Industrial Relations (Delhi) Rules, 2025

They are the draft procedural rules that the Delhi Labour Department has framed under Section 99 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. They set out the forms and timelines an employer in Delhi must follow for trade unions, works committees, standing orders, disputes, strikes, lockouts, retrenchment and closure.

Not as a final notification. They were published as a draft on 3 December 2025 for a thirty day objection period, and as of August 2026 a separate final notification could not be confirmed. Employers should verify the current status with the Labour Department before treating any date in this guide as binding.

They apply to industrial establishments where the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi is the appropriate Government under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. Specific chapters, such as standing orders or the layoff and retrenchment permission process, carry their own worker count thresholds.

The Industrial Relations (Delhi) Rules, 2025 expressly supersede the Delhi Trade Union Regulations, 1927. Trade union registration, returns and audit in Delhi now run under the new Rules and the Industrial Relations Code, 2020.

No. A Works Committee is required only once the appropriate Government issues a specific order under Section 3 of the Code, and generally applies to establishments with one hundred or more workers.

Any industrial establishment employing twenty or more workers must have one or more Grievance Redressal Committees, with equal representation of employer and worker members, up to ten members in total.

Under the earlier Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, the threshold was one hundred or more workers. Under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, this has moved up to three hundred or more workers.

For a worker with one year or more of continuous service, the employer gives one month's notice or pay in lieu under Rule 41 using Form XVII. Establishments with three hundred or more workers must also apply for prior permission on Form XVIII, at least sixty days in advance.

Where an establishment has three hundred or more workers, the Rules require at least fifteen days notice for a layoff, sixty days for a retrenchment, and ninety days for a closure, each filed as an application for permission on Form XVIII.

It is a statutory fund introduced under Chapter XI of the Code. An employer who retrenches a worker must transfer an amount equal to fifteen days of that worker's last drawn wages to the fund within ten days of the retrenchment.

Yes. Rule 3 allows a written settlement agreed directly between employer and worker, recorded in Form I, with a copy sent to the Conciliation Officer, even without a conciliation proceeding.

Acting against finally certified standing orders can attract a fine of Rupees one lakh up to Rupees two lakh under Section 86(11) of the Code, with a higher penalty on repeat conviction.

Under Section 86(1), an employer who lays off, retrenches or closes down an establishment covered by Chapter X without the required permission faces a fine of Rupees one lakh up to Rupees ten lakh, rising to Rupees five lakh up to Rupees twenty lakh, or imprisonment, on a repeat offence.

Yes. Rule 52 lets a compounding officer notify a first time offender in Form XIX, and the offence can be compounded on payment of the fixed amount within fifteen days, closing the matter without prosecution.

Objections were addressed to the Labour Department at C Block, 5, Sham Nath Marg, Delhi 110054, during the thirty day window. For the current status of the Rules, employers can check the Delhi Labour Department's website or speak with a labour law advisor.