Notification Record & Forms
Notification details and the forms every employer needs, in one place.
- Issuing authority
- Labour Welfare Department, Government of Assam, Research (RC) Branch
- Notified
- Draft notification dated 17 November 2021, published in Assam Gazette Extraordinary No. 565 on 30 November 2021 (No. GLR(RC)71/2020/208)
- Objection window
- 45 days from the date the draft rule is made available to the public in the Official Gazette
- Legal basis
- Section 99 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (Central Act 35 of 2020)
- Supersedes
- The Assam Industrial Dispute Rules, 1958; The Assam Trade Union Regulations, 1927; The Assam Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1947 (Rule 65 of these draft rules)
- Status as of
- 20 July 2026 — draft stage as documented here; final notification status to be verified with the department
Assam is one of the states that moved early to frame its own procedural rules under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the central law that folded the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 into a single code. The draft rules, issued by the Research (RC) Branch of the Labour Welfare Department, spell out how works committees, grievance redressal committees, trade unions, standing orders, strikes, lockouts, retrenchment, and closure are to be handled inside Assam. Below is a plain language breakdown of the forms, deadlines, and provisions that matter most to an employer running an industrial establishment in the state.
Forms under the State Rules
Due Dates
Compliance deadlines, forms and how often each one recurs.
| Compliance | Form | Compliance Frequency | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Constitute a Works Committee | - | Event based | Forthwith on the establishment becoming covered |
| Notify the certifying officer of adoption of model standing orders | - | As and when the employer adopts the model standing order | |
| Amend standing orders after certifying officer's observation | - | Event based | Within 30 days of receiving the observation |
| Notice of change in conditions of service | Form XVIII | Event based | At least 30 days before the change takes effect |
| Intimate a strike notice received from workers | - | Event based | Within 5 working days of receiving the notice |
| Give notice of lock out | Form XXIII | Event based | Before the lock out, served on the trade union secretary and reported to the department |
| Intimate a lock out notice already given | Form XXIII | Event based | Within 5 working days of the notice |
| Give notice of retrenchment | Form XXIV | Event based | Before retrenching a worker with one year or more of continuous service |
| Offer reemployment opportunity to retrenched workers before filling a vacancy | - | Event based | At least 15 days before filling the vacancy |
| Give notice of closure | Form XXV | Event based | Before closing down the establishment |
| Apply for permission for lay off, retrenchment, or closure (Chapter X establishments) | Form XXVI | Event based | Before the intended lay off, retrenchment, or closure; closure applications require at least 90 days' notice |
| Transfer the worker reskilling amount to the state government | - | Event based | Within 10 days of retrenching a worker |
| Respond to a compounding officer's notice and deposit the compounding amount | Form XXVII | Event based | Within 15 days of receiving the notice |
| Communicate the list of recognised protected workers to the trade union | - | Annual | Within 15 days of receiving the union's list, which the union must send by 30 April each year |
Key Provisions
What changed under the Code, and what it means for payroll.
Old Law vs. New Law
What employers followed before, against what applies now — point matched against point.
| On this point | Before — earlier law | Now — the new Code |
|---|---|---|
| Governing framework | Three separate laws and three separate sets of Assam rules: the Assam Trade Union Regulations, 1927; the Assam Industrial Dispute Rules, 1958; and the Assam Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1947 | One consolidated set of rules under a single Industrial Relations Code, 2020 |
| Grievance handling | No statutory grievance redressal committee requirement | Mandatory Grievance Redressal Committee with equal employer and worker representation and a 30 day decision timeline (Rule 5 and Rule 6) |
| Recognition of unions | No structured procedure for recognising a sole negotiating union | Defined verification process; a union with 51 percent or more worker membership becomes the sole negotiating union, otherwise a negotiating council is formed (Rule 19 and Rule 20) |
| Standing orders | Certification handled entirely under the Assam Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1947, with no deemed adoption route | Employers may adopt model standing orders with a deemed certification route if the certifying officer raises no observation within 30 days (Rule 29) |
| Lay off, retrenchment and closure | Governed by Chapter VB of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, applicable at the older worker count threshold | Governed by Chapter X of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, with a revised applicability threshold and a dedicated permission and review process (Rule 50 to Rule 56) |
| Worker reskilling | No equivalent fund existed | New Worker Reskilling Fund; employer must transfer an amount equal to 15 days of last drawn wages for every retrenched worker (Rule 57 and Rule 58) |
| Filing and communication | Physical or manual filing with the labour department | Electronic filing enabled and defined throughout, alongside the existing physical route (Rule 2(1)(c)) |
| Compounding of offences | No structured compounding mechanism under the earlier Assam rules | Defined compounding procedure with prescribed notice and application forms (Rule 59) |
Applicability
Who the Code covers, and who gets special or exempt treatment.
Covered
- Industrial establishments operating in Assam where the State Government is the appropriate government under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020
- Employers and workers engaged in an industry as defined under the Code, including registered trade unions operating in the state
- Works committees, grievance redressal committees, and standing order certification for establishments of the applicable size
- Registered trade unions seeking recognition as a negotiating union, negotiating council member, or state level trade union
Exempted / special treatment
- Establishments where the Central Government is the appropriate government follow the Industrial Relations (Central) Rules instead of this state rule
- Chapter X permission requirements for lay off, retrenchment, and closure apply only to establishments that meet the worker count threshold fixed under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020
- Establishments below the prescribed worker threshold for a Works Committee or standing orders remain outside those specific chapters, though other provisions of the rules still apply
- A trade union with membership below the prescribed minimum subscription or membership floor is not eligible for negotiating union recognition
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to what employers ask us most about this rule.
What are the Assam Industrial Relations Rules, 2021?
They are the draft procedural rules that the Assam Labour Welfare Department published on 30 November 2021 to implement the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 within the state. They cover works committees, grievance redressal, trade unions, standing orders, strikes, lockouts, retrenchment, and closure.
Are these rules currently in force?
As published, they were a draft open for objections for 45 days. That window has long closed. The parent Industrial Relations Code, 2020 came into force nationally on 21 November 2025, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment notified Central Rules on 8 May 2026. Whether Assam has since issued a final, superseding notification of its own state rules should be confirmed with the Labour Welfare Department before relying on this draft for compliance.
Which earlier laws do these rules replace?
Rule 65 repeals the Assam Industrial Dispute Rules, 1958, the Assam Trade Union Regulations, 1927, and the Assam Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1947, while protecting anything already done under those rules.
Does every employer need to set up a Works Committee?
Rule 4 requires every employer covered by Section 3 of the Code to constitute a Works Committee, capped at 20 members, with worker representation at least equal to employer representation.
How does the Grievance Redressal Committee work?
The committee has equal employer and worker representation, up to 10 members. A worker can file a grievance within one year of the issue arising, and the committee must decide within 30 days. If unresolved, the worker can approach the Conciliation Officer within 60 days.
How does a trade union become the sole negotiating union?
Under Rule 19, a registered trade union with 51 percent or more of the workers on the muster roll of an establishment is verified and recognised as the sole negotiating union. If no union reaches that threshold, Rule 20 provides for a negotiating council made up of unions with at least 20 percent worker support each.
How are standing orders certified under the new rules?
An employer can adopt the model standing order and notify the certifying officer under Rule 29. The officer has 30 days to raise observations; if none are raised, the standing order is treated as certified by default.
What notice does an employer need to give before changing service conditions?
Rule 38 requires at least 30 days' written notice in Form XVIII to affected workers before changing a condition of service listed in the Third Schedule to the Code, and the notice must be displayed on the establishment's notice board.
What is the Worker Reskilling Fund?
It is a new fund under Rule 57 and Rule 58. When an employer retrenches a worker, the employer must transfer an amount equal to 15 days of the worker's last drawn wages within 10 days, which the state government then credits to the worker's bank account within 45 days for use towards reskilling.
Sources
Where every fact on this page comes from.
- → The Assam Gazette, Extraordinary, No. 565, Dispur, 30 November 2021, Government of Assam, Labour Welfare Department, Research (RC) Branch, Notification No. GLR(RC)71/2020/208 dated 17 November 2021.
- → The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (Central Act 35 of 2020), Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.
- → Ministry of Labour and Employment notification bringing the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 into force with effect from 21 November 2025.
- → Ministry of Labour and Employment, Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2026, notified 8 May 2026 (G.S.R. 342(E)).
For informational purposes only — not legal advice. State rules referenced here are subject to change on final notification. Verify current status with our compliance team before acting.