CS Professional · December 2025 · Paper 7.3
CS Professional Labour Laws and Practice December 2025: paper analysis
Our own analysis of the official paper, as of 12 October 2026. The questions and answers belong to ICSI; read them on ICSI's website.
Chapter-wise marks
Where the marks were in this paper (out of 100; internal-choice alternatives not double counted).
| Chapter | Questions | Marks | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Security Legislations | 7 | 35 | 35% |
| Law of Industrial Relations | 4 | 20 | 20% |
| Law of Welfare and Working Condition | 3 | 15 | 15% |
| Law of Wages | 3 | 15 | 15% |
| Constitution and Labour Laws | 2 | 10 | 10% |
| International Labour Organization | 1 | 5 | 5% |
What each question tested
In our words, by question number. Open the official paper for the full question.
| Q | Marks | Tests | Chapter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1(a) | 5 | Whether a news bureau chief qualifies as a working journalist under the Working Journalists Act | Law of Welfare and Working Condition |
| 1(b) | 5 | Workman status of an editorial employee claimed to be supervisory under the Industrial Disputes Act | Law of Industrial Relations |
| 1(c) | 5 | Sexual harassment without physical contact at an off-site work location under the POSH Act, with case law | Law of Welfare and Working Condition |
| 1(d) | 5 | Child artist performing in a television show and the exception under child labour law | Law of Welfare and Working Condition |
| 1(e) | 5 | Doctrine of apportionment of blame for unjustified strikes and lockouts as laid down by the Supreme Court | Law of Industrial Relations |
| 2(a) | 5 | Excluding casual and seasonal workers when counting employees for EPF applicability threshold | Social Security Legislations |
| 2(b) | 5 | Principles of statutory interpretation applied to the meaning of employee under the EPF Act | Social Security Legislations |
| 2(c) | 5 | Offences by companies and penalties under the Equal Remuneration Act | Law of Wages |
| 2(d) | 5 | Establishments to which the EPF Act does not apply | Social Security Legislations |
| 2(e) | 5 | ILO Declaration of Philadelphia: labour is not a commodity and social justice principles | International Labour Organization |
| 3(a) | 5 | Meaning of accident under employee compensation law where work strain accelerates heart failure | Social Security Legislations |
| 3(b) | 5 | Distinction between injury and accident in compensation claims and its effect on outcome | Social Security Legislations |
| 3(c) | 5 | Minimum rates of wages and procedure for fixation and revision | Law of Wages |
| 3(d) | 5 | Key features of the Code on Social Security, 2020 | Social Security Legislations |
| 3(e) | 5 | Maternity benefit entitlement of an employee in a live-in relationship | Social Security Legislations |
| 4(a) | 5 | Locus standi to seek cancellation of trade union registration under section 10 | Law of Industrial Relations |
| 4(b) | 5 | Fraud or mistake by the union versus error of the Registrar as a ground for cancellation | Law of Industrial Relations |
| 4(c) | 5 | Wider writ jurisdiction of High Courts under Article 226 compared with Article 32, with case law | Constitution and Labour Laws |
| 4(d) | 5 | Pension as a right and not a bounty despite the no work no pay principle, with case law | Constitution and Labour Laws |
| 4(e) | 5 | Key features of the Code on Wages and how it eases compliance, framed as a speech | Law of Wages |
What stood out
- The paper had four compulsory questions of 25 marks each, every one built on a case study, with no alternatives.
- Social Security Legislations was the most tested chapter (7 entries, 35 marks), followed by Industrial Relations (4 entries).
- Case-law interpretation dominated: 10 of 20 parts were direct case-study questions, often asking how a court reasoned rather than for statute recall.
- Older enactments (EPF, ID Act, Trade Unions Act, Employees Compensation Act) and the new Codes on Wages and Social Security were tested side by side.
- The Simplification of Returns Act and Industrial and Labour Laws Audit chapters were not tested.
Practise the chapters that carried the marks
Social Security Legislations, Law of Industrial Relations, Law of Welfare and Working Condition: study guides and practice questions in the CS Professional format.