Contractual employee wages: establishment owner must pay the contractor the wage amount under the Code on Wages framework. Where employees are engaged in an establishment through a contractor, the company, firm, association, or other person owning the establishment must pay the contractor the amount payable towards the employees' wages in accordance with the Code on Wages framework. The rule allocates the wage-payment obligation to the proprietor of the establishment in contractor-based employment arrangements, while preserving the contractor's role as the immediate recipient of payment for disbursement to employees. For this purpose, the term firm carries the meaning assigned under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932.