Abstract

Lay-off is a concept that has been developing with time. Earlier the disputes arising within the industry relating to lay-off were decided in accordance with the judicial precedents as this concept of lay-off was not incorporated in a formal manner in any of the acts. But with time there was a need felt as a conundrum surrounding lay-off resulted in the loss of jobs to the employees of the industry. Lay-off is a tool to balance the temporary inability on the part of an employer to offer employment to a workman. It results in immediate unemployment, though temporary. It does not put an end to the relationship between an employee and the employer. Lay off was previously defined under the Industrial disputes Act but due to the largest reforms on the part of the central government, this act including the other two was subsumed under the Industrial Relations Code which still has to be notified in the official gazette. Certain changes have been brought from the older act to the new code in view to promote ease of doing business and thereby modernizing the present legal framework by making it less burdensome to comply with. Similarly, some changes have been brought in the concept of lay-off in the new code as well. The present paper throws light upon the concept of lay-off in detail. It initially discusses the essential and rights of workmen in terms of compensation followed by the difference between various terms such as retrenchment and lockout in which there is often confusion. Following the paper throws light upon lay-off in the times of COVID-19, changes brought by the new enactment of this code and then finally followed by a brief conclusion and the researchers’ observation.

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