Telangana Gig Workers Act: 7 Day Deactivation Notice

Last reviewed: 3 September 2026.

A deactivation in Telangana is no longer just a private business decision by an app. The State has a law that names blocking, deactivating and suspending an account as a termination, and then puts written conditions on it.

Status note: this Act was published in the Telangana Gazette on 28 April 2026. Section 1(3) leaves the date it comes into force to a separate Government notification, and we could not confirm that notification while preparing this page. Read the section on what has not been switched on yet before you rely on a deadline.

Most riders and delivery partners are never told they have been terminated. The account simply goes quiet, or a screen says the ID is under review. That gap is exactly what the definition clause closes.

Section 2® of the Act defines Termination as materially restricting the platform based gig worker from having access to the platform, including blocking, deactivating or suspending access to his account, or making him ineligible to provide services on or through the platform, irrespective of the period of such restriction.

Three things follow from that one sentence.

• A temporary block counts. The words are irrespective of the period of such restriction, so a seven day suspension is not outside the section.
• What the app calls it does not decide the question. The test is whether your access has been materially restricted.
• Being made ineligible for orders, without any formal removal, is inside the definition too.

Section 14 is short enough to read in full. It says an aggregator or platform may terminate a platform based gig worker by following the principles of natural justice after due enquiry only by giving valid reason or reasons in writing and with prior notice of seven days. It then adds one exception: where a threat, physical or mental, is foreseen to the end consumer, the worker may be terminated immediately.

So a lawful termination under this Act has four ingredients, not one.

Notice how narrow the exception is. It is about a threat to the customer. It is not a general escape hatch for fraud allegations, low ratings, a cancellation rate, a rejected order or a customer complaint you were never shown.

Do this in order, and do it in writing. Paper is the whole game here.

1. Screenshot everything before it disappears. The block message, the date and time, your worker ID, your last transaction statement and your earnings summary. App history is often the first thing you lose.
2. Ask the platform, in writing, for the section 14 written reasons. Say plainly that you are asking for the valid reasons in writing and the seven days prior notice that section 14 of the Telangana Platform Based Gig Workers Act, Act No. 21 of 2026, requires. Keep the ticket number.
3. Use the point of contact the Act makes them give you. Section 17 requires each aggregator to designate a person as a point of contact with a dedicated facilitation centre, to give that contact information on your account inside the app, and to let you communicate in Telugu, English or another language listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution that you know.
4. Ask what the machine decided and why. Section 12(1) requires the aggregator to tell you, in simple language and in Telugu, Hindi or another Eighth Schedule language known to you, the procedure to seek information about the automated monitoring and decision making systems that affect your working conditions, including fares, earnings and customer feedback.
5. Take it to the Internal Dispute Resolution Committee. Section 24 requires every aggregator with at least one hundred registered platform based gig workers to constitute one. Schedule II lists the disputes you can raise there, and item 3 is exactly this situation: the aggregator terminates work without notice, in violation of section 14. Item 4 covers a failure to pay out as per contract or to give reasons for deductions.
6. Hold them to thirty days. Section 24(3) says the Committee shall complete its proceedings within thirty days of receiving a written complaint.
7. Then the Grievance Redressal Officer. Section 22 lets a registered worker apply in the prescribed format, in person, through the web portal or by any other mode. Section 22(4) requires a reasoned order, in compliance with natural justice, within thirty days of the application.
8. Then appeal. Section 23 gives an appeal to an Appellate Authority in the cadre of Deputy Commissioner or equivalent, and you have ninety days from the date of the order to file it. Use the Timeline Tracker so a limitation date does not quietly expire.

One honest caveat before you rely on steps 7 and 8. The Grievance Redressal Officer under section 22(1) and the Appellate Authority under section 23(1) both have to be appointed by a Government notification. Read the section below on what has not been switched on yet.

Section 15 is the income security clause, and it has two limbs that a lot of workers never hear about.

• Deductions must be explained. Section 15(1) says that where there are deductions from payments, the aggregator or platform must inform you about the reasons for those deductions from the transaction statement for the work you performed. Your transaction statement is therefore evidence, not just a receipt.
• Pay on time is a statutory duty. The same sub section says every aggregator or platform shall mandatorily make pay out as per the contract, with no delay in disbursal of pay.
• The welfare fee is not yours to pay. Section 15(2) says the welfare fee payable by the aggregator or platform under this Act shall not be deducted from any amount payable to the gig worker on the basis of contracts or terms of service that existed before the Act commenced. If a platform tells you the levy is coming out of your payout, ask it which provision allows that.

Two neighbouring sections are worth knowing in the same breath.

Section 13(2) says that once a contract is entered into, the aggregator must notify you of any change in the contract terms, or any material change in the automated monitoring and decision making system, not less than fourteen days before the proposed change. You may then choose to end the contract, without adverse consequences for entitlements you had already earned under the previous contract.

Section 13(3)(b) says the terms must explicitly provide for your right to decline or refuse any task or assignment offered, without adverse consequences, unless the Act or the rules say otherwise. Section 13(3)(a) requires the terms to spell out the piece rate or time rate norms, the payments, the deductions, the incentives and the method of calculating your remuneration. Section 12(2) requires the aggregator to take measures to stop the automated systems from discriminating on religion, race, caste, gender, place of birth or disability.

This is the part where careful reading matters most, because the number circulating online is not in the statute.

Section 19(1) establishes the Telangana Platform Based Gig Workers Social Security and Welfare Fund. It is fed by the welfare fund fee levied under the Act, contributions to specific schemes, grants in aid from the State and Central Governments, Corporate Social Responsibility funds within the meaning of the Companies Act, 2013, and any grants, gifts, donations or bequests. Section 19(2) caps administrative spending at not more than 5 per cent of annual receipts, with the prior approval of the Board.

Section 20(1) charges the fee to the aggregator or platform at such rate and in such manner as may be notified by the Government from time to time. Section 20(2) lets the Government notify different rates for different categories of aggregator, having regard to the nature of the services provided as classified in Schedule I. That Schedule covers ride sharing, food and grocery delivery, logistics, e marketplaces, professional activity providers, healthcare, travel and hospitality, and content and media services.

We are not printing a percentage on this page, because the Act does not contain one. The rate lives in a notification that has to be issued separately. Anyone quoting you a firm figure should be able to show you that gazette notification, with its number and date.

What the Act does fix is the plumbing around the rate. Section 20(3) leaves the collecting authority, manner and time to the rules. Section 20(4) requires the aggregator to deposit the fee at the end of the month. Section 20(5) makes a late paying platform liable to simple interest from the due date until actual payment, at a rate the State Government notifies. Section 20(6) counts the welfare fee collected towards the contribution payable under section 114(4) of the Code on Social Security, 2020, so the State levy and the central obligation are reconciled rather than stacked.

Section 21 is the transparency piece. It requires all payments made to platform based gig workers to be mapped on to a Welfare Fund Fee Verification System on a real time basis, administered by the Government and monitored by the Board, with the details of fee collected and spent disclosed on that system in real time.

And section 26(1) puts a price on default by the platform. Where an aggregator fails to pay the fee within the prescribed time, the fine is Rs 50,000 for the first contravention, Rs 1,00,000 for the second, Rs 1,50,000 for the third, and five times the fee due for the fourth and every later contravention. Section 26(2) adds a fine of up to Rs 50,000 for failing to file a required return, report or statement. Section 26(3) allows recovery under sections 461 to 462 read with section 471 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. Read that ladder correctly: it is a penalty on the aggregator for not funding the pot, not a sum any individual worker collects.

A statute is not the same thing as a working benefit, and this Act is unusually honest about how much of it waits on a notification.

Two clocks in the Act are keyed to commencement rather than to any calendar date. Section 10(2) gives aggregators forty five days from the commencement of the Act to hand the Board their full database of onboarded workers. Section 11(1) gives them forty five days from commencement to register themselves with the Board. Section 10(3) then requires data on newly onboarded workers to reach the Board within thirty days, with quarterly updates.

The Act carries the assent of the Governor dated 25 April 2026 and was first published in the Telangana Gazette, Part IV-B Extraordinary, No. 211, dated 28 April 2026. We could not confirm a commencement notification under section 1(3) from a Government source while preparing this page. That is a question for the Labour Department, and the sample application below asks it directly. Until that notification issues, the duties above are printed law rather than a switched on obligation, and the forty five day clocks have not started.

Both States legislated for the same problem, but the details differ and the differences matter.

• The notice period is different. Telangana section 14 fixes seven days. Karnataka works to a longer period, and its own page carries the number.
• The exception is drawn differently. In Telangana the single carve out for immediate termination is a foreseen physical or mental threat to the end consumer.
• The rate is drawn differently. Telangana leaves the fee rate entirely to a notification and expressly allows different rates for different Schedule I categories. Karnataka fixed a statutory band inside the Act itself.
• The dispute route is written into a Schedule. Telangana lists the raisable disputes in Schedule II, which is why item 3, termination without notice, is such a usable reference in a complaint.

For the Karnataka position, see the Karnataka gig workers deactivation and welfare fee page. For the central layer that sits underneath both, see gig and platform worker social security in India.

To
The Public Information Officer
Labour, Employment, Training and Factories Department
Government of Telangana
Secretariat, Hyderabad, Telangana

Subject: Information under Section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005
regarding the Telangana Platform Based Gig Workers Act, Act No. 21 of 2026

Sir/Madam,

Please provide the following information:

1. A copy of the notification issued under Section 1(3) of the said Act
   appointing the date on which the Act, or any of its provisions, comes
   into force, with the notification number and date. If no such
   notification has been issued till date, please state so.

2. A copy of the notification issued under Section 20(1) of the said Act
   specifying the rate and manner of the Welfare Fund Fee, and any
   notification under Section 20(2) specifying different rates for
   different categories of aggregators or platforms, with numbers and
   dates. If no such notification has been issued, please state so.

3. Whether the Telangana Platform Based Gig Workers Social Security and
   Welfare Board has been constituted by notification under Section 3(1)
   of the said Act, and if so, a copy of that notification and the present
   list of members.

4. The name, designation and office address of the Grievance Redressal
   Officer appointed under Section 22(1) and of the Appellate Authority
   appointed under Section 23(1) of the said Act, with copies of the
   appointment notifications.

5. A copy of the rules framed under Section 35 of the said Act, and the
   date on which the draft rules were published for previous publication
   under Section 37.

6. Whether the Welfare Fund Fee Verification System under Section 21 of
   the said Act is operational, and the total amount of Welfare Fund Fee
   credited to the Fund established under Section 19, aggregator wise and
   month wise, till the date of this application.

7. The number of aggregators or platforms registered with the Board under
   Section 11 and the number of platform based gig workers registered
   under Section 10, till the date of this application.

If any part of this request is held by another public authority, please
transfer that part under Section 6(3) of the RTI Act, 2005 within five days.

I enclose the prescribed application fee. Please supply the information
within 30 days as required by Section 7(1).

Yours faithfully,
[Name]
[Full postal address]
[Phone / email]
[Place, Date]

Silence for thirty days is a deemed refusal, and you can then file a first appeal. The AI RTI Drafter will format the application for you, the First Appeal Builder handles the next stage, and how to file an RTI in India explains the basics. Telangana specific filing detail sits on filing an RTI in Telangana, and the fee for your State is on the state wise RTI fees page. For the full method, work through The RTI Playbook.

• Treating a temporary block as something the law does not cover. Section 2® says irrespective of the period of such restriction.
• Accepting a verbal or chat bot reason. Section 14 requires valid reasons in writing. Ask for them in writing and keep the ticket number.
• Assuming a customer complaint is the section 14 exception. The exception is a foreseen physical or mental threat to the end consumer, not any complaint at all.
• Quoting a welfare fee percentage. The Act does not contain one. Section 20(1) leaves the rate to a notification.
• Letting the platform deduct the welfare fee from your payout. Section 15(2) says the fee payable by the aggregator shall not be deducted from any amount payable to you on the basis of pre commencement contracts.
• Skipping the Internal Dispute Resolution Committee. Section 24 makes it compulsory for aggregators with at least one hundred registered workers, and Schedule II tells you which disputes belong there.
• Missing the ninety day appeal window. Section 23(2) counts it from the date of the Grievance Redressal Officer order.
• Assuming the Act is fully operational. Commencement, the Board, the fee rate and both grievance authorities all depend on notifications under sections 1(3), 3(1), 20(1), 22(1) and 23(1).

Section 1(3) says the Act comes into force on such date as the State Government may appoint by notification in the Telangana Gazette, and that different dates may be appointed for different provisions. The Act received the assent of the Governor on 25 April 2026 and was published in the Telangana Gazette on 28 April 2026, but publication of the Act is not the same as a commencement notification. We could not confirm that notification from a Government source, so ask for it by RTI using the application above.

On the text of section 14, no. A termination requires a due enquiry, compliance with the principles of natural justice, valid reasons in writing and seven days prior notice. The only case where immediate termination is allowed is where a physical or mental threat to the end consumer is foreseen.

It counts. Section 2® defines termination to include blocking, deactivating or suspending access to your account, or making you ineligible to provide services, irrespective of the period of such restriction.

The Act does not fix a figure. Section 20(1) says the fee is payable at such rate and in such manner as may be notified by the Government from time to time, and section 20(2) allows different rates for different categories of aggregator classified in Schedule I. Until that notification is published, there is no legal rate to quote.

Section 15(2) says the welfare fee payable by the aggregator or platform under the Act shall not be deducted from any amount payable to the gig worker on the basis of contracts or terms and conditions of service prior to the commencement of the Act. The levy is charged to the platform.

Section 1(4) applies it to aggregators and platforms operating in Telangana, and to those operating elsewhere in India or overseas while rendering services in Telangana that are listed in Schedule I, and to every platform based gig worker registered with the Board under section 10. Schedule I lists ride sharing, food and grocery delivery, logistics, e marketplaces, professional activity providers, healthcare, travel and hospitality, content and media services, and any other goods and services provider platform.

Section 8(b) normally ties access to schemes to a minimum number of transactions in a quarter, as notified by the Board. The proviso to that clause removes the minimum transaction requirement where a platform based gig worker dies during the course of work. The schemes themselves still have to be notified under section 3(2).

No. The proviso to section 8 says nothing in the Act affects any right, benefit or protection conferred on platform based gig workers by any other law in force, and section 33 says the Act is in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other law for the time being in force.

No. The route this Act builds for a deactivation is the ladder in sections 22, 23 and 24, and that is where a dispute listed in Schedule II belongs. But section 33 says the provisions of the Act are in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other law for the time being in force, and the proviso to section 8 protects rights you already hold elsewhere. If your grievance is really about a service you paid for rather than about your work, our guide on how to file a consumer court case covers that separate forum.

• The Telangana Platform Based Gig Workers Registration, Social Security and Welfare Act, 2026, Act No. 21 of 2026, gazette text mirrored by PRS Legislative Research - every section quoted on this page was read in this text, which carries the running header The Telangana Gazette, Part IV-B Extraordinary, No. 211, Hyderabad, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, and records the assent of the Governor on 25 April 2026.
• Telangana set to roll out gig workers welfare law from Aug 15, Siasat, 4 August 2026 - reporting that the Act had not yet been brought into force as at that date. Used only for context, not for any statutory claim on this page.
• The Right to Information Act, 2005 - sections 6(1), 6(3) and 7(1) used in the sample application.