Conditions precedent to retrenchment of workers
Section 70 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 deals with conditions precedent to retrenchment of workers. No worker employed in any industry who has been in continuous service for not less than one year under an employer shall be retrenched by that employer until--- (a) the worker has been given one month's notice in writing indicating the reasons for retrenchment and the period of notice has expired, o The Act was enacted on 28 Sep 2020.
No worker employed in any industry who has been in continuous service for not less than one year under an employer shall be retrenched by that employer until---
(a) the worker has been given one month's notice in writing indicating the reasons for retrenchment and the period of notice has expired, or the worker has been paid in lieu of such notice, wages for the period of the notice;
(b) the worker has been paid, at the time of retrenchment, compensation which shall be equivalent to fifteen days' average pay, or average pay of such days as may be notified by the appropriate Government, for every completed year of continuous service or any part thereof in excess of six months; and
(c) notice in such manner as may be prescribed is served on the appropriate Government or such authority as may be specified by the appropriate Government by notification.
Section 70, The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (Act 35 of 2020).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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South Indian Workers Congress vs Sree Sankara Univ. of Sanskrit
Decided under industrial-disputes-act-1947 25F, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Notice and retrenchment compensation are mandatory conditions precedent to the retrenchment of a worker who has completed the qualifying period of continuous service, and a termination effected without them is void; the fact that the worker's own appointment was irregular does not take him outside that protection, though relief may be moulded into lump-sum compensation instead of reinstatement.
On this section: Decided under Section 25-F of the repealed Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, whose conditions precedent to retrenchment are re-enacted in Section 70; it settles that those conditions are mandatory and that non-compliance voids the retrenchment.
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B. S. N. L vs Bhurumal
Decided under industrial-disputes-act-1947 25F, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Breach of the notice-and-compensation requirement renders the retrenchment illegal, but reinstatement with back wages does not follow automatically: for daily-wage and casual workers whose termination is vitiated only by that procedural default, the ends of justice are ordinarily met by monetary compensation.
On this section: Decided under Section 25-F of the repealed Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the predecessor of Section 70; it governs the consequence of failing to satisfy the conditions precedent now set out in Section 70.
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Ram Karan vs Govt. College, Panchkula
Decided under industrial-disputes-act-1947 25F, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A daily-wage workman who has put in 240 days of uninterrupted service acquires a statutory right not to be retrenched except on compliance with the prescribed notice and compensation; the irregularity of his engagement, and the rule in Umadevi against regularisation, do not displace that protection, and the burden of proving that the engagement was purely contractual lies on the employer.
On this section: Decided under Section 25-F of the repealed Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, re-enacted as Section 70; it fixes the continuous-service threshold that triggers the conditions precedent to retrenchment and places the burden of displacing it on the employer.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 70
What have the courts held on Section 70 of the Industrial Relations Code?
South Indian Workers Congress vs Sree Sankara Univ. of Sanskrit is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under INDUSTRIAL-DISPUTES-ACT-1947 25F, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Decided under Section 25-F of the repealed Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, whose conditions precedent to retrenchment are re-enacted in Section 70; it settles that those conditions are mandatory and that non-compliance voids the retrenchment. Another 2 judgments on this section are set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court.
How do I find court cases under Section 70 of the Industrial Relations Code?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Industrial Relations Code 70, section 70 Industrial Relations Code, section 70 of the Industrial Relations Code. People searching for it also type industrial relations code 2020 section 70. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 3 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with South Indian Workers Congress vs Sree Sankara Univ. of Sanskrit.
What should I read with Section 70 of the Industrial Relations Code, and has it changed?
5 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When was Section 70 of the Industrial Relations Code enacted?
Section 70 of the Industrial Relations Code, cited as Industrial Relations Code 70, was enacted on 28 Sep 2020 as Act 35 of 2020. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 2. Definitions3327 words
- 99. Power of appropriate Government to make rules1827 words
- 86. Penalties1320 words
- 30. Preparation of draft standing orders by employer and procedure for certification942 words
- 78. Prohibition of lay-off858 words
- 79. Conditions precedent to retrenchment of workers to which Chapter X applies706 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.