Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2026

What it does

The Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2026 are the central rules under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. The Code came into force on 21 November 2025, and the Central Government made these rules by notification G.S.R. 342(E) of 8 May 2026, in force on publication. They supply the forms, the notices and the timings that the Code leaves to rules, including those for retrenchment, lay-off and closure.

On the site's reading, the rules supersede the Industrial Disputes (Central) Rules, 1957 as to Part II and Parts V to VIII. The Code itself replaced the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and two other Acts, so the rules are the practical layer that an employer works with when the Code applies.

Who it binds

They bind employers and workers in establishments for which the Central Government is the appropriate Government, such as central undertakings, railways, mines, major ports and banking. A private factory ordinarily answers to its State's rules, which may differ on forms and timing, so these rules are not the last word for most private employers. Only a worker, as the Code defines the term, is protected by them, which leaves out a person employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity.

What has changed, and when

• The Code came into force on 21 November 2025, appointed under section 1(3) by notification S.O. 5320(E).
• The rules were notified on 8 May 2026.
• The Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act 1 of 2026), deemed in force from 21 November 2025, changed only section 104, so that the tribunals and authorities under the three repealed Acts keep functioning until their counterparts under the Code become functional.

What turns on it in practice

The rules matter most where an employer reduces its workforce. The site's note on retrenchment and the 300-worker line sets out how they work with the Code.

For an establishment below the line, a retrenchment needs one month's written notice or wages in its place, compensation of fifteen days' average pay for each completed year of service, and notice to the Government. Rule 27 supplies the last step: Form XIII goes to the Central Government and the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) by e-mail or speed post within three days of serving the worker's notice or paying wages in lieu. Rule 28 requires a seniority list on the notice board seven days before retrenchment. A closure needs sixty days' notice to the Government, under rule 29, except for establishments with fewer than fifty workers.

For a factory, mine or plantation that averaged 300 or more workers a day over the preceding twelve months, the Code replaces notice with prior permission. The rules supply the applications: Form XIV for lay-off (rule 30) and retrenchment (rule 33), and an application at least ninety days before a closure (rule 35). The Government decides after hearing the parties, and if it communicates no order within sixty days the permission is deemed granted. Review may be sought within thirty days (rules 32, 34 and 36).

A third rule concerns the worker re-skilling fund. Rule 37 requires an electronic transfer within ten days of a retrenchment of fifteen days of the worker's last drawn wages, with a list of names, amounts and bank details to the Labour Commissioner's office. On the words of the Code and the rule, the payment is separate from retrenchment compensation.

The practical risk is a missed form or date. A retrenchment without the required permission is deemed illegal from the date of the notice, and the worker keeps all benefits as if no notice had been given. The site's employment practice reads these rules with the State rules that apply to each establishment.