Bihar Sets Up “Worker Re-Skilling Fund” Under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020
Exercising powers under Section 83(1) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (Code 35 of 2020), the Governor of Bihar has established a fund to be known as the Worker Re-Skilling Fund, for the purposes of the Code.
Effective from 3 September 2026
Notification: 3 September 2026 What Section 83 of the IR Code Covers Section 83 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 deals with the worker re-skilling fund at the national framework level — requiring employers to contribute towards a fund used to re-skill workers who are retrenched, so they can find alternative employment. Sub-section (1), invoked here, empowers the appropriate government to set up such a fund by notification.
Compliance Takeaway This is a foundational/enabling notification — it creates the fund but does not (in this notification) prescribe: The contribution rate or corpus-funding mechanism The administering authority or fund management structure Disbursement rules or eligibility criteria for retrenched workers Employers in Bihar with establishments covered under the IR Code should watch for follow-up rules or a fund-administration notification that will operationalize contribution and payout mechanics. This continues Bihar’s active rollout of IR Code machinery, alongside the risk-based inspection scheme notified in August 2026 (S.O. 195).
Key takeaways
- This is a foundational/enabling notification — it creates the fund but does not (in this notification) prescribe: The contribution rate or corpus-funding mechanism The administering authority or fund management structure Disbursement rules or eligibility criteria for retrenched workers
- Employers in Bihar with establishments covered under the IR Code should watch for follow-up rules or a fund-administration notification that will operationalize contribution and payout mechanics.
- This continues Bihar’s active rollout of IR Code machinery, alongside the risk-based inspection scheme notified in August 2026 (S.O. 195).
Action required
Please find attached the official notification:
