Re-employment of retrenched worker
Section 72 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 deals with re-employment of retrenched worker. Where any worker is retrenched and the employer proposes to take into his employment any person within one year of such retrenchment, he shall, in such manner as may be prescribed, give an opportunity to the retrenched workers who are citizens of India to offer themselves for re-employment and such The Act was enacted on 28 Sep 2020.
Where any worker is retrenched and the employer proposes to take into his employment any person within one year of such retrenchment, he shall, in such manner as may be prescribed, give an opportunity to the retrenched workers who are citizens of India to offer themselves for re-employment and such retrenched workers who offer themselves for reemployment shall have preference over other persons.
Section 72, 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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G. Durai vs Management of Wavin India LTD
Decided under industrial-disputes-act-1947 25H, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Re-employment under section 25H of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 is available to a retrenched workman as a matter of right, but the Labour Court must first decide the foundational question whether the closure relied on by the employer was bona fide; the Court set aside the orders below and remanded for that sequential consideration of sections 25FF, 25FFF and 25H.
On this section: States the right of a retrenched worker to be offered re-employment as a matter of right, and the order in which a tribunal must decide closure or transfer before it reaches the re-employment claim.
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Maruti Udyog LTD vs Ram Lal
Decided under industrial-disputes-act-1947 25H, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The re-employment right under section 25H of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 does not extend to workmen whose employment ended on closure of an undertaking or on its statutory transfer to a successor; sections 25FF and 25FFF give compensation only, and the deeming fiction in those provisions must be read narrowly rather than expanded by sympathy into a re-employment right.
On this section: Marks the outer limit of this section: a worker separated by closure or by statutory transfer of the undertaking is not a retrenched worker entitled to be offered re-employment when the establishment resumes work.
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 72
What have the courts held on Section 72 of the Industrial Relations Code?
G. Durai vs Management of Wavin India LTD is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under INDUSTRIAL-DISPUTES-ACT-1947 25H, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: States the right of a retrenched worker to be offered re-employment as a matter of right, and the order in which a tribunal must decide closure or transfer before it reaches the re-employment claim. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court.
How do I find court cases under Section 72 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 72, section 72 Industrial Relations Code, section 72 of the Industrial Relations Code. People searching for it also type section 72 of industrial relations code 2020. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with G. Durai vs Management of Wavin India LTD.
What should I read with Section 72 of the Industrial Relations Code, and has it changed?
2 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When was Section 72 of the Industrial Relations Code enacted?
Section 72 of the Industrial Relations Code, cited as Industrial Relations Code 72, 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.