100 workers, and an order
With 100 or more workers in the last twelve months, the government may by order require a Works Committee. Without the order there is no duty.
Source: Industrial Relations Code, 2020, s.3(1)
Free Word file
Works Committee Constitution Template for Indian Employers
Whether you need a Works Committee at all, and if you do, every step to constitute one under the IR Code and the Central rules, from the union letter to the first minutes.
- Applicability check, including old orders
- Election notice and nomination paper
- Constitution order and minutes
Instant download. No card needed.
Attendo presents
Works Committee Pack
For Indian employers
6
formats, check to minutes
Attendo presents
What's inside
What is inside the pack
Six formats. At 20 workers you need a grievance committee regardless.
Format 01
Does it apply to us?
Workers in the last twelve months, any order old or new, and whether the Central or your State's rules govern.
Format 02
Letter to registered unions
Asks each registered union for its membership. One that stays silent for a month is treated as not existing.
Formats 03 and 04
Election notice and nomination
Seats, the nomination window, scrutiny, withdrawal and polling day, and a nomination paper attested by two voters.
Formats 05 and 06
Constitution order and minutes
Members and office-bearers for a three-year term, and minutes for a meeting at least once in three months.
Guide
Eight steps and the clock
Every step of rule 5, a worked election timeline and what is still open, including the State sphere.
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Why this matters
Why a Works Committee catches employers out
Because whether you need one depends on an order you may never have seen. The IR Code does not make a Works Committee compulsory at 100 workers; it lets the government require one.
And orders do not expire with the old law. Section 104(2) keeps alive orders made under the Industrial Disputes Act, so a plant told to form a committee decades ago is still under that order. The move to the Codes did not reset it.
The count is of workers, not everyone on payroll: managers, and supervisors on more than ₹18,000 a month, stay out. A hospital or an office with 120 on the payroll can fall below 100 workers once they are taken out.
Once an order applies, rule 5 of the Central rules runs to twenty-one sub-rules: seats, union letters, an election clock, office-bearers and meetings, much like the rules behind the safety committee.
Rule 5 binds the Central sphere. A factory or most private businesses follow their State's rules, and rule 5 is the clearest model meanwhile, as it was for standing orders.
Preview
Three things the pack settles
Each one is where a Works Committee usually goes wrong.
- Whether you need one. Workers counted properly, and the order checked, old or new, before anything else.
- The seats. Not more than twenty, workers not fewer than management, and women not less than their share of the workforce.
- The clock. Three working days for nominations, polling three to fifteen days after, notified a week ahead.
| Point | Works Committee | Grievance Committee | Section | Central rule | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Needed at | 100 and an order | 20, no order | s.3, s.4 | rule 5, 6 | 01 |
| Members | Up to 20 | Up to 10 | s.4(4) | rule 5(2) | 05 |
| Worker seats | Not fewer | Equal | s.3, s.4(2) | rule 5(2) | 05 |
| Term | 3 years | 3 years | rule 5(15), 6(4) | 05 | |
| Its job | Common interest | Grievances | s.3(3), s.4(1) | 01 |
Key stats
Three numbers behind the committee
20 members at most
Workers' representatives not fewer than the employer's, and women not less than their share of the workforce. Central rule; States set their own.
Source: IR (Central) Rules, 2026, rule 5(2)3 months, at most, between meetings
The committee meets at least once in three months, in working hours, and worker members are on duty while they attend.
Source: IR (Central) Rules, 2026, rule 5(18) and (19)
Common mistakes
6 Works Committee Mistakes Indian Employers Make
Ignoring an order under the old Act
An order made under the Industrial Disputes Act still binds, by section 104(2) of the IR Code.
Counting managers to reach 100
The count is of workers. Managers, and supervisors on more than ₹18,000 a month, are left out.
Treating it as the Grievance Committee
Different section, job and size. An establishment may need both.
More employer seats than worker seats
Worker representatives may not be fewer than the employer's.
Skipping the union letter
Where workers belong to registered unions, ask them first. Only a union silent for a month drops out.
Meeting once a year
At least once in three months, in working hours, with worker members on duty.
Comparison
A committee on paper against this pack
A list of names
Picked by management
- No check of the order
- Unions never asked
- No election clock
- Management majority
- Meets when convenient
Free either way
This pack
Six formats and a guide
- Order checked, old or new
- Union letter first
- Every date on the clock
- Workers not outnumbered
- Quarterly minutes
Check first, then constitute
Fill Format 01 before anything else. Report the committee each year alongside your other statutory records.
FAQ
Common questions
Is this Works Committee pack really free? +
Yes, completely. No card and no trial. The form asks for your name, work email, phone and city, then the Word file downloads straight away. The Attendo team may follow up about payroll software, and you are free to say no thanks.
Is a Works Committee mandatory with 100 workers? +
Not on its own. Section 3 of the IR Code lets the government require one, by order, in an establishment with 100 or more workers in the last twelve months. No order, no duty. But an order made years ago under the Industrial Disputes Act still counts, so far as it fits the Code.
How is a Works Committee different from a Grievance Committee? +
The Grievance Redressal Committee is compulsory at 20 workers with no order, has up to ten members and handles individual grievances. The Works Committee needs an order, has up to twenty members under the Central rules, and deals with matters of common interest.
How are the workers' members chosen? +
Under the Central rules: a negotiating union nominates them; where there is a negotiating council, its unions nominate in proportion to membership; otherwise the workers elect them. Candidates must be 19 with a year's service, voters 18 with six months'.
How often must a Works Committee meet? +
At least once in three months under the Central rules, during working hours, with the worker members treated as on duty while they attend. State-sphere employers check their State's rules.
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About Attendo
Attendo (formerly Petpooja Payroll) is payroll and attendance software used by 40,000+ businesses across manufacturing, corporate offices, retail, hospitals and education. General guidance, not legal advice. This pack is one of our free labour code formats, each built from the law rather than from other templates.
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An applicability check, union letter, election notice, nomination paper, constitution order and minutes, in Word. Free, no card.
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