Setting Up of Business, Industrial and Labour Laws · The Industrial Relations Code, 2020

Industrial Relations Code 2020: Overview and Key Definitions

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 extends to the whole of India and came into force on 21 November 2025. It replaces the Trade Unions Act, the Standing Orders Act and the Industrial Disputes Act. To solve questions, state the provision, apply the definition to the facts, then conclude clearly.

Understand Industrial Relations Code 2020: Overview and Definitions

The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 is one of the four Labour Codes. It deals with trade unions, service conditions in industrial establishments, and the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes. It brings three older laws into one Code: the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

The Code extends to the whole of India. It comes into force on the date the Central Government notifies, and different dates can be set for different provisions. The Central Government fixed 21 November 2025 by Notification S.O. 5320(E) of that date.

The repeal works through the Central Government's commencement notification. The Central Government may specify in that notification that the three older Acts stand repealed from a stated date. Their remaining provisions stay in force until they are repealed by similar notifications. Anything done under a repealed Act, including rules, notifications, appointments and orders, is deemed to have been done under the corresponding provision of the Code, as long as it is not contrary to the Code. Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 also applies to the repeal.

The definitions decide who and what the Code covers. You must know them in plain words: industrial dispute, industrial establishment, worker, employer, strike, lock-out and retrenchment. Examiners usually give a short fact pattern and ask whether a person is a worker, whether an act is a strike, or whether a termination is retrenchment.

The key is to learn each definition as a core rule plus its inclusions and exclusions. Most marks are lost on the exclusions, such as who is not a worker and which terminations are not retrenchment.

Key rules to remember

Extent: The Code extends to the whole of India; Section 1(2). The short title is the Industrial Relations Code, 2020.
Commencement: In force on the date notified by the Central Government; different dates possible for different provisions; Section 1(3). The date notified is 21 November 2025 (Notification S.O. 5320(E)).
Acts repealed: Trade Unions Act, 1926 + Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 + Industrial Disputes Act, 1947; Section 104. Repeal takes effect from the date specified in the Central Government's notification. Remaining provisions stay until repealed by like notifications.
Savings: Action taken under a repealed Act is deemed taken under the corresponding provision of the Code, to the extent not contrary to it; Section 104(2). Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 also applies (section 104(3)).
Industrial dispute: Dispute or difference between employers and employers, employers and workers, or workers and workers, connected with employment, non-employment, terms of employment or conditions of labour; It also covers an individual worker's dispute with the employer over discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination.
Worker: Any person employed in an industry for hire or reward to do manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work; Excludes members of the armed forces, police and prison staff, persons in a mainly managerial or administrative role, and supervisors drawing wages above ₹18,000 a month or mainly doing managerial functions. Apprentices under the Apprentices Act, 1961 are also excluded.
Strike: Cessation of work, or concerted refusal to work, by a body of persons employed in an industry acting in combination or under a common understanding; The definition also covers concerted casual leave on a given day by 50 per cent or more of the workers.
Lock-out: Temporary closing of a place of employment, suspension of work, or the employer's refusal to continue to employ any number of persons; The act is the employer's. Strike is by workers, lock-out is by the employer.
Retrenchment: Termination of a worker's service for any reason, other than as disciplinary punishment; Not retrenchment: voluntary retirement, retirement on superannuation, non-renewal of contract or termination under a contract stipulation, end of a fixed term employment, and termination for continued ill-health.
Continuous service (section 66): Deemed one year: 240 days in 12 months (190 days if below ground in a mine). Deemed six months: 120 days in 6 months (95 days if below ground in a mine); Service interrupted by sickness, authorised leave, accident, a strike which is not illegal, lock-out or cessation of work not due to the worker's fault still counts as continuous.

How to solve Industrial Relations Code 2020: Overview and Definitions questions

Use this method for any question on the Code's commencement, repeal or definitions. It matches the ICSI answer style: provision, facts, conclusion.

1Identify what is asked: a commencement or repeal point, or a definition applied to a person or act.
2State the provision in plain words. Name the Code and, where you are certain, the section. Section 1 covers extent and commencement, and section 104 covers repeal and savings.
3Break the definition into its core test, its inclusions and its exclusions.
4Pick the facts from the question that match each part of the test. Note numbers such as wages, days and notice periods.
5Apply the test fact by fact. For a strike or lock-out, also check the notice rules in section 62 and the illegality rule in section 63.
6Write a one-line conclusion that answers the question directly, for example 'Hence Mr X is not a worker under the Code'.
7For repeal questions, always add the savings rule: past action is deemed taken under the corresponding provision of the Code.

Quickest way: Core test, then exclusions

When to use it: Use it for short-note or one-line fact questions when you have only a few minutes.

Write the definition's core test in one line.
List the two or three exclusions you remember. For worker, name the armed forces, police and prison staff, managerial roles, and supervisors above ₹18,000 a month. For retrenchment, name the non-retrenchment cases.
Match the facts to the test and exclusions.
Conclude in one sentence, then add the section only if you are certain of it.

Common mistakes in Industrial Relations Code 2020: Overview and Definitions

Writing that the Code came into force on its enactment date or leaving the date out.
Students remember the year 2020 and assume it was effective then.
Fix: Say the Code comes into force on the date the Central Government notifies. The date notified is 21 November 2025 by Notification S.O. 5320(E).
Saying the three older Acts stand repealed automatically on enactment.
Students ignore how section 104 works.
Fix: State that repeal takes effect from the date specified in the Central Government's notification, and the remaining provisions stay until repealed by like notifications.
Treating every employee as a worker.
Students learn the inclusions but skip the exclusions.
Fix: Always test managerial or administrative roles, supervisors with wages above ₹18,000 a month, apprentices and armed forces, police and prison staff.
Treating every termination as retrenchment.
The word 'any reason whatsoever' makes the definition feel unlimited.
Fix: Check the exclusions: disciplinary punishment, voluntary retirement, superannuation, non-renewal or stipulated termination in the contract, end of a fixed term, and continued ill-health.
Mixing up strike and lock-out.
Both stop work, so students forget who acts.
Fix: A strike comes from workers acting in combination. A lock-out is the employer closing the workplace, suspending work or refusing to continue employment.
Forgetting that a strike can be a strike even without a formal walk-out, for example mass casual leave.
Students picture a strike only as a protest outside the gate.
Fix: Remember that concerted casual leave on a given day by 50 per cent or more of the workers falls within the definition of strike.

Worked examples

Example 1

Explain when the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 came into force and what happened to the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

Show the solution

Provision: Under section 1(3), the Code comes into force on the date the Central Government notifies, and different dates may be set for different provisions.
Facts: The Central Government notified 21 November 2025 by Notification S.O. 5320(E).
Repeal: Under section 104(1), the Central Government may specify in the commencement notification that the three Acts stand repealed from the date appointed. Their remaining provisions stay in force until repealed by like notifications.
Savings: Under section 104(2), anything done or any action taken under the repealed Acts, including rules, notifications, appointments, orders and directions, is deemed to have been done under the corresponding provisions of the Code. This applies to the extent they are not contrary to the Code.
Section 104(3) also applies section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 to the repeal.

Answer: The Code came into force on 21 November 2025. The three older Acts stand repealed only from the date specified in the Central Government's notification. Actions taken earlier continue as if taken under the Code, unless they are contrary to it.

Example 2

The workers of a Pune manufacturing unit gave notice of strike on 1 March and struck work on 10 March. No conciliation proceeding or Tribunal proceeding was pending, and no settlement or award was in operation. Is the strike legal under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020?

Show the solution

Provision: Under section 62(1)(b), no person employed in an industrial establishment may go on strike in breach of contract within fourteen days of giving the notice of strike. Under section 63(1)(i), a strike commenced in contravention of section 62 is illegal.
Facts: The notice was given on 1 March and the strike began on 10 March.
Analysis: Only nine days passed between the notice and the strike, which is less than fourteen. The notice was within the sixty-day window under section 62(1)(a), and no other bar applies on the facts given.
Conclusion: The strike commenced within fourteen days of the notice, so it contravenes section 62(1)(b).

Answer: The strike is illegal under section 63(1)(i), because it began within fourteen days of the notice of strike, in breach of section 62(1)(b).

Exam tips

Learn the commencement date, 21 November 2025, and the notification number S.O. 5320(E). A precise date earns easy marks in a short note.
Prepare the worker definition as inclusions plus exclusions, including the ₹18,000 wage limit for supervisors. Examiners like to test the exclusions in fact-based questions.
For retrenchment, memorise the five non-retrenchment cases as a list, then apply them to the facts in order.
In every answer, give the provision, apply it to the facts, then conclude in one clear line. Cite a section only if you are certain of it.
Do not cite the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 as the current law. Mention it only to show what the Code replaces.

Practice questions from The Industrial Relations Code, 2020

Industrial Relations Code 2020: Overview and Definitions in other exams

The same ground in other exams, if you are preparing for more than one or want another angle on it.

CS ProfessionalIndustrial Relations Code 2020: Overview and Definitions

Industrial Relations Code 2020: Overview and Definitions: frequently asked questions

When did the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 come into force?

Section 1(3) lets the Central Government appoint the date by notification. The date appointed is 21 November 2025, by Notification S.O. 5320(E). Different dates can be set for different provisions.

Which Acts does the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 replace?

It replaces the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Under section 104, repeal takes effect from the date specified in the Central Government's notification. Action taken under the old Acts is deemed taken under the corresponding provisions of the Code.

Who is not a worker under the Code?

Apprentices under the Apprentices Act, 1961 are not workers. The armed forces, police and prison staff, persons mainly in a managerial or administrative role, and supervisors drawing wages above ₹18,000 a month or mainly doing managerial functions are also excluded. Check each exclusion against the facts.

Is ending a fixed term contract retrenchment?

No. Termination on completion of the tenure of fixed term employment is excluded from retrenchment. Non-renewal of a contract or termination under a stipulation in the contract is excluded too.

Does a strike need prior notice?

Yes, in the cases covered by section 62. A notice must be given within sixty days before striking, and the strike cannot start within fourteen days of the notice. Notice is not needed where a strike is already in existence.