Your employer cannot assume that transferring cryptocurrency discharges an ordinary statutory wage obligation. Section 15 of the Code on Wages specifies payment in currency, by cheque, through a bank credit or by electronic mode, and the proposed token arrangement needs to be tested against that framework. Ask for your agreed rupee wages to be paid through a compliant payment method and keep the token proposal separate. A voluntary investment or additional token award raises different contractual and tax questions.
Why is a token transfer different from a bank credit?
The word electronic does not make every digitally transferred asset an acceptable substitute for wages. A wallet transfer of a fluctuating token creates questions about what amount was paid, when it could be used and who bears the conversion cost. Do not accept the employer's assumption that a screen showing tokens necessarily proves payment of the rupee salary in your appointment letter.
Section 15 provides the statutory modes of payment, and section 5 requires payment of the applicable minimum wage. The relevant Code provisions commenced on 21 November 2025. A claim about an earlier wage period requires its own transition check. A foreign client paying the company in tokens does not, by itself, answer the company's obligations to an employee in India.
What if I previously agreed to receive tokens?
Give the adviser the actual agreement. Separate an additional incentive or investment arrangement from the amount that must be paid as wages. Section 60 makes an agreement relinquishing a monetary right under the Code void to the extent of that relinquishment. A signature is therefore not a complete answer to a statutory shortfall.
That does not make every token-related agreement void or establish that the employer owes the token's highest later market value. A disputed bonus, voluntary purchase or separately negotiated asset grant may need different analysis. Identify the promised rupee amount, token amount, valuation date and any conversion terms before calculating a claim.
What evidence should I preserve?
Keep the appointment letter, salary revisions, wage slips, bank statements and messages proposing the change. If tokens were already transferred, preserve the wallet address, transaction identifier, transfer date and the employer's valuation statement. Do not publish private keys or recovery phrases. A transaction record can show an asset transfer without proving that every wage obligation was discharged.
Prepare a month-by-month reconciliation of agreed wages, ordinary payments and token transfers. Show conversion fees or deductions separately and mark any valuation that remains disputed. Avoid assigning a convenient exchange price without identifying its source and time. The claim should make the unpaid wage issue visible even if the asset's later value changed.
What should my written request say?
A useful request is: "My agreed monthly remuneration is stated in rupees. Please confirm the legal basis on which the proposed token transfer is treated as wage payment and pay the outstanding wages through a compliant mode. Please provide the wage slip and calculation for the period, showing any token amount separately." Specify the wage period and attach the relevant contractual page.
If an amount has already reached your wallet, acknowledge that fact accurately while reserving the disputed wage treatment. Do not state that nothing was received if an asset transfer occurred. Equally, do not sign a full-payment acknowledgment without checking the calculation and legal effect.
What can I do if payroll refuses?
Identify the appropriate government and the notified wage-claim authority under section 45. The route depends on the establishment and the nature of the claim. The provision ordinarily allows three years from accrual, with sufficient-cause relief for delay, but prompt action helps preserve records and avoid repeated shortfalls.
Take the reconciliation and refusal together for advice. A claim for unpaid statutory wages is different from a complaint that an investment performed badly. Keeping those issues separate helps the authority understand the actual employment dispute and avoids turning an uncertain token valuation into the only basis of the demand.
Read the related employment guide for the wider issue. The employment and labour practice page identifies the relevant practice area.