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Andhra Pradesh Releases Draft Industrial Relations Rules, 2026

The Government of Andhra Pradesh has issued the Draft Industrial Relations (AP) Rules, 2026, under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. These rules modernize the state’s labour governance framework by replacing long‑standing regulations, bringing transparency, digitization, and structured dispute‑resolution mechanisms to the forefront.

These draft rules have been opened for public consultation for 30 days, and stakeholders—including employers, HR leaders, trade unions, and workers—are encouraged to provide feedback via the Labour Department portal.

🔎 Key Highlights at a Glance

Full transition to IR Code, 2020 for industrial relations governance
Digital-first compliance – notices, applications, registers, and records can be filed electronically
Works Committee & Grievance Redressal Committee mandatory in defined establishments
Clear procedures for trade union recognition (including secret ballot verification)
Detailed Model Standing Orders for Manufacturing & Service Sectors
Codified procedures for layoffs, retrenchment & closure
Mandatory Worker Re‑Skilling Fund contributions by employers
Streamlined conciliation, arbitration & dispute resolution

🏛️ 1. Applicability & Legal Foundation

The Rules are framed under Section 99 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020.

They supersede:

AP Industrial Disputes Rules, 1958
AP Trade Union Regulations, 1927
AP Standing Orders Rules, 1953

The rules take effect upon publication in the Official Gazette.

🤝 2. Settlements & Dispute Resolution

2.1 Settlement Procedures

All settlements must be executed in Form I.
Settlements outside conciliation must be jointly submitted to the Deputy Commissioner of Labour.

2.2 Conciliation

Officers must digitize applications and upload reports within 7 days of conclusion.
All statements and evidence to be filed in affidavit form.

2.3 Arbitration

Voluntary arbitration is formalized via Form V with written consent from arbitrators.
Government may notify the arbitration for wider participation.

🏭 3. Works Committee & Grievance Redressal Committee

3.1 Works Committee (for units where mandated)

Maximum 20 members
Worker representation ≥ employer representation
Mandatory representation of women workers proportional to their workforce presence
Worker representatives chosen by:

Negotiating union / council, OR
Election (electronic mode allowed)

3.2 Grievance Redressal Committee (≥20 workers)

Equal employer & worker members (max 10)
Women representation proportional
3‑year tenure
Applications can be submitted electronically

👥 4. Trade Union Recognition & Negotiation Framework

4.1 Sole Negotiating Union Criteria

A trade union becomes the sole negotiating union if it has ≥30% membership of the total workforce.

4.2 Secret Ballot-Based Verification

Verification Officer appointed by Commissioner of Labour
Employer must provide records, bear expenses
60-day advance scheduling meeting
Secret ballot—digital voting allowed

4.3 Recognition Validity

Recognition valid for 3 years, extendable up to 5 years mutually

4.4 Facilities for Recognized Unions

Notice board
Meeting spaces
Access to establishment
Office space for units with ≥300 workers

📘 5. Standing Orders (Manufacturing & Service Sector)

5.1 Key Elements

The Rules provide Model Standing Orders covering:

Worker classifications (Permanent, Temporary, Apprentice, Badli, Fixed-term, Casual)
Shift changes & notice requirements
Leave entitlements and procedures
Wage payment timelines
Disciplinary procedures & misconduct definitions
Retirement at 58 years (unless otherwise mutually agreed)
Service records & ID card requirements

5.2 Certification Process

Adoption of model orders must be intimated electronically
If certifying officer raises no objection within 30 days, deemed certified

⚠️ 6. Layoff, Retrenchment & Closure Compliance

Timelines Under the Rules

Action	Notice/Application Requirement
Retrenchment	30 days before execution (Form XIII)
Closure	60 days prior
Special Category Establishments (Chap X)	Layoff: 15 days; Retrenchment: 60 days; Closure: 90 days (Form XIV)

Re-employment Priority

Retrenched workers get preference in future vacancies within one year.

📚 7. Worker Re‑Skilling Fund (First Time in AP)

Employer must deposit 15 days’ last drawn wages for every retrenched worker within 10 days.
Payment must be transferred to the worker within 45 days.

⚖️ 8. Offences & Penalties

Compounding of offences allowed via Form XV
Payment within 15 days stops prosecution
Supervised directly by the State Government

🛡️ 9. Protected Workers

Unions must submit names by 30 April every year
Employer must recognize and notify protected workers for a 12‑month term

💻 10. Complete Digital Compliance Framework

Nearly all compliance elements can now be completed electronically, including:

Applications
Notices
Registers
Records
Filing appeals
Submitting Standing Orders

This aligns the State Rules fully with India’s emerging digital labour compliance ecosystem.

Conclusion

The Industrial Relations (AP) Rules, 2026 – Draft represent a major modernization of labour administration in Andhra Pradesh. The rules strengthen:

Worker protection
Employer clarity
Digital compliance
Transparent dispute resolution
Trade union legitimacy
Predictability in layoffs, restructuring & closure processes

HR leaders, employers, and unions should review the draft carefully and submit suggestions within the notified timeline.

Industrial Relations code 2020 - FAQ

Industrial Relations Code 2020 - FAQ official link

The Ministry of Labour & Employment has released official FAQs on the new Labour Codes, and these clarifications are highly relevant for HR, payroll, and leadership teams planning their compliance roadmap. These FAQs reduce interpretation risks and give employers clearer policy direction, but they also signal the need to revisit salary structures, appointment letters, payroll logic, contractor engagement, and HR policies in a time‑bound manner. For HR leaders, this is the right time to move from basic awareness to structured readiness through policy reviews, system changes, and focused communication with employees.

FAQs on Industrial Relations (IR) Code, 2020

Q1. Does the IR Code take back workers’ right to form trade unions?

Ans: No. Provisions related to registration of trade unions remain intact under Chapter-III of IR Code 2020.

Q2. Does IR Code ban all strikes?

Ans: No. The right to strike remains intact with a mandatory 14-day notice period before going on strike.

Q3. Does a worker need government permission to strike?

Ans: No permission is required. Only a 14-day prior notice is mandatory to facilitate timely conciliation and reduce conflict.

Q4. Does IR Code allow employers to retrench workers freely?

Ans: No. Mandatory one-month notice and retrenchment compensation continue. Prior permission is required for establishments with 300 or more workers.

Q5. Do trade unions lose their grievance redressal role?

Ans: No. Trade unions gain statutory backing as negotiating unions/councils. Bipartite forums like Works Committees and Grievance Redressal Committees ensure time-bound resolution.

Q6. Does the Code end job security and promote hire-and-fire?

Ans: No. Job security provisions remain with notice and compensation. Retrenchment for 300+ workers needs prior permission.

Q7. Is Fixed-Term Employment (FTE) exploitative?

Ans: No. FTE employees get all benefits equal to permanent employees, including gratuity after one year, appointment letters, and skill enhancement opportunities.

Q8. Can employers with less than 300 workers fire without restriction?

Ans: No. Notice and compensation rules apply. A re-skilling fund for retrenched workers is introduced for welfare.

Q9. Is the conciliation mechanism abolished?

Ans: No. It is streamlined with compulsory conciliation for strike notices, fixed timelines, and digital processes for faster dispute resolution.

Q10. Are Labour Courts abolished?

Ans: Labour Courts and Tribunals are replaced with a simplified two-tier tribunal system with two-member panels for speedy justice.

Q11. Can workers still collectively bargain or protest?

Ans: Yes. Mandatory recognition of negotiating unions/councils strengthens structured bargaining.

Q12. Does industry closure no longer need approval?

Ans: No. Lay-off, retrenchment, and closure are regulated. Industries with 300+ workers need prior government permission.

Q13. Is workers’ participation in management removed?

Ans: No. Workers’ participation is ensured through Works Committees and Grievance Redressal Committees.

Q14. Are penalty provisions removed?

Ans: No. Penalties have been substantially increased and made commensurate with offences.

Q15. Does IR Code centralize all labour powers?

Ans: No. Labour is a concurrent subject. States retain powers as appropriate governments under the Codes.

Q16. Will abolition of Labour Courts delay justice?

Ans: No. Two-member Industrial Tribunals will deliver justice faster.

Q17. Does the Code favor employers only?

Ans: No. It protects workers through negotiating unions, committees, safeguards before retrenchment, and effective dispute resolution.

Q18. Are sales promotion employees excluded?

Ans: No. They are recognized under the definition of ‘worker’ in the IR Code.

Q19. Are journalists excluded as freelancers?

Ans: No. Working journalists employed in newspapers/agencies are included under the definition of worker.

Major Changes in the Industrial Relations Code, 2020

Provision	Current laws	IR Code, 2020	Remarks
Coverage	Applicability of the Standing Orders Act is for establishments having 100 or more employees. In some states it has been 50 or even less employees.	Applies to an industrial establishment wherein 300 or more workers, are employed, or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve months.	For New establishment it is useful. It is more helpful to attract more investments
Definition	Sec.2(S)" workman" means any person (including an apprentice) employed in any industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, and for the purposes of any proceeding under this Act in relation to an industrial dispute, includes any such person who has been dismissed, discharged or retrenched in connection with, or as a consequence of, that dispute, or whose dismissal, dischasrge or retrenchment has led to that dispute, but does not include any such person-- (i) … (ii) … (iii) who is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity; or (iv) who, being employed in a supervisory capacity, draws wages exceeding Rs. 10,000/pm or exercises, either by the nature of the duties attached to the office or by reason of the powers vested in him, functions mainly of a managerial nature.	Sec 2 (zr) "Worker" means any person (except an apprentice as defined under clause (aa) of section 2 of the Apprentices Act, 1961) employed in any industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, and includes … and for the purposes of any proceeding under this Code in relation to an industrial dispute, includes any such person who has been dismissed, discharged or retrenched or otherwise terminated in connection with, or as a consequence of, that dispute, or whose dismissal, discharge or retrenchment has led to that dispute, but does not include any such person— (i) … (ii) … (iii) who is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity; or who is employed in a supervisory capacity drawing wage of exceeding Rs. 18,000 per month or an amount as may be notified by the Central Government from time to time: Provided that for the purposes of Chapter III (Trade Unions), Worker … means all persons employed in trade or industry	Any person drawing wages exceeding Rs.18,000 per month in the supervisory capacity are not workers
Fixed Term Employment	As per certified standing orders of GPL, we have included the term “Fixed Term Employee” in view of that we are already engaging Retainers / Consultants for fixed term. The relevant provision is reproduced below: IV (G) Fixed Term Employee: Fixed term employee is a person taken for employment for fixed term of duration, depending upon requirement of the Company. Such employee has no right for regularization of services and not entitled for retrenchment compensation as such	Sec 2 (o): "fixed term employment" means the engagement of a worker on the basis of a written contract of employment for a fixed period: Provided that— his hours of work, wages, allowances and other benefits shall not be less than that of a permanent worker doing the same work or work of similar nature; he shall be eligible for all statutory benefits available to a permanent worker proportionately according to the period of service rendered by him even if his period of employment does not extend to the qualifying period of employment required in the statute; and he shall be eligible for gratuity if he renders service under the contract for a period of one year;	‘fixed term employment’, which may allow employers the flexibility to hire workers for a fixed duration on need basis and which is not permanent nature. A clause has been added that termination of the service of Fixed term employee before completion of tenure would not amount to retrenchment
Recognition of Negotiating Union	No such provision	Sec 14 (2): Wherever there is only one Trade Union of workers registered under the provisions of this Chapter is functioning in an industrial establishment, then, the employer of such industrial establishment shall, subject to such criteria as may be prescribed, recognize such Trade Union as sole negotiating union of the workers.	In case of a single trade union in an industrial establishment, the employer shall recognise the said union as the sole negotiating union of the workers
Conciliation Of An Industrial Dispute		· The commencement of conciliation proceedings shall be deemed to hold commenced on the day of 1^st meeting. · Conciliation proceedings should not prolong for more than 2 years.	Dispute will be resolved in the prescribed time limit
Industrial Tribunal and Labour Court	Exist in current laws	· Labour Court concept omitted · Industrial tribunal will deal all industrial disputes · Industrial tribunal will headed by two members out of one is an administrative member and the other is Judiciary member	Structural change
Prohibition of Strike and Lockout	22. Prohibition of strikes and lock-outs.—(1) No person employed in a public utility service shall go on strike in breach of contract— (a) without giving to the employer notice of strike, as hereinafter provided, within six weeks before striking; or (b) within fourteen days of giving such notice; or (c) before the expiry of the date of strike specified in any such notice as aforesaid; or (d) during the pendency of any conciliation proceedings before a conciliation officer and seven days after the conclusion of such proceedings.	Section 62 (1): No person employed in an industrial establishment shall go on strike, in breach of contract— (a) without giving to the employer notice of strike, as hereinafter provided, within sixty days before striking; or (b) within fourteen days of giving such notice; or (c) before the expiry of the date of strike specified in any such notice; or (d) during the pendency of any conciliation proceedings before a conciliation officer and seven days after the conclusion of such proceedings; or (e) during the pendency of proceedings before a Tribunal or a National Industrial Tribunal and sixty days, after the conclusion of such proceedings; or (f) during the pendency of arbitration proceedings before an arbitrator and sixty days after the conclusion of such proceedings, where a notification has been issued under sub-section (5) of section 42; or · during any period in which a settlement or award is in operation, in respect of any of the matters covered by the settlement or award.	Prohibits strikes and lock-outs in all industrial establishments without giving notice of 14 days.
Concerted Casual Leave amounts to Strike	Did not exist	The concerted casual leave on a given day by fifty per cent or more workers employed in an industry amounts to strike	New rule
Grievance redressal Committee	The employer in relation to every industrial establishment in which 50 or more workmen are employed or have been employed shall provide for, a Grievance Settlement Authority for settlement of industrial disputes connected with an individual workman employed in the establishment.	Sec 4 (1): Every industrial establishment employing 20 or more workers shall have one or more Grievance Redressal Committees for resolution of disputes arising out of individual grievances.	Lower threshold
Works Committee	Any industrial establishment where 100 or more workmen employed or have been employed on any day in the preceding twelve months, the appropriate Government may by general or special order require the employer to constitute in the prescribed manner a Works Committee consisting of representatives of employers and workmen engaged in the establishment	Sec 3 (1): In the case of any industrial establishment in which one 100 or more workers are employed or have been employed on any day in the preceding twelve months, the appropriate Government may by issuing general or special order, can advise the employer to constitute a Works Committee,
Retrenchment, Lay-off and Closure	Permission required for industrial establishments where 100 or more workers are employed	Permission required for industrial establishments where 300 or more workers are employed	Relaxed norms
Composition of offences	Not there in old laws	Employer can apply to the inspector for compound of offences charged on him.	New rule