Employment law in India changed on 21 November 2025, when four labour codes came into force and replaced 29 central labour laws. For employers, a labour lawyer's work now includes moving contracts, policies and registers onto the new framework while older rules continue in transition. The firm's employment, service and labour practice advises employers and employees on the codes, on contracts and policies, on workplace harassment compliance and on disputes.
The four labour codes
- Code on Wages, 2019: minimum wages, payment of wages, bonus and equal remuneration.
- Industrial Relations Code, 2020: trade unions, standing orders, industrial disputes, strikes and lock-outs, and lay-off, retrenchment and closure.
- Code on Social Security, 2020: provident fund, employees' state insurance, gratuity, maternity benefit, employee compensation, and schemes for gig and platform workers.
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020: registration, safety, health, working hours, leave and conditions of work, including contract labour.
Some changes reach every payroll. The codes share a definition of wages under which excluded allowances above half of total remuneration are added back, which can raise gratuity and social security contributions. Fixed-term employment is recognised, standing orders apply to industrial establishments with 300 or more workers, and prior government permission for lay-off, retrenchment and closure is needed only in industrial establishments with at least 300 workers, up from 100.
Contracts, policies and POSH compliance
Most employment disputes turn on documents written years earlier. The firm drafts and reviews appointment letters and employment contracts, fixed-term contracts, confidentiality and non-solicitation terms, standing orders and HR policies, and contract labour arrangements. Restraints on working for a competitor after employment ends are generally void under Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, so those clauses need careful drafting.
POSH compliance under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 requires an employer with ten or more employees to constitute an Internal Committee, presided over by a senior woman employee and including an external member from an NGO or a person familiar with the issues involved. The committee must complete an inquiry within ninety days. The employer must display the consequences of sexual harassment and include the number of cases filed and disposed of in its annual report, and non-compliance is punishable with a fine of up to ₹50,000.
The firm drafts POSH policies and advises employers, committees and the parties. The rules under the Act do not allow lawyers to represent parties before the committee itself, but its recommendations can be appealed, and the firm acts in those appeals.
Industrial disputes, terminations and settlements
Terminations carry the most exposure. For a ‘worker’ under the Industrial Relations Code, retrenchment requires a month's notice or wages in lieu, compensation of fifteen days' average pay for every completed year of continuous service, and notice to the appropriate government; dismissal for misconduct requires a fair inquiry. Managerial staff, and supervisory staff above the Code's wage ceiling, are governed mainly by their contracts.
Disputes go first to conciliation and then to the Industrial Tribunals constituted under the Code, which replace the old Labour Courts. A settlement reached in conciliation binds all parties to the dispute, while a private settlement binds only those who sign it, so the route to settlement matters. The firm drafts settlement and separation documents and represents parties before conciliation officers, tribunals and the courts.
Service matters of government employees
Employees of the Central and State Governments and many public bodies are governed by service rules rather than contracts. Disputes over appointment, seniority, promotion, pay fixation, transfer, suspension, disciplinary proceedings, compulsory retirement and pension are service matters. Central Government employees ordinarily approach the Central Administrative Tribunal first; State Government employees in Chhattisgarh ordinarily file writ petitions in the High Court at Bilaspur (see High Court writs and appeals). Article 311 of the Constitution protects civil servants against dismissal, removal or reduction in rank without an inquiry, except in the cases it lists.
Employers reviewing their compliance under the codes, and employees with a termination or service dispute, can write to the firm through the contact page.
What the practice handles
- Compliance reviews and transition to the four labour codes
- Employment contracts, fixed-term contracts and HR policies
- Standing orders and grievance redressal committees
- Contract labour and outsourcing arrangements
- POSH policies, Internal Committees, training and appeals
- Terminations, retrenchment, lay-off and closure
- Settlements with employees and unions
- Industrial disputes before conciliation officers and Industrial Tribunals
- Wage, gratuity and social security claims
- Service matters of government employees, including disciplinary proceedings, promotion, seniority and pension
Where these matters are heard
- Conciliation officers and other authorities under the labour codes
- Industrial Tribunals and the National Industrial Tribunal
- Internal Committees and Local Committees under the POSH Act
- Central Administrative Tribunal, for Central Government employees
- High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur and the Supreme Court of India
Questions about Employment & Labour
Which laws did the four labour codes replace?
The codes replaced 29 central labour laws, among them the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, the Factories Act, 1948 and the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970. They came into force on 21 November 2025, with existing rules continuing in transition.
Is POSH compliance needed for a small office?
An employer with ten or more employees must constitute an Internal Committee under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Where there are fewer than ten, complaints go to the Local Committee for the district. Every employer, whatever its size, must still provide a safe working environment, display the consequences of sexual harassment and assist in any inquiry.
How long does an Internal Committee have to complete a POSH inquiry?
Ninety days. A complaint should be made within three months of the incident, or of the last incident in a series, and the committee can extend this by three months for recorded reasons. The committee sends its report to the employer within ten days of completing the inquiry, the employer must act on it within sixty days, and either party may appeal the recommendations within ninety days.
What is a service matter?
A service matter is a dispute about the conditions of service of a person employed by the government or a public body: appointment, seniority, promotion, pay, transfer, disciplinary action, suspension, retirement or pension. Central Government employees ordinarily go first to the Central Administrative Tribunal. State Government employees in Chhattisgarh ordinarily file a writ petition in the High Court at Bilaspur, where the firm has an office.
Can an employer terminate an employee without giving reasons?
It depends on who the employee is. For a worker under the Industrial Relations Code, termination other than for misconduct is generally retrenchment, which needs notice, compensation and, in larger establishments, prior permission; dismissal for misconduct needs a fair inquiry. For managerial staff, the contract governs, subject to the general law. Government employees are protected by their service rules and, as civil servants, by Article 311 of the Constitution.
Do the labour codes cover gig and platform workers?
Yes, for social security. The Code on Social Security, 2020 recognises gig workers and platform workers and provides for social security schemes for them, funded partly by contributions from aggregators. It does not make them employees. What they receive depends on the schemes the Central and State Governments frame under the Code, so aggregators should follow those notifications closely.
A question that is not answered here? Send it to the firm.
This page describes the law in general terms as of 24 September 2026. It is not legal advice. The outcome of any matter depends on its facts, and the firm does not guarantee results.
