Labour Commissioner West Bengal: Labour Courts, Tribunals and Where to File

Sources for the figures on this page

• Do the Labour Courts and Tribunals set up under the Industrial Disputes Act still hear cases?

  Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Act 2026, s.2, deemed in force from 21 November 2025 — substitutes s.104(1), under which the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 "shall stand repealed", and inserts s.104(1A): the Tribunals and statutory authorities functioning under the repealed Acts "shall continue to function till such Tribunals and other statutory authorities becomes functional under this Code". Earlier, the Industrial Relations Code (Removal of Difficulties) Order 2025, S.O. 5683(E) of 8 December 2025, had said the existing Labour Courts, Industrial Tribunals and National Industrial Tribunals "shall continue to adjudicate the existing as well as new cases" until Code Tribunals are constituted.

  View sourceChecked 2026-11-02

• Adjudication bodies under the Industrial Relations Code

  Industrial Relations Code 2020, s.2(zn), s.44 and s.46 — the Code's adjudicating bodies are the Industrial Tribunal, constituted by the appropriate Government, with one Judicial Member and one Administrative Member, and the National Industrial Tribunal, constituted by the Central Government. The Code creates no Labour Court. Discharge or dismissal, retrenchment and closure, strikes and lockouts, standing orders and trade union disputes need the two-member bench (s.44(7)).

  View sourceChecked 2026-11-02

• Which Government's machinery handles your dispute

  Industrial Relations Code 2020, s.2(b) — the Central Government is the appropriate Government for establishments carried on by or under it, railways including metro railways, mines, oil fields, major ports, air transport, telecommunication, banking and insurance companies, corporations established by a Central Act, central public sector undertakings and their subsidiaries, and companies at least 51% owned by the Centre; for any other industrial establishment it is the State Government. Code on Wages 2019, s.2(d), uses a near-identical test.

  View sourceChecked 2026-11-02

• Days within which the conciliation officer must report, and after which a terminated worker may go straight to the Tribunal

  Industrial Relations Code 2020, s.53(5) — the conciliation officer sends the report to the parties and the appropriate Government within forty-five days of the commencement of conciliation proceedings, or a shorter period fixed by the appropriate Government. Separately, s.4(10) — a worker whose services have been discharged, dismissed, retrenched or otherwise terminated may apply directly to the Tribunal for adjudication after forty-five days from the date of the application made to the conciliation officer.

  View sourceChecked 2026-09-14

• Days after the conciliation failure report within which a party may apply to the Tribunal

  Industrial Relations Code 2020, s.53(6) — where no settlement is arrived at, any party to the dispute may apply in the prescribed form to the Tribunal within ninety days from the date of receipt of the failure report. In the Central sphere the prescribed form is Form II, "Application to Tribunal" (Industrial Relations (Central) Rules 2026, G.S.R. 342(E), r.23(9)), filed electronically or by speed post. In the State sphere the form is set by the State's own rules.

  View sourceChecked 2026-11-02

• Years from termination within which an individual worker's application must reach the Tribunal

  Industrial Relations Code 2020, s.4(11) — the application under s.4(10) must be made to the Tribunal before the expiry of two years from the date of discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or otherwise termination of service. Separately, under the proviso to s.53(1) the conciliation officer may not hold conciliation proceedings relating to an industrial dispute after two years from the date the dispute arose.

  View sourceChecked 2026-09-14

• Are lawyers barred by default from conciliation and the Tribunal?

  Industrial Relations Code 2020, s.94(3)–(4) — "No party to a dispute shall be entitled to be represented by a legal practitioner in any conciliation proceedings under this Code or any proceedings before Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal"; before a Tribunal a legal practitioner may appear only "with the consent of the other parties to the proceeding and with the leave of the Tribunal". Under s.94(1) a worker may be represented by an office-bearer of a registered trade union or, if not a member, of any union connected with the industry, or by another worker employed in the industry; under the Industrial Relations (Central) Rules 2026, r.41, that authorisation is in Form VI.

  View sourceChecked 2026-11-02

• Years within which a claim for unpaid wages must be filed

  Code on Wages 2019, s.45(6) — an application may be filed within three years from the date on which the claim arises, and the authority may entertain a later application on sufficient cause being shown.

  View sourceChecked 2026-09-01

• Days to appeal a Code on Wages claim decision

  Code on Wages 2019, s.49(1)–(3) — an appeal against an order under s.45 lies to an appellate authority at least one rank higher, within ninety days, extendable for sufficient cause. In the Central sphere a claim is filed in Form II, "manually or electronically", and an appeal in Form III (Code on Wages (Central) Rules 2026, G.S.R. 343(E), r.49–r.50); an employer appealing must first deposit the amount. State-sphere claims use the State's own rules.

  View sourceChecked 2026-11-02

• Forum for a gratuity dispute, for an exit on or after 21 November 2025 — the competent authority, not the controlling authority

  Code on Social Security 2020, s.56 (determination of amount of gratuity: employer must determine and notify the employee and the competent authority, pay within thirty days, pay simple interest on delay; disputes determined by the competent authority; appeal within sixty days, extendable by sixty) read with s.58 (appointment of the competent authority by the appropriate Government). For exits before 21 November 2025 the equivalent route was the controlling authority under the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972.

  View sourceChecked 2026-08-14