How to File a Complaint Against an Employer (Labour Court) (2026)

How-To Guide · Employment Disputes

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

If your employer has not paid your wages, dismissed you unfairly, or broken the terms of your service, you can raise what the law calls an industrial dispute. People often say they want to go to the labour court, and that is the right instinct, but the forum is now the Industrial Tribunal and you do not usually walk in there on day one. The law makes you try conciliation first, and only if that fails does the matter reach the Tribunal. From 21 November 2025 this is governed by the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, which replaced the old Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. This guide explains the route, the conciliation step, which forum fits your problem, and how to track the case. Last verified October 2026.

01The law that applies now

For many years, disputes between workers and employers were decided under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, through labour courts and industrial tribunals. That has changed. The Industrial Relations Code, 2020, was brought into force on 21 November 2025 and replaced the 1947 Act. The core idea is the same, but the forum is now called the Industrial Tribunal and the steps have been simplified.

Because this is a recent change, some state rules and transition arrangements are still settling, and matters that began under the old Act carry over under saving provisions. For the bigger picture of the new codes, see the new labour codes overview.

02What counts as a dispute

The route below is for an industrial dispute, which broadly means a dispute connected with the employment, non-employment, terms of employment, or conditions of work of a worker. Common examples are:

• unpaid or short-paid wages, overtime, or statutory dues;
• wrongful termination, dismissal, or retrenchment;
• denial of benefits or wrongful change of service conditions; and
• unfair labour practices by the employer.

Some claims have their own special forums, such as provident fund or gratuity, and a purely managerial or senior role may fall outside the definition of a worker. If you are unsure whether you are covered, take advice before you file.

03Step one: conciliation

You do not go straight to the Tribunal. The law routes the dispute first through a conciliation officer, a government officer whose job is to bring both sides together and try to settle the matter. Before that, it helps to raise your demand with the employer in writing, so there is a record of the grievance.

The conciliation officer hears both sides and tries to broker a settlement. If a settlement is reached, it is recorded and binds both parties. If no settlement is reached, the officer prepares a report setting out what happened and why conciliation failed, and sends it to you, the employer, and the government.

04Step two: the Industrial Tribunal

If conciliation fails, the Industrial Relations Code lets a party take the dispute to the Industrial Tribunal. You can apply to the Tribunal within 90 days of receiving the conciliation officer's report. This is a real change from the old law, where the matter often needed a government reference before it could be heard.

The Industrial Tribunal usually sits with a judicial member and an administrative member. It hears evidence from both sides and passes an award, which can order payment of dues, reinstatement, or compensation. The award is binding and is enforceable.

You can look up labour and industrial matters by forum; see labour courts and industrial tribunals. Disputes in the central sphere may go before the central tribunal; see the central government industrial tribunal.

05Unpaid wages and wrongful termination

Two problems bring most people to this route.

Unpaid wages. If your employer has not paid your wages or statutory dues, raise it in writing, take it through conciliation, and if it is not paid, carry it to the Tribunal. Keep every payslip, bank statement and letter, because the claim is proved by showing what you were owed and what was actually paid.

Wrongful termination. If you were dismissed or retrenched without following the law, you can seek reinstatement, back wages, or compensation. The Tribunal looks at whether the right procedure was followed and whether the dismissal was fair. The stronger your record of continuous service and the weaker the employer's procedure, the better your case. For the formal written complaint at the labour forum, see how to file a written complaint in the labour court.

06Documents you need

Build your file before you start conciliation:

• Proof of employment: appointment letter, ID card, or anything showing you worked there and for how long.
• Wage records: payslips, bank statements, and any wage agreement or rate.
• The grievance: your written demand to the employer and their reply, if any.
• Termination papers: the dismissal or retrenchment letter and the reasons given.
• The conciliation record: the officer's report once conciliation ends, which starts your 90-day clock for the Tribunal.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

Labour matters often turn on how tribunals and High Courts have treated similar terminations, wage claims and procedure. Claw lets you search 30 crore+ judgments, with Supreme Court decisions from 1950 and High Court decisions from 1990, to find rulings on reinstatement, back wages and unfair dismissal, in under 5 seconds, which helps whether the governing law is the new Code or the old Act that still governs older matters. Once your dispute reaches the Tribunal, Claw tracks cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, so you can follow it by party name without scanning cause lists by hand. Claw does not use your case documents to train its AI models.

Create a FREE Claw account to find labour rulings on point and track your dispute once filed, using case search across Indian courts.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (Industrial Relations Code, 2020): indiacode.nic.in
• Ministry of Labour and Employment: labour.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This guide is general information, not legal advice. The labour codes are in transition and state rules are still being framed, so check the current law and take advice from an advocate before you act.

09Frequently asked questions