BLS LLB 5 Years Sem 5 Labour Laws 2025-26 - 75/25 Question Paper with Solutions

Section 2(h): "closure" means the permanent closing down of a place of employment or part thereof.

Its consequences. Section 74: an employer intending to close down an undertaking shall serve sixty days' notice on the appropriate Government stating clearly the reasons, before the intended closure. Section 75: every worker in continuous service for not less than one year is entitled to notice and compensation as if he had been retrenched, that is one month's notice or wages in lieu and fifteen days' average pay for every completed year of continuous service. In a Chapter X establishment (three hundred or more workers), Section 80 requires the employer to apply for the prior permission of the appropriate Government at least ninety days before the intended closure.

Section 2(q): "industrial dispute" means any dispute or difference between employers and employers, or between employers and workers, or between workers and workers, which is connected with the employment or non-employment or the terms of employment or with the conditions of labour of any person; and includes any dispute or difference between an individual worker and an employer connected with, or arising out of, discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination of such worker.

Section 2(g) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020: "certifying officer" means any officer appointed by the appropriate Government, by notification, to perform the functions of a certifying officer under this Code.

His functions, in Chapter IV: to receive the draft standing orders forwarded by the employer under Section 30(2); to certify them; to receive the information where the employer adopts the model standing orders under Section 30(3), and to make observations and give directions; to maintain the register of standing orders under Section 34; and to decide applications for modification under Section 35. Under Section 31 he has, like the appellate authority, the powers of a civil court.

The appropriate Government, under Section 6 of the Code on Wages, 2019, which provides that the appropriate Government shall fix the minimum rate of wages payable to employees, for time work or for piece work.

Section 8 prescribes the procedure: either appoint committees to hold enquiries and recommend, or publish proposals by notification with a date not less than two months ahead for their consideration, in which case the concerned Advisory Board under Section 42 must also be consulted; and the rates are to be reviewed or revised at intervals not exceeding five years.

Section 9 adds a national floor: the Central Government shall fix the floor wage, taking into account the minimum living standards of a worker, with power to fix different floor wages for different geographical areas; no minimum rate may be less than the floor wage, and where an existing rate is higher it shall not be reduced.

Constitution. Section 44(1): the appropriate Government may, by notification, constitute one or more Industrial Tribunals for the adjudication of industrial disputes and for performing such other functions as may be assigned to them under the Code. A Tribunal constituted by the Central Government shall also exercise the jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred on the Tribunal defined in the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.

Composition. Section 44(2): every Industrial Tribunal shall consist of two members appointed by the appropriate Government, of whom one shall be a Judicial Member and the other an Administrative Member.

Benches. Section 44(3): a bench of the Tribunal shall consist of a Judicial Member and an Administrative Member, or a single Judicial Member, or a single Administrative Member.

4. Awards. Section 55: the form of the award, its communication and commencement. Section 57: persons on whom awards and settlements are binding. Section 58: their period of operation.
5. Wages pending appeal. Section 56: an employer who prefers proceedings in a High Court or the Supreme Court against an award directing reinstatement must pay the worker full wages last drawn during the pendency, if he is not employed elsewhere.
6. Section 51 provides for the transfer of pending cases and Section 52 for the adjustment of services of presiding officers under the repealed Act.

Above it. Section 46: the Central Government may constitute one or more National Industrial Tribunals for the adjudication of disputes which, in its opinion, involve questions of national importance or are of such a nature that industrial establishments situated in more than one State are likely to be interested in or affected by them. It also consists of a Judicial Member and an Administrative Member, and by Section 46(5) the Judicial Member shall preside.

2. that it is in interference with the trade, business or employment of some other person or with the right of some other person to dispose of his capital or his labour as he wills.

A registered trade union is also not liable in any suit or other legal proceeding in any civil court in respect of any tortious act done in contemplation or furtherance of an industrial dispute by an agent of the Trade Union, if it is proved that the person acted without the knowledge of, or contrary to the express instructions given by, the executive of the union.

C. Enforceability of agreements. Section 18 provides that an agreement between the members of a registered trade union shall not be void or voidable merely by reason that any of its objects is in restraint of trade, subject to the exception that nothing enables a civil court to entertain a legal proceeding instituted for the express purpose of enforcing, or recovering damages for the breach of, an agreement concerning the conditions on which members shall sell their goods, transact business, work, employ or be employed.

D. The limits.

1. The immunity is confined to acts done in contemplation or furtherance of an industrial dispute.

Application. Section 28 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020: Chapter IV applies to every industrial establishment wherein three hundred or more workers are employed, or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve months. Section 28(2) excludes establishments whose workers are governed by the Fundamental and Supplementary Rules, the Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, the Indian Railway Establishment Code and similar service rules.

Model standing orders. Section 29: the Central Government shall make model standing orders relating to the matters in the First Schedule, and until the employer's own standing orders are certified, the model standing orders shall be deemed to be adopted in the establishment.

A. Preparation of the draft. Section 30(1) and (2).

C. Certification. Where the model is not adopted, the certifying officer proceeds to certify the draft, and in doing so must be satisfied that it covers every First Schedule matter, is not inconsistent with the Code, and is fair and reasonable. Section 31 gives him, and the appellate authority, the powers of a civil court to receive evidence, administer oaths, enforce attendance and compel the production of documents.

D. Appeal. Section 32: an employer, worker, Trade Union, negotiating union or negotiating council aggrieved by the order of the certifying officer may appeal to the appellate authority, whose decision is final.

E. After certification. Section 33: the date of operation of the standing orders and their availability. Section 34: the register of standing orders maintained by the certifying officer. Section 36: oral evidence in contradiction of standing orders is not admissible. Section 37: interpretation of standing orders. Section 38: disciplinary proceedings to be completed ordinarily within ninety days, with subsistence allowance at fifty per cent of wages for the first ninety days and seventy-five per cent thereafter where the delay is not attributable to the worker.

The statute is the Code on Wages, 2019, and the definition is in Section 2(y).

The inclusive limb. "Wages" means all remuneration, whether by way of salary, allowances or otherwise, expressed in terms of money or capable of being so expressed, which would, if the terms of employment, express or implied, were fulfilled, be payable to a person employed in respect of his employment or of work done in such employment, and includes:

1. basic pay;
2. dearness allowance; and
3. retaining allowance, if any.

The exclusions. It does not include:

1. any bonus payable under any law which does not form part of the remuneration payable under the terms of employment;
2. the value of house-accommodation, or of the supply of light, water, medical attendance or other amenity or service excluded by a general or special order of the appropriate Government;

The second proviso. For the purpose of equal wages to all genders and for payment of wages, the emoluments specified in clauses (d), (f), (g) and (h) shall be taken for computation of wages.

Remuneration in kind. Where an employee is given remuneration in kind which does not exceed fifteen per cent of the total wages payable, its value shall be included as part of the wages.

(a) What are the statutory duties of the Conciliation Officer?

Appointment. Section 43 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020: the appropriate Government may, by notification, appoint such number of persons as it thinks fit to be conciliation officers, charged with the duty of mediating in and promoting the settlement of industrial disputes. A conciliation officer may be appointed for a specified area, or for specified industries in a specified area, or for one or more specified industries, and either permanently or for a limited period.

Duties, under Section 53 and the general scheme of Chapter VII.

1. To hold conciliation proceedings where an industrial dispute exists or is apprehended, in the prescribed manner.

On the employer's refusal to attend. The officer's powers under Section 49 are the answer. He may enforce attendance as a civil court can, and a party who fails to attend may be compelled. The officer may also proceed to record the failure of conciliation and report the employer's non-co-operation, which is material both to the Government's view of the dispute and to the Tribunal's.

(b) What is the legal effect of failure of conciliation?

1. The proceedings end and a report goes out. The conciliation officer submits his failure report with the facts and the reasons.
2. The dispute becomes ripe for adjudication. Under Section 53, on the failure of conciliation the parties may apply to the Industrial Tribunal for adjudication of the dispute. This is a material improvement on Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, under which adjudication depended on the appropriate Government choosing to make a reference.
3. The prohibition on strikes and lock-outs continues for seven days. Section 62(1)(d) and (2)(d): no strike or lock-out during the pendency of conciliation proceedings before a conciliation officer and seven days after the conclusion of such proceedings. So failure does not free the parties immediately.

(a) Do the provisions of standing order apply to him?

Yes.

Section 28(1) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020: the provisions of Chapter IV apply to every industrial establishment wherein three hundred or more than three hundred workers are employed, or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve months. Mr. Roghen employs 600 workers, twice the threshold, so the Chapter applies.

Section 28(2) excludes only industrial establishments in so far as the workers employed are persons to whom the Fundamental and Supplementary Rules, the Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, the Civil Services (Temporary Service) Rules, the Revised Leave Rules, the Civil Service Regulations, the Civilians in Defence Service (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules or the Indian Railway Establishment Code apply, which does not cover him.

3. Forward. Section 30(2): he shall thereafter forward the draft, electronically or otherwise, to the certifying officer for certification.
4. Or adopt the model. Section 30(3): where he adopts a model standing order of the Central Government with respect to matters relevant to his establishment, that model standing order shall be deemed to have been certified, and he shall forward the information to the certifying officer, who may, if he has any observation, direct him accordingly.
5. Certification and appeal: the certifying officer certifies, having regard to coverage of the First Schedule, conformity with the Code and the fairness and reasonableness of the provisions; Section 31 gives him and the appellate authority the powers of a civil court; and Section 32 provides an appeal to the appellate authority, whose decision is final.

(a) Is he eligible for receiving bonus?

It depends on whether he has been dismissed from service on that ground. Conviction alone does not disqualify him.

Section 29 of the Code on Wages, 2019: "Notwithstanding anything contained in this Code, an employee shall be disqualified from receiving bonus under this Code, if he is dismissed from service for:

1. fraud; or
2. riotous or violent behaviour while on the premises of the establishment; or
3. theft, misappropriation or sabotage of any property of the establishment; or
4. conviction for sexual harassment."

(b) Explain the reason in detail.

1. Bonus is a statutory entitlement, and disqualification is an exception to be read strictly. Under Section 26(1) every eligible employee is entitled to an annual minimum bonus of eight and one-third per cent of the wages earned, or one hundred rupees, whichever is higher, whether or not the employer has any allocable surplus. Because the right arises by statute and not by the employer's grace, the provision taking it away is construed narrowly and its conditions must be strictly satisfied.

2. The disqualification is tied to dismissal, not to the offence. The reason is that Chapter IV is concerned with the employment relationship, not with punishing crime. Bonus is earned by service during the accounting year; what forfeits it is conduct so grave that the employer has ended the relationship because of it. An employee who remains in service, however he may have offended, has given the service for which bonus is paid.

5. What is not affected. Section 29 disqualifies from bonus; it does not by itself deprive the employee of wages earned, of gratuity, or of any other entitlement, each of which is governed by its own statute. Nor does it dispense with a fair disciplinary procedure: a dismissal must still comply with the certified standing orders and the principles of natural justice, and under Section 50 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 a Tribunal may set aside a dismissal that was not justified, or award a lesser punishment.

6. Deduction, as distinct from disqualification. Section 38 of the Code on Wages provides that where in an accounting year an employee is found guilty of misconduct causing financial loss to the employer, the employer may deduct the amount of the loss from the bonus payable in respect of that year, and pay only the balance.

2. Whether a lock-out is illegal is a question for adjudication. Section 62(2) prohibits a lock-out without sixty days' notice, within fourteen days of it, before the date specified in it, during conciliation and seven days after, during proceedings before a Tribunal or arbitrator and sixty days after, or while a settlement or award is in operation. Section 63(1) makes a lock-out declared in contravention of Section 62 illegal.
3. The route to the Tribunal. The dispute goes first to a conciliation officer under Section 43, whose duty under Section 53 is to investigate and endeavour to bring about a settlement; on the failure of conciliation the parties may apply to the Industrial Tribunal for adjudication.
4. Where the dispute involves questions of national importance, or affects establishments in more than one State, the Central Government may constitute a National Industrial Tribunal under Section 46.

Section 44(4): the qualifications for appointment, method of recruitment, term of office, salaries and allowances, resignation, removal and other conditions of service of the Judicial Member and the Administrative Member of a Tribunal constituted by the Central Government shall be in accordance with the rules made under Section 184 of the Finance Act, 2017, with a proviso that a person who has held a post below the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of India or an equivalent rank shall not be eligible for appointment as an Administrative Member.

Section 48 prescribes disqualifications for members of the Tribunal and of the National Industrial Tribunal.

For the National Industrial Tribunal, Section 46 provides for a similar two-member composition, and Section 46(5) provides that the Judicial Member shall preside over it.

For full marks, cover: why the concept is the gateway; the definition in Section 2(p) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; the circular definition it replaces; the case law in order with what each contributed; the triple test and the dominant nature test; the exclusions; and what the Code settles and leaves open.

Why it matters. "Industry" is the gateway to the whole law. Without an industry there is no industrial dispute under Section 2(q), no worker under Section 2(zr), no conciliation, no adjudication, and none of the protections on lay-off, retrenchment, closure, standing orders or unfair labour practices.

The definition. Section 2(p) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020: "industry" means any systematic activity carried on by co-operation between an employer and worker (whether such worker is employed by such employer directly or by or through any agency, including a contractor) for the production, supply or distribution of goods or services with a view to satisfy human wants or wishes (not being wants or wishes which are merely spiritual or religious in nature), whether or not:

The case law.

1. D.N. Banerji v. P.R. Mukherjee (1953). The dismissal of employees of the Budge Budge Municipality was held to raise an industrial dispute; "undertaking" is not confined to activities carried on for profit. Contribution: profit motive is not a test.
2. Baroda Borough Municipality v. Its Workmen (1957): the same for municipal electricity supply.
3. State of Bombay v. Hospital Mazdoor Sabha (1960). Government hospitals held to be an industry; the test was activity analogous to trade or business, organised as such, involving co-operation between employer and employee in the production of material services, with only the regal or sovereign functions of the State excluded. Contribution: the character of the employer is not a test.
4. University of Delhi v. Ram Nath (1963): education held not an industry. Madras Gymkhana Club (1968) and Cricket Club of India (1969): members' clubs held not industries, being self-serving. Contribution: a narrowing, later overruled.

7. Parliament's failed response. The Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act, 1982 substituted a narrower Section 2(j) excluding hospitals, educational and research institutions, khadi and village industries, charitable and social service institutions, sovereign functions and units with fewer than ten workmen. It was never brought into force.
8. State of U.P. v. Jai Bir Singh (2005). A five-Judge Bench doubted Bangalore Water Supply, observing that the triple test had swept in institutions where the relationship is not commercial, and referred the question to a larger Bench. That reference remains pending, so the 1978 decision continued to govern until the Code.

What Section 2(p) settles.

1. It enacts the triple test, so the statutory definition is no longer circular and no longer depends on a decision under challenge.
2. It enacts profit and capital neutrality, ending the argument begun in 1953.
3. It enacts the religious exclusion in the same words as the third limb of the triple test.

For full marks, cover: the origins and the reasons in the preamble; the structure and method; the Declaration of Philadelphia and the 1998 Declaration; the fundamental Conventions by number with India's ratifications; the influence on Indian statutes one by one; the constitutional influence; and an assessment.

A. Origins. The ILO was created in 1919 by Part XIII of the Treaty of Versailles, as part of the League of Nations settlement after the First World War. India was a founder member. Its preamble gives three reasons: that universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice; that conditions of labour exist involving such injustice, hardship and privation to large numbers of people as to produce unrest so great that the peace and harmony of the world are imperilled; and that the failure of any nation to adopt humane conditions of labour is an obstacle in the way of other nations which desire to improve conditions in their own countries. In 1946 it became the first specialised agency of the United Nations, and in 1969 it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

D. Declarations. The Declaration of Philadelphia, 1944, annexed to the Constitution, declares that labour is not a commodity, that freedom of expression and of association are essential to sustained progress, that poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere, and that all human beings irrespective of race, creed or sex have the right to pursue their material well-being and spiritual development in conditions of freedom and dignity, economic security and equal opportunity. The Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, 1998 binds all members by virtue of membership in respect of four principles: freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour; the effective abolition of child labour; and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation, with a safe and healthy working environment added in 2022.

E. The fundamental Conventions and India's position.

1. Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105): ratified.
2. Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) and Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111): ratified.

4. Minimum Wages Act, 1948, now Chapter II of the Code on Wages, 2019: the machinery of wage-fixing committees follows the Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26), ratified by India; and the tripartite composition required by Section 8(2) is the ILO's method in domestic form.
5. Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, now Section 3 of the Code on Wages, 2019: directly implements Convention No. 100, and Section 2(v)'s definition of "same work or work of a similar nature" by reference to skill, effort, experience and responsibility follows the Convention's language.
6. Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, now in the Code on Social Security, 2020: from the Maternity Protection Conventions.
7. Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, amended in 2016 to prohibit the employment of children below fourteen in all occupations: from Conventions 138 and 182, ratified the following year.
8. Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976: from Conventions 29 and 105.

H. Assessment. The influence has been substantial in substance and selective in form. India has ratified 47 Conventions, including six of the eight fundamental ones, and has legislated in conformity with several it has not ratified. The weaknesses are as clear: Conventions 87 and 98 remain unratified; enforcement of the domestic statutes is poor, particularly in the unorganised sector, where most Indian workers are; and the ILO's supervisory machinery has no coercive power.

1. Works Committee. Section 3: in an establishment with one hundred or more workers, on the general or special order of the appropriate Government, constituted by the employer, with the workers' representatives not fewer than the employer's and chosen in consultation with the registered trade union. Duty: to promote measures for securing and preserving amity and good relations and to endeavour to compose material differences of opinion. Advisory only.
2. Grievance Redressal Committee. Section 4: in every establishment with twenty or more workers, one or more Committees for the resolution of individual grievances, of not more than ten members, with equal representation of employer and workers and adequate representation of women workers. Application within one year of the cause of action; proceedings completed within thirty days; decision by a majority of the workers' representatives; appeal to the conciliation officer.

E. Voluntary arbitration. Section 42. Where an industrial dispute exists or is apprehended, the employer and the workers may, before the dispute is referred for adjudication, by written agreement refer it to an arbitrator named in the agreement. The agreement is forwarded to the appropriate Government and the conciliation officer and published; under Section 42(5), where the parties making the reference represent the majority of each side, a notification may be issued so that others concerned may present their case; under Section 42(7) the appropriate Government may prohibit the continuance of a strike or lock-out already in existence; and the arbitration award is submitted to the appropriate Government.

F. Adjudication.

1. Industrial Tribunal. Section 44: constituted by the appropriate Government; two members, one Judicial and one Administrative; a bench of both, or of a single member of either kind.
2. National Industrial Tribunal. Section 46: constituted by the Central Government for disputes involving questions of national importance or affecting establishments in more than one State; the Judicial Member presides.

1. Boards of Conciliation, Courts of Inquiry and Labour Courts as separate bodies are abolished; their work passes to the Tribunal.
2. The Tribunal changes from one member to two, one Judicial and one Administrative.
3. A Grievance Redressal Committee at twenty workers gives individual disputes a statutory in-house forum with a time limit and an appeal.
4. Adjudication is less dependent on a government reference than under Section 10 of the old Act.
5. Section 14 supplies a statutory bargaining agent for the whole country, which only Maharashtra previously had.

1. a basic rate of wages and an allowance at a rate to be adjusted, at such intervals and in such manner as the appropriate Government may direct, to accord as nearly as practicable with the variation in the cost of living index number applicable to such workers, that allowance being the cost of living allowance; or
2. a basic rate of wages with or without the cost of living allowance, and the cash value of the concessions in respect of supplies of essential commodities at concession rates, where so authorised; or
3. an all-inclusive rate allowing for the basic rate, the cost of living allowance and the cash value of the concessions, if any.

Section 7(2): the cost of living allowance and the cash value of the concessions shall be computed by such authority as the appropriate Government may by notification appoint, at such intervals and in accordance with such directions as it may specify from time to time.

C. The criteria for fixation. Section 6(6). The appropriate Government:

1. shall primarily take into account the skill of workers required for working under the categories of unskilled, skilled, semi-skilled and highly skilled, or geographical area, or both; and

2. The committee. Section 8(2): persons representing employers; persons representing employees, equal in number; and independent persons not exceeding one-third of the total members.
3. The notification. Section 8(3): after considering the recommendation or the representations received, the appropriate Government shall by notification fix or revise the rates, which unless otherwise provided come into force on the expiry of three months from the date of issue; and where the notification route is used, the Government shall also consult the concerned Advisory Board constituted under Section 42.
4. The cycle. Section 8(4): minimum rates shall be reviewed or revised ordinarily at an interval not exceeding five years.

F. The floor wage. Section 9. The Central Government shall fix a floor wage taking into account the minimum living standards of a worker, in such manner as may be prescribed, and may fix different floor wages for different geographical areas. Minimum rates fixed by the appropriate Government shall not be less than the floor wage, and where the rates fixed earlier are higher, they shall not be reduced. Before fixing the floor wage the Central Government may obtain the advice of the Central Advisory Board and shall consult the State Governments.

For full marks, cover: the scope of Chapter IV; eligibility and the minimum bonus; the notional ceiling; maximum bonus and allocable surplus; proportionate reduction and computation of working days; disqualification; the machinery of gross profits, available surplus, set on and set off; adjustments and deductions; the time limit; non-applicability; and enforcement.

Chapter IV of the Code on Wages, 2019, Sections 26 to 41, reproduces in substance the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965.

1. Eligibility and minimum bonus. Section 26(1): there shall be paid to every employee drawing wages not exceeding such amount per month as may be notified by the appropriate Government, by his employer, who has put in at least thirty days' work in an accounting year, an annual minimum bonus calculated at the rate of eight and one-third per cent of the wages earned by the employee, or one hundred rupees, whichever is higher, whether or not the employer has any allocable surplus during the previous accounting year.

5. Disqualification. Section 29: notwithstanding anything in the Code, an employee shall be disqualified from receiving bonus if he is dismissed from service for (a) fraud; (b) riotous or violent behaviour while on the premises of the establishment; (c) theft, misappropriation or sabotage of any property of the establishment; or (d) conviction for sexual harassment.

6. Establishments. Section 30: where an establishment consists of different departments, undertakings or branches, all are treated as parts of the same establishment for computing bonus, unless a separate balance sheet and profit and loss account are prepared and maintained for one, in which case it is treated separately, unless it was previously treated as part of the whole.

7. The financial machinery. Section 31: bonus is paid out of the allocable surplus. Section 32: computation of gross profits. Section 33: computation of available surplus. Section 34: sums deductible from gross profits. Section 35: calculation of direct tax payable by the employer. Section 36: set on and set off of allocable surplus, by which a surplus above the maximum is carried forward to be used in later years, and a deficiency is carried forward against later surpluses.

11. Enforcement. Section 45: a claim for bonus due may be filed before the appointed authority within three years, with power to award the amount and compensation up to ten times it. Section 59: the burden of proving payment lies on the employer. Section 54: paying less than the amount due is punishable with a fine up to fifty thousand rupees, and on a repeat conviction within five years with imprisonment up to three months or a fine up to one lakh rupees or both.