The Industrial Relations Code is now the central framework, but an earlier action or pending proceeding may remain governed by a savings provision. Check both the date of the dispute and the operative transitional text before substituting a new section number for an old one.
What was repealed, and by what
| Repealed enactment | Now governed by |
|---|---|
| Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 | Industrial Relations Code, 2020 |
| Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 | Industrial Relations Code, 2020, Chapter IV |
| Trade Unions Act, 1926 | Industrial Relations Code, 2020 |
| Payment of Wages Act, 1936; Minimum Wages Act, 1948; Payment of Bonus Act, 1965; Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 | Code on Wages, 2019 |
| Factories Act, 1948; Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970; Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979; Building and Other Construction Workers Act, 1996, among others | Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 |
| Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, and the other social security enactments | Code on Social Security, 2020 |
The repeal of the first three of those is worked by the repeal and savings provision of the Industrial Relations Code itself. The wage statutes went by the repeal provision of the Code on Wages, and the safety and contract labour statutes by the corresponding provision of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code. Our overview of what the four labour codes changed for employees sets out the mapping in more detail.
Nothing you had is lost by the repeal alone
Each Code carries a savings provision, and the general rule in Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 is expressly applied. Anything done under the repealed enactments, including rules, notifications, appointments and orders, is treated as done under the corresponding provision of the Code so far as it is not contrary to the Code. Proceedings already on foot do not evaporate. What changes is the label you put on the claim and, in some places, the time you have to bring it.
Each Code carries a savings provision, and the general rule in Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 is expressly applied. Anything done under the repealed enactments, including rules, notifications, appointments and orders, is treated as done under the corresponding provision of the Code so far as it is not contrary to the Code. Proceedings already on foot do not evaporate. What changes is the label you put on the claim and, in some places, the time you have to bring it.
The changes that actually affect an individual employee
- The operative word is "worker", not "workman". The supervisory wage cut off in the Industrial Relations Code is written as eighteen thousand rupees a month, subject to notification, where the old Act said ten thousand. That widens the band of protected supervisory staff. Our note on whether you count as a worker under the Industrial Relations Code takes that further.
- Individual termination disputes have a specific route. Sections 4(9) to 4(11) permit an individual worker to apply directly to the Tribunal after forty-five days from applying for conciliation, subject to the two-year termination limit. Section 53 supplies the procedure for other industrial disputes, including its failure-report route and deadlines. Do not treat the ninety-day route as the only route for an individual dismissal.
- Standing orders now apply at 300 workers. Chapter IV of the Code applies to an industrial establishment with three hundred or more workers, so many mid sized employers have only the contract and the Karnataka Act to fall back on.
- The special chapter requiring prior government permission for lay-off, retrenchment and closure now starts at three hundred workers rather than one hundred, but it continues to reach only a factory, a mine or a plantation. A Bengaluru office is outside it either way.
- A worker re-skilling fund was added. The employer contributes an amount equal to fifteen days' wages last drawn, or such other number of days as the Central Government notifies, for every retrenched worker, and that sum is to be credited to the worker's account within forty-five days of the retrenchment.
- Fixed term employment is defined in the Code, and a fixed term worker is entitled to statutory benefits proportionately and to gratuity on one year of service under the contract.
Do the codes apply to you
- Are you a worker? If your work is mainly managerial or administrative, the Industrial Relations Code does not reach you, and your remedy is contractual.
- Is your employer carrying on an industry? The Code defines industry as a systematic activity carried on by co-operation between an employer and a worker for the production, supply or distribution of goods or services, which is wide enough to include ordinary commercial offices.
- Which chapter are you in? Retrenchment, transfer and closure provisions in the general chapter apply broadly. The lay-off compensation provisions and the prior permission chapter have their own narrower application, and both of those turn on the size and the type of establishment.
- Is there a State law that survives? In Karnataka the Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961 was not repealed and remains the practical route for most office terminations.
State rules are a separate question
The Industrial Relations Code (Central) Rules published on 30 December 2025 were draft rules, not a final operative ruleset. Each State makes its own rules on the matters left to it, and forms, timelines and authorities can differ. Where a right depends on a rule or a notification rather than on the text of the Code, confirm the Karnataka position before you rely on a number you read somewhere.
The Industrial Relations Code (Central) Rules published on 30 December 2025 were draft rules, not a final operative ruleset. Each State makes its own rules on the matters left to it, and forms, timelines and authorities can differ. Where a right depends on a rule or a notification rather than on the text of the Code, confirm the Karnataka position before you rely on a number you read somewhere.
If you are already in a dispute that started under the old Act, do not assume the old three year window. Take the dates to somebody early. Our guide on wrongful termination and employee rights in India sets out the remedies in the order they should be attempted.