How to calculate manpower rate per post
To calculate a manpower rate per post, start with the minimum wage (basic + VDA) for the category and zone. Add a 1/6 reliever if the post runs seven days a week. Then add employer PF, ESI and bonus on those wages, plus uniform and your service charge. GST goes on top of the bill. For a ₹18,000 wage, that comes to about ₹29,300 per post per month before GST. The free manpower rate calculator does the sum for your own numbers.
Part of our guide: Manpower costing and billing: how contractors price and bill staff
By HaazriPro Team · Last updated
What goes into a rate per post?
A client pays you one monthly figure per post. Behind that figure is a stack of costs that you, as the employer, must pay whether or not you remember to charge for them. Government and PSU tenders for security and housekeeping usually ask for the same lines in the same order:
| Line | What it is | Usual basis |
|---|---|---|
| Wages | Basic + VDA (dearness allowance) for the month | Your state's minimum wage for the category, skill and zone |
| Reliever | Cover for weekly offs on a 7-day post | 1/6 of wages |
| Employer PF | Provident fund and linked charges | About 13% of wages |
| Employer ESI | Health insurance contribution | 3.25% of wages, only up to the wage limit |
| Bonus | Statutory annual bonus, spread monthly | 8.33% of wages (minimum) |
| Uniform and other | Uniform, shoes, torch, training | Your actual cost per month |
| Service charge | Your margin and overheads | A % of the subtotal |
| GST | Tax on your service | 18% of the bill |
Which wage should you start from?
Start from the minimum wage your state notifies for that type of work (for example security or housekeeping), the skill level (unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled) and the zone where the site is. Most states split it into a basic rate and a VDA that is revised once or twice a year. Never quote below it: you must pay at least the minimum wage whatever the client pays you.
If the state notifies a daily rate, multiply it by the working days in your contract. 26 days is common, because it leaves out four weekly offs.
Why add a 1/6 reliever?
Every staff member gets a weekly day off. If the client wants the post covered all seven days, someone else must work the seventh day. One extra person can cover the weekly offs of six posts, so tender sheets add 1/6 of the wages as "relieving charges". Leave it out for posts that close one day a week.
How are PF, ESI and bonus worked out?
Provident fund
Under the Code on Social Security, 2020 the employer contributes a share of wages to the provident fund (12% for most establishments). Tender sheets usually show about 13%, adding the EDLI insurance and administration charges. Check the current charges on the EPFO website. From 17 September 2026 the EPF wage ceiling went up from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month. If your contract caps PF at the ceiling, work out PF on the capped wage instead.
ESI
The employer pays 3.25% and the employee 0.75% of wages. ESI covers staff earning up to ₹21,000 a month (₹25,000 for persons with disability). Above that limit there is no ESI contribution, so do not charge the client for it.
Bonus
The Code on Wages, 2019 sets a minimum bonus of 8.33% of wages (or ₹100, whichever is higher) and a maximum of 20%, for staff who worked at least 30 days in the year. Wage limits for who qualifies, and the wage the bonus is worked on, are set by government notification, so confirm the current figures with your CA. Most contractors price the 8.33% into every month's rate so the money is there when bonus falls due.
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Worked example: one 7-day post
Basic ₹15,000 + VDA ₹3,000 a month, reliever on, uniform ₹500, service charge 10%, GST 18%:
| Line | How | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Wages | ₹15,000 + ₹3,000 | ₹18,000.00 |
| Reliever | ₹18,000 ÷ 6 | ₹3,000.00 |
| PF | 13% of ₹21,000 | ₹2,730.00 |
| ESI | 3.25% of ₹21,000 | ₹682.50 |
| Bonus | 8.33% of ₹21,000 | ₹1,749.30 |
| Uniform | Flat | ₹500.00 |
| Subtotal | ₹26,661.80 | |
| Service charge | 10% of subtotal | ₹2,666.18 |
| Rate per post per month | before GST | ₹29,327.98 |
| GST | 18% | ₹5,279.04 |
| Total with GST | ₹34,607.02 |
A 7-day post is manned every day, so it covers 26 × 7/6 ≈ 30.3 staff-days a month. Dividing the rate by that gives about ₹966.86 per staff-day, the figure clients often compare quotes on. Divide by 26 only for a six-day post. The manpower rate calculator runs this for any wage and number of posts, and the costing sheet does the same in Excel.
Which mistakes cost agencies money?
- Quoting on last year's VDA. When the state revises VDA, your cost rises the same month. Write a revision clause into the contract.
- Forgetting the reliever. On a 7-day post, skipping it means paying a sixth more than you bill.
- Charging ESI above the limit, or not charging it below. Check each staff member's wage against ₹21,000.
- Ignoring the wage definition. Under the Code on Wages, if allowances are more than half of total pay, the excess is added back into "wages" for PF, ESI and bonus. Splitting pay into large allowances does not cut statutory costs the way it once did.
- Pricing GST wrongly. Security services from an individual or firm to a registered business may fall under reverse charge, where the client pays the GST. See the billing guide.
Does the rate change under the new Labour Codes?
The four Labour Codes came into force on 21 November 2025, replacing older laws such as the Minimum Wages Act, the Payment of Bonus Act and the EPF and ESI Acts. The cost lines above stay the same, but the definitions and some limits now come from the Codes. The Ministry of Labour says existing rules continue until new rules are notified, where they are in line with the Codes. Recheck your costing sheet whenever a new notification comes out.
Sources
- PIB, 21 Nov 2025: the four Labour Codes made effective
- Code on Wages, 2019 (India Code)
- Code on Social Security, 2020 (India Code)
- PIB, 16 Sept 2026: EPF wage ceiling raised to ₹25,000
- ESIC: contribution rates
- ESIC: coverage and wage limit
- Ministry of Labour: additional FAQs on the Labour Codes (16 Mar 2026)
- Notification 29/2018-Central Tax (Rate): reverse charge on security services
This guide explains the rules in plain language. It is not legal or tax advice. Laws and rates change, so check with your CA or lawyer before you act on it.
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