Where do I get the rate to enter?
From the minimum wage notification for your scheduled employment, published by the Kerala Labour Department. The notification states the basic wage for each category, and the VDA is added by separate revision. Enter the basic wage per day and the current VDA per day into the calculator and it will work out the monthly minimum and the difference against what you pay.
Why does the calculator not show the rates itself?
Because it cannot know which rate applies to you. Kerala operates dozens of scheduled employments, each notified separately, with rates varying by skill category and area, revised by notification and with VDA revised again typically twice a year. An earlier version of this page showed a representative table for a few sectors; it could not be traced to a notification and has been withdrawn rather than left for employers to rely on.
What is the consequence of paying below the notified rate?
Paying less than the notified minimum wage for a scheduled employment is an offence under the Code on Wages, 2019, and the shortfall is recoverable. The risk sits with the notified rate, not with the indicative rate shown here.
Does VDA count towards the minimum wage?
Yes. The notified minimum wage is basic wage plus VDA. Paying the basic rate alone, without the applicable VDA, does not satisfy the obligation.