¹[ ²[25N. Conditions precedent to retrenchment of workmen.--(1) No workman employed in any industrial establishment to which this Chapter applies, who has been in continuous service for not less than one year under an employer shall be retrenched by that employer until,--
         (a) the workman has been given three months notice in writing indicating the reasons for retrenchment and the period of notice has expired, or the workman has been paid in lieu of such notice, wages for the period of the notice; and
         (b) the prior permission of the appropriate Government or such authority as may be specified by that Government by notification in the Official Gazette (hereafter in this section referred to as the specified authority) has been obtained on an application made in this behalf.
     (2) An application for permission under sub-section (1) shall be made by the employer in the prescribed manner stating clearly the reasons for the intended retrenchment and a copy of such application shall also be served simultaneously on the workmen concerned in the prescribed manner.
     (3) Where an application for permission under sub-section (1) has been made, the appropriate Government or the specified authority, after making such enquiry as it thinks fit and after giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the employer, the workmen concerned and the persons interested in such retrenchment, may, having regard to the genuineness and adequacy of the reasons stated by the employer, the interests of the workmen and all other relevant factors, by order and for reasons to be recorded in writing, grant or refuse to grant such permission and a copy of such order shall be communicated to the employer and the workmen.
     (4) Where an application for permission has been made under sub-section (1) and the appropriate Government or the specified authority does not communicate the order granting or refusing to grant permission to the employer within a period of sixty days from the date on which such application is made, the permission applied for shall be deemed to have been granted on the expiration of the said period of sixty days.
     (5) An order of the appropriate Government or the specified authority granting or refusing to grant permission shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (6), be final and binding on all the parties concerned and shall remain in force for one year from the date of such order.
     (6) The appropriate Government or the specified authority may, either on its own motion or on the application made by the employer or any workman, review its order granting or refusing to grant permission under sub-section (3) or refer the matter or, as the case may be, cause it to be referred, to a Tribunal for adjudication:
     Provided that where a reference has been made to a Tribunal under this sub-section, it shall pass an award within a period of thirty days from the date of such reference.
     (7) Where no application for permission under sub-section (1) is made, or where the permission for any retrenchment has been refused, such retrenchment shall be deemed to be illegal from the date on which the notice of retrenchment was given to the workman and the workman shall be entitled to all the benefits under any law for the time being in force as if no notice had been given to him.
     (8) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this section, the appropriate Government may, if it is satisfied that owing to such exceptional circumstances as accident in the establishment or death of the employer or the like, it is necessary so to do, by order, direct, that the provisions of sub- section (1) shall not apply in relation to such establishment for such period as may be specified in the order.
     (9) Where permission for retrenchment has been granted under sub-section (3) or where permission for retrenchment is deemed to be granted under sub-section (4), every workman who is employed in that establishment immediately before the date of application for permission under this section shall be entitled to receive, at the time of retrenchment, compensation which shall be equivalent to fifteen days' average pay for every completed year of continuous service or any part thereof in excess of six months.]]
                                                STATE AMENDMENT
Rajasthan
Amendment of section 25-N, Central Act No. 14 of 1947.--In section 25-N of the principle Act,-
    (a) in sub-section (1),-
        (i) between the expression "this Chapter applies" and the expression "who has been", the expression "or is applied under sub-section (1-A) of section 25-K" shall be inserted; and
        (ii) for clause (c), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:-
    "(c) three months notice in writing stating clearly the reasons for retrenchment is served on the State Government or such authority as may be specified by the State Government by notification in the Official Gazette by registered post with acknowledgement due, and the permission of the State Government or of such authority is obtained under sub section (2).";
    (b) for sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:-
    "(2) On receipt of a notice under clause (c) of sub-section (1), the State Government or authority, after making such enquiry as it thinks fit and after giving reasonable opportunity of being heard to the employer, the workman and the office-bearer of the representative union of the concerned industrial establishment, may, having regard to the genuineness and adequacy of the reasons stated by the employer, requirements of industrial peace, prevention of victimisation and unfair labour practice, by order and for reasons to be recorded in writing grant or refuse to grant such permission and such order shall be communicated to the employer, the workman and the office-bearer of such representative union.";
    (c) in sub-section (4), for the expression "(Amendment) Act, 1976", the expression "(Rajasthan Amendment) Act, 1984", for the expression "(a) of section 25-F", the expression "(c) of sub-section (1)", for the word "appropriate", the word "State" and for the expression "sub-section (2)" the expression "the said clause of the said sub-section" shall respectively be substituted;
        (d) in sub-section (5), for the word "appropriate", the word "State" shall be substituted;
        (e) after sub-section (5), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:-
    "(6) An order of the State Government or the authority granting or refusing to grant permission shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (7), be final and binding on all the parties and shall remain in force for on year form the date of such order.
    (7) The State Government or, as the case may be, the authority may, either on its own motion or on the application made by the employer or the workman, review its order granting or refusing to grant permission under sub-section (2) or refer the matter to a Tribunal for adjudication:
    Provided that where a reference has been made to a Tribunal under this sub-section, it shall pass an award within a period of thirty days from the date of such reference.";
        (f) the existing sub-sections (6) and (7) shall respectively be re-numbered as sub- sections (8) and (9) thereof; and
        (g) in sub-section (9) as so re-numbered,-
                (i) for the expression "(Amendment) Act, 1976", the expression "(Rajasthan Amendment) Act, 1984" shall be substituted;
                (ii) the expression "or the Central Government" shall be deleted;
                (iii) for the word "appropriate", wherever occurring, the word "State" shall be substituted; and
                (iv) for the expression "and any order passed by such authority shall be final and binding on the employer and the workman or workmen", the expression "and such authority while deciding such matter shall proceed to hold the enquiry in the manner and have regard to the matters specified in sub-section (2), Any order passed by such authority shall, subject to review under the proviso to this sub-section, be final and binging on the employer and the workman or workman:
    Provided that such authority as aforesaid may, either on its own motion or on the application made by the employer or the workman review the order passed by it under this sub-section or refer the matter to a Tribunal for adjudication and to such reference, the provisions contained in the proviso to sub-section (7) shall, mutatis matandis, apply," shall be substituted.
[Vide Rajasthan Act 8 of 1984, s. 5]
Rajasthan
Amendment of section 25N, Central Act No. 14 of 1947.- In section 25N of the principal Act,-
        (a) in clause (a) of sub-section (1), the existing expression ", or the workman has been paid in lieu of such notice, wages for the period of the notice" shall be deleted; and
        (b) in sub-section (9), after the existing expression "six months" and before the existing punctuation mark ".", appearing at the end, the expression "and an amount equivalent to his three months average pay" shall be inserted.
[Vide Rajasthan Act 21 of 2014, s. 8].