HR and Payroll Glossary for Indian Employers
Last updated: 13 July 2026
A plain glossary of the HR, payroll and compliance terms an Indian employer runs into, from provident fund and ESI to leave types and salary components. Each entry keeps to the facts and points to a deeper guide where Offrd has one.
Statutory and compliance
Professional tax is a small tax on income from a job or profession that some Indian states levy.
TDS on salary is the income tax an employer deducts from an employee's pay each month and deposits with the government.
The Universal Account Number, or UAN, is a 12 digit number the EPFO gives every provident fund member.
Statutory bonus is a yearly bonus that eligible employees must be paid under the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965.
Minimum wage is the lowest pay an employer may legally pay a worker for a category of work.
The Labour Welfare Fund is a state run fund that pays for worker welfare, such as education, medical help and recreation.
The Electronic Challan cum Return, or ECR, is the monthly provident fund return an employer files on the EPFO Unified Portal.
Form 24Q is the quarterly return an employer files to report the TDS deducted on salaries.
The Shops and Establishments Act is a state law that governs how commercial workplaces run.
The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 governs workers a company hires through a contractor rather than on its own rolls.
Overtime is the extra pay a worker earns for hours worked beyond the normal limit.
Salary and payroll
Gross salary is an employee's total earnings before any deductions.
Net salary is the amount an employee actually receives in the bank after all deductions.
Basic salary is the fixed core of an employee's pay, before allowances.
A perquisite is a non cash benefit an employer gives on top of salary, such as a company car, rent free housing or stock options.
Salary arrears are wages that belong to an earlier period but are paid later, often after a delayed increment or a backdated revision.
Leave encashment is payment for earned leave an employee has not used.
The payroll cycle is the repeating process of working out and paying salaries for a period, almost always a calendar month in India.
An ex gratia payment is money an employer gives voluntarily, without any legal duty to pay it.
Loss of pay, or LOP, is a deduction from salary for days an employee is absent without enough paid leave to cover them.
Pro rata salary is pay worked out in proportion to the days actually worked, rather than a full month.
Salary deductions are the amounts taken out of gross pay before an employee is paid.
HR documents and lifecycle
A salary certificate is a signed statement from an employer confirming an employee's pay and role.
Attendance and leave
A muster roll is the register that records which workers were present on each day, and often the wages tied to that attendance.
Casual leave, or CL, is short notice paid leave for personal needs, such as a family errand or a brief illness.
Sick leave, or SL, is paid leave for illness or medical recovery.
Earned leave, also called privilege leave, is paid leave an employee builds up with service.
Compensatory off, or comp off, is a day off given in return for working on a weekly off, a holiday, or beyond normal hours.
Paternity leave is time off for a new father around the birth of a child.
Attendance regularization is the process of correcting an attendance record when a genuine day was missed or marked wrong, such as a forgotten check in or an on duty visit.
Frequently asked questions
What is this glossary for?
It explains the HR, payroll and compliance terms an Indian employer meets, in plain language. Each entry is short, factual, and links to a deeper Offrd guide where there is one.
Does Offrd do everything defined here?
No. Some terms, such as ECR and Form 24Q, are filings a company's accountant handles. The glossary marks those clearly. Offrd focuses on documents, payroll records, attendance and policies.
How often is the glossary updated?
Entries are dated. We revise a definition when the underlying rule changes, such as a labour code or a statutory figure.
How Offrd helps
Offrd turns these terms into the actual paperwork, offer letters, payslips with PF, ESI and professional tax, attendance, and full and final settlements, for Indian SMEs.