Minimum Wages in Tamil Nadu
Minimum wage rates for shops and commercial establishments in Tamil Nadu, by designation and wage zone, with the effective date and the next revision due.
Tamil Nadu minimum wage rates: shops and commercial establishments
Zone A
Corporations and special grade municipalities, including Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem and Tiruchirappalli.
| Designation | Basic | VDA | Total per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manager, sales manager or officer | ₹7,390 | ₹7,353 | ₹14,743 |
| Assistant manager, accountant or supervisor | ₹6,880 | ₹7,353 | ₹14,233 |
| Cashier, clerk, typist or salesman | ₹6,829 | ₹7,353 | ₹14,182 |
| Bill collector, booking clerk or driver | ₹6,767 | ₹7,353 | ₹14,120 |
| Peon, watchman, shop assistant or helper | ₹6,691 | ₹7,353 | ₹14,044 |
Zone B
All other municipalities.
| Designation | Basic | VDA | Total per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manager, sales manager or officer | ₹7,328 | ₹7,353 | ₹14,681 |
| Assistant manager, accountant or supervisor | ₹6,815 | ₹7,353 | ₹14,168 |
| Cashier, clerk, typist or salesman | ₹6,753 | ₹7,353 | ₹14,106 |
| Bill collector, booking clerk or driver | ₹6,691 | ₹7,353 | ₹14,044 |
| Peon, watchman, shop assistant or helper | ₹6,619 | ₹7,353 | ₹13,972 |
Zone C
Townships, town panchayats and cantonments.
| Designation | Basic | VDA | Total per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manager, sales manager or officer | ₹7,264 | ₹7,353 | ₹14,617 |
| Assistant manager, accountant or supervisor | ₹6,753 | ₹7,353 | ₹14,106 |
| Cashier, clerk, typist or salesman | ₹6,680 | ₹7,353 | ₹14,033 |
| Bill collector, booking clerk or driver | ₹6,619 | ₹7,353 | ₹13,972 |
| Peon, watchman, shop assistant or helper | ₹6,541 | ₹7,353 | ₹13,894 |
Zone D
Rural areas and villages outside municipal governance.
| Designation | Basic | VDA | Total per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manager, sales manager or officer | ₹7,214 | ₹7,353 | ₹14,567 |
| Assistant manager, accountant or supervisor | ₹6,691 | ₹7,353 | ₹14,044 |
| Cashier, clerk, typist or salesman | ₹6,619 | ₹7,353 | ₹13,972 |
| Bill collector, booking clerk or driver | ₹6,553 | ₹7,353 | ₹13,906 |
| Peon, watchman, shop assistant or helper | ₹6,470 | ₹7,353 | ₹13,823 |
Rates cover shops and commercial establishments only. Other employments notified in Tamil Nadu carry their own notified rates, which are usually higher. Verify against the state notification before running payroll.
How Tamil Nadu sets minimum wages
Governing law
Code on Wages, 2019, in force from 21 November 2025. The rates below come from notification Z3/3459/2026 dated 18 February 2026, issued by the Commissioner of Labour, Chennai after the Code commenced.
Employment covered
Shops and commercial establishments
Revision cycle
Annual, effective 1 April
Tamil Nadu is unusual in grading shop and establishment wages by job designation instead of the unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled ladder most states use, so payroll mapped to skill categories elsewhere has to be re-mapped to job titles here. The dearness allowance of ₹7,353 a month is uniform across every zone and designation, computed on an average consumer price index of 344 points at ₹40.18 per point. Because the allowance is more than half the total in every band, the spread between the highest and lowest paid designation is under ₹1,000 a month. Basic and dearness allowance are notified as separate components, and section 50 of the Code on Wages, 2019 requires the employer to issue wage slips in the prescribed form and to display category-wise wage rates on the notice board.
Frequently asked questions: Tamil Nadu minimum wages
What is the minimum wage in Tamil Nadu?
How are Tamil Nadu minimum wages structured?
What are the minimum wage zones in Tamil Nadu?
How is the Tamil Nadu dearness allowance calculated?
Minimum wages in other states
Keep minimum wages current without tracking notifications
Engage HRMS applies the right minimum wage by work location and skill category, and flags employees who fall below the floor when a state issues its next revision.
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