Worker Re-skilling Fund: your 15 days wages on retrenchment

If you are retrenched, your employer must contribute an amount equal to 15 days of your last-drawn wages to a Worker Re-skilling Fund, and that money must reach your account within 45 days of the retrenchment. This is a separate right under Section 83 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, which came into force on 21 November 2025. It is over and above your normal retrenchment compensation, not a replacement for it.

Just retrenched? Note the 45-day clock starts from your retrenchment date. Keep your letter safe.

The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 creates a Worker Re-skilling Fund. Under Section 83(2)(a), for every retrenched worker, the employer contributes 15 days wages last drawn by the worker immediately before retrenchment. Under Section 83(3), this amount must be credited to the worker's account within 45 days of the retrenchment, in the prescribed manner. The purpose is to support a retrenched worker while they re-skill and find new work.

Many workers confuse this with retrenchment compensation. They are different and you may be entitled to both.

1. Confirm you were retrenched. Section 83 applies to retrenchment, the employer-initiated termination of a worker. Keep the retrenchment letter and your last pay slip.
2. Calculate your due. Work out 15 days of your last-drawn wages. Your pay slip and attendance record support the figure.
3. Track the 45-day window. The credit must reach your account within 45 days of the retrenchment date. Mark the deadline.
4. Write to the employer if unpaid. Send a written demand referencing Section 83 of the IR Code and your retrenchment date.
5. Approach the labour authority. If still unpaid, raise it with the jurisdictional labour officer or the appropriate authority under the Code.

Sunita worked at a packaging unit in Faridabad and was retrenched on 1 December 2025. Her last-drawn wage was ₹600 a day, so 15 days equals ₹9,000. Under Section 83, her employer must credit ₹9,000 to her account by 15 January 2026, within 45 days. She also separately claims her retrenchment compensation based on her years of service. When the fund amount does not arrive, she writes to the employer citing Section 83 and then approaches the labour officer.

• Treating it as the same as compensation. They are two separate entitlements with different formulas.
• Missing the 45-day deadline silently. If the credit is late, raise it in writing promptly.
• Not keeping documents. Your retrenchment letter, pay slip, and bank statement are your proof. Keep them safe.
• Assuming it applies to a resignation. Section 83 is tied to retrenchment, not voluntary resignation or normal dismissal for misconduct.

• Locate your retrenchment letter and last pay slip.
• Calculate 15 days of your last-drawn wages.
• Note the date 45 days after retrenchment as your credit deadline.
• Draft a short written demand to your employer referencing Section 83.

Your employer contributes an amount equal to 15 days of your last-drawn wages, under Section 83(2)(a) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. This is per retrenched worker and is separate from your retrenchment compensation.

Within 45 days of your retrenchment, under Section 83(3). The credit must be made in the prescribed manner. If it is not paid in time, send a written demand to your employer and then approach the labour authority.

No. Retrenchment compensation is 15 days average pay for each completed year of service, paid at retrenchment. The Re-skilling Fund amount is 15 days of last-drawn wages credited within 45 days. You may be entitled to both.

No. The Re-skilling Fund contribution is tied to retrenchment, which is an employer-initiated termination. A voluntary resignation or a dismissal for proven misconduct is treated differently under the Code.

The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 was brought into force on 21 November 2025, along with the other labour codes. Section 83 and the Worker Re-skilling Fund apply from that date.

First send a written demand citing Section 83 and your retrenchment date. If unpaid, approach the jurisdictional labour officer or the appropriate authority under the Code. Keep your retrenchment letter, pay slip, and bank records as evidence.

• Industrial Relations Code, 2020, Section 83 (Worker Re-skilling Fund), in force from 21 November 2025.
• Ministry of Labour and Employment, labour.gov.in; bare Act at indiacode.nic.in.

• Retrenchment compensation under the Industrial Relations Code
• Standing orders and the new 300-worker threshold
• The RTI Playbook for using RTI to expose labour-office records.

If a public-sector employer withholds your dues, use the AI RTI Drafter and the First Appeal Builder. See the RTI Act, 2005.