CS Executive · Setting Up of Business, Industrial and Labour Laws
The Industrial Relations Code, 2020: CS Executive Study Guide
The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 is one of the four Labour Codes. It governs trade unions, standing orders, grievance redressal, industrial disputes, strikes, lock-outs, lay-off and retrenchment. For the CS Executive exam, learn the definitions first, then each forum and its time limits, and write answers as provision, facts, conclusion.
What this chapter covers
This chapter sits in Paper 3, Part II (Industrial and Labour Laws). That part is taught on the four Labour Codes, in force from 21 November 2025. The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 deals with the relationship between employer and worker: how unions are formed, how grievances are heard, how disputes are settled and what happens when work stops.
The chapter has a clear flow. It starts with definitions such as industrial dispute, worker and industrial establishment. It then moves to forums inside the establishment, such as the Grievance Redressal Committee under section 4. After that come outside machinery (conciliation and Tribunal), and finally the rules on strikes, lock-outs, lay-off, retrenchment and penalties.
The chapter links to the other Labour Codes in the paper. Wages, social security and safety codes cover pay, benefits and working conditions. This Code covers what happens when a dispute arises over them. Questions often ask you to apply a rule to a short fact pattern, so you must know the exact numbers: headcounts, days and years.
Paper 3 Part II carries 40 marks, and this Code is a major part of it. The chapter is rule-based, with many fixed limits that you can learn and reproduce exactly. That makes it a scoring chapter if you prepare well. Examiners like fact-based questions, for example whether a worker can go straight to the Tribunal, and these reward students who know the conditions and time limits. Because the Code is new, the questions test the Code as it stands, not older laws. Careful, section-wise preparation gives you an edge, and it also helps you in practice, since company secretaries often advise on employee relations and compliance.
The Industrial Relations Code, 2020: topics in the order to study them
- 1Industrial Relations Code 2020: Overview and DefinitionsEvery later topic uses these terms, so learn them first.
- 2Bi-partite Forums: Works Committee and Grievance RedressalThese are the first-level forums inside the establishment, and they carry many numbers such as 20 workers, ten members and 30 days.
- 3Trade Unions: Registration, Recognition and RightsUnions bring a worker's grievance to conciliation, so you need to know their role before the dispute machinery.
- 4Standing Orders and Fixed Term EmploymentThese set the terms of service inside the establishment and link to termination and disciplinary questions.
- 5Machinery for Dispute ResolutionConciliation and the Tribunal come after the internal forums, which is the order in which a dispute actually travels.
- 6Strikes, Lock-outs, Lay-off and RetrenchmentThese are the results of unresolved disputes, and they build on what you know about the machinery and notices.
- 7Worker Re-skilling Fund, Penalties and OffencesKeep this for last, since it needs the earlier provisions in mind and works well as a final revision topic.
How to prepare The Industrial Relations Code, 2020
This chapter is about precise rules and the order of steps. Prepare it as a chain of forums, time limits and consequences, and practise writing answers in the ICSI style.
- Read the definitions slowly and write each one in your own words, with a one-line example.
- Make a one-page table (on paper) of each forum, who sits on it, who can approach it, the time limit and the next step. Start with section 4: Grievance Redressal Committee, then conciliation, then Tribunal.
- Memorise numbers in groups. For section 4 these are 20 or more workers, ten members at most, one year to apply, 30 days for proceedings, 60 days to seek conciliation, 45 days before going to the Tribunal and two years for the Tribunal application.
- Learn the conditions attached to each rule, such as the proviso on women's representation, not only the rule itself.
- Practise short fact-based questions. Write the provision, apply it to the facts, and end with a clear conclusion that cites the section.
- Revise by drawing the dispute path from memory: grievance, committee, conciliation, Tribunal. Check it against the Code and fix gaps.
- In the last week, test yourself on penalties and the Re-skilling Fund, as they are easy to forget.
Common mistakes in The Industrial Relations Code, 2020
Mixing up the time limits in section 4 (one year, 30 days, 60 days, 45 days, two years).
Fix: Link every number to its action: apply to Committee, Committee proceedings, apply for conciliation, go to Tribunal, final Tribunal deadline. Redraw the timeline from memory.
Saying the Committee's decision is by simple majority of all members.
Fix: State that more than half of the members representing the workers must agree; otherwise no decision is deemed to have been reached.
Thinking an individual dismissal cannot be an industrial dispute because no union or other worker is involved.
Fix: Remember section 4(9): such a dispute is deemed an industrial dispute even if no other worker or Trade Union is a party.
Using the repealed Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 or the Trade Unions Act, 1926 terms and numbers.
Fix: Use only the Code and the current ICSI material. Mention the older laws only when the question asks for a contrast.
Writing general theory without a conclusion or section number.
Fix: Open with the provision, apply it to the facts given, and end with a one-line conclusion that cites the section.
Last-day revision: The Industrial Relations Code, 2020
- Section 4 applies to an industrial establishment with twenty or more workers, which must have one or more Grievance Redressal Committees.
- The Committee has equal members for the employer and the workers, and no more than ten in total.
- Women workers must be represented at least in proportion to their share of the total workforce.
- The chairperson rotates between employer and worker representatives every year.
- An aggrieved worker may apply to the Committee within one year of the cause of action.
- The Committee may complete its proceedings within thirty days of receiving the application.
- A decision needs a majority view with more than half of the worker members agreeing; otherwise it is deemed that no decision was reached.
- After the Committee's decision, or after the 30 days lapse, the worker has sixty days to apply for conciliation through the Trade Union of which he is a member.
- Discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination of one worker is deemed an industrial dispute even if no other worker or union is a party.
- A worker may apply directly to the Tribunal after forty-five days from applying for conciliation, and within two years of the termination.
- Write every answer as provision, facts or analysis, then conclusion, citing the section.
The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 practice questions
- Bharat Auto Components Pvt Ltd and its workers have a settlement in operation covering bonus payment. Workers who give a proper notice go on…
- A compliance officer at Kaveri Engineering Ltd notes that the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 came into force through a notification of the …
- Sunrise Textiles Ltd, Surat, employs 150 workers in its mill. Under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, which body must the establishment h…
- Orion Auto Components employs workers and has just become covered by the standing orders chapter. Its own standing orders have not yet been …
- Kaveri Steels Ltd's workers commenced a strike that was illegal at its commencement. Management, in consequence of that illegal strike, decl…
- Workers of Himalaya Pharma Ltd began a lawful strike over an industrial dispute on 1 March. On 10 March, the dispute was referred to a Tribu…
- Sunrise Textiles Pvt. Ltd., Surat, employs 45 workers and has no grievance forum. Under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, which statement…
- A Grievance Redressal Committee of 6 members (3 employer, 3 worker) votes on Ramesh's grievance. Four members support rejecting it: all 3 em…
The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 in other exams
The same ground in other exams, if you are preparing for more than one or want another angle on it.
The Industrial Relations Code, 2020: frequently asked questions
How many marks does the Industrial Relations Code carry in CS Executive?
It falls within Paper 3 Part II, Industrial and Labour Laws, which is worth 40 marks and covers all four Labour Codes. ICSI does not publish a fixed mark split for each chapter, so prepare all topics.
Do I need to learn section numbers for this chapter?
Yes, for the key provisions. ICSI-style answers cite the Act and section where it matters. Start with the ones you use most, such as section 4 on the Grievance Redressal Committee.
Is the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 still in the syllabus?
No. Paper 3 Part II is taught on the four Labour Codes, in force from 21 November 2025. Mention the old Act only if a question asks you to compare.
Can a worker go directly to the Tribunal under section 4?
Yes, in the cases the section covers. A worker may apply to the Tribunal after forty-five days from applying to the conciliation officer. The application must be made within two years of the discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination.
What is the best way to revise this chapter on a phone?
Keep a short note of the dispute path and the key time limits and read it daily. Then write a few answers on paper, because the exam is written.