4 skill categories for minimum wages
Unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled. A government fixing a rate goes primarily by these, or by area, or both.
Source: Code on Wages, 2019, s.6(6)(a)
Free Excel file
Skill Matrix Template for Indian Employers
Rate every person on every skill, see which work rests on one person, and check each wage category against the work actually done and its minimum rate.
- A 0 to 4 scale with a drop-down
- Flags any skill resting on one person
- Wage category and minimum rate check
Instant download. No card needed.
Attendo presents
Skill Matrix Template
For Indian employers
6
sheets, matrix to training
Attendo presents
What's inside
What is inside the template
Six sheets. Fill the matrix first, then run the wage check.
Sheet 1
Levels and categories
The 0 to 4 scale, the four wage categories as the Central Rules define them, and your State's minimum rate for each.
Sheet 2
Skill matrix
People against skills, rated from a drop-down. A skill short of trained people turns red; a learner on a safety-critical skill, amber.
Sheet 3
Wage category check
Category from the work done, against the employee register and the minimum rate, with the section 11 split and a prompt to recheck.
Sheet 4
Training plan
Training for each gap, the proficiency test and the service card entry that follows it, with overdue training in red.
Sheets 0 and 5
Read Me and citations
What the matrix cannot decide, what getting it wrong costs, and eighteen citations.
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Staff records for every branch
Attendo (formerly Petpooja Payroll) keeps each employee's joining date, exit date and salary record across branches in one account.
Why this matters
Why a skill matrix is also a wage record
Because the same grid answers two questions. The first is where the work would stop: a skill only one person has stops the line the day they are on leave.
The second is pay. Minimum wages are fixed by skill category, unskilled to highly skilled, often by area as well, and the category follows the work a person is employed to do, which is why the job description for each role matters. Your State's notification decides which job sits in which category.
The category is a record you already keep. Item 12 of the Form I employee register under the Central Rules marks each person HS, S, SS or US. A matrix showing skilled work where the register says semi-skilled is a wage question, not a training one. And the pay it is checked against is wages, not gross: basic, DA and any allowance the Code does not exclude, such as a special allowance, plus excluded pay above one-half of the total. HRA and conveyance, which the second proviso counts for equal pay, stay out, which is the stricter test.
In an industrial establishment of 300 or more workers, the model standing orders add a service card for each worker, updated periodically, with training courses attended and proficiency tests passed. The training plan feeds both.
It works the same for a machine shop, a nursing ward or an accounts team: rename the skills and keep the checks.
Preview
Three things the matrix settles
Each one is in the worked example, a machine shop of eight people, so you can see it before you replace it.
- Where the work rests on one person. Set-up, forklift and maintenance each have one person at level 3 or above, and turn red.
- Who is in the wrong category. An operator doing skilled work is registered as semi-skilled and, on the example rates, paid ₹500 under the skilled minimum.
- Who is owed more for part of the month. A trainee covering a lathe for 60 hours is owed the skilled rate for those hours.
| Employee (an example) | Set-up | CNC | Forklift | Maintenance | Work category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ravi, setter | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | S |
| Meena, operator | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | S |
| Arjun, trainee | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | SS |
| Vinod, loader | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | US |
| At level 3 or 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Need 2 |
Key stats
Three numbers behind a skill matrix
₹50,000 maximum fine for paying under the minimum
For paying less than the amount due. On a claim, the authority may order compensation of up to ten times the claim as well.
Source: Code on Wages, 2019, s.54(1)(a) and (b)300 workers bring in standing orders
On any day of the preceding twelve months. The model standing orders then add a service card recording training and proficiency tests.
Source: Industrial Relations Code, 2020, s.28(1)
Common mistakes
6 Skill Matrix Mistakes Indian Employers Make
Reading the matrix as the wage category
The category follows the work a person is employed to do. A skill they never use at work does not move it.
One person per critical skill
Their leave stops the work. Aim for two at level 3 or 4 on anything that would.
A register that never moves
When someone moves to skilled work, update item 12 of the register and issue the promotion letter.
Mixed work at the lower rate
Higher-category work for part of the month is owed that category's minimum for the time spent on it, under section 11.
Learners alone on dangerous work
In a factory the OSH Code calls for training and supervision. A learner on a safety-critical skill works it supervised.
Training done, never recorded
Where standing orders apply, the service card carries courses attended and proficiency tests passed.
Comparison
A skills chart against this workbook
A skills chart
Names and ticks
- Skills only, no pay
- Gaps found too late
- Category never checked
- Mixed work underpaid
- Training unrecorded
Free either way
This workbook
Six sheets, every check a formula
- Skills and wage category
- One-person skills in red
- Register checked against work
- Section 11 split worked out
- Test to service card
Rate, then check pay
Fill the matrix, run the wage check against your State's rates, then train for the red cells. Attendo keeps the records in one place.
FAQ
Common questions
Is this skill matrix template really free? +
Yes, completely. No card and no trial. The form asks for your name, work email, phone and city, then the Excel file downloads straight away. The Attendo team may follow up about payroll software, and you are free to say no thanks.
What is a skill matrix? +
A grid of people against skills, each rated on one scale, so you can see who can do what, where one person carries a skill alone, and what training to plan. This template rates from 0, not trained, to 4, can train others.
How do you rate skill levels in a skill matrix? +
On one scale for every skill. Here: 0 not trained, 1 learning under supervision, 2 to standard with guidance, 3 independent, and 4 can train others. The scale is a working tool, not a legal standard, so keep it if it suits you and change the words if it does not.
Does a skill matrix decide an employee's minimum wage category? +
No. Minimum wages are fixed by category, unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled or highly skilled, and often by area too, under section 6(6)(a) of the Code on Wages, and the Central Rules define each as an occupation. So the category follows the work the person is employed to do, and your State's notification places each job.
How many people should be trained on each skill? +
At least two at level 3 or 4 on anything that would stop work without them, so one absence does not stop it. That is this template's default, not a legal rule, and you can change it for each skill.
A
About Attendo
Attendo (formerly Petpooja Payroll) is payroll and attendance software used by 40,000+ businesses across manufacturing, corporate offices, retail, hospitals and education. General guidance, not legal advice. This template is one of our free HR formats in Excel and Word, each built from the law rather than from other templates.
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A skill matrix, a wage category check, a training plan and the citations behind them, in Excel. Free.
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