Sections 56 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 56 makes an employer pay full last-drawn wages to a worker whose reinstatement award it challenges in the High Court or Supreme Court, unless the court finds the worker was earning adequately elsewhere. Section 57 lists who is bound by a settlement, an arbitration award or a Tribunal award, including successors and later-joining workers.
If a Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal directs reinstatement and the employer goes to a High Court or the Supreme Court, the employer must pay the worker full wages last drawn for the period of pendency, provided the worker was not employed elsewhere and has filed an affidavit to that effect (s.56). A conciliation settlement or an enforceable award binds all parties, summoned parties, the employer's heirs, successors or assigns, and all present and future workers of the establishment or part (s.57(3)).
Section 56: full wages while the employer challenges reinstatement
The rule
Section 56 applies where "a Tribunal or a National Industrial Tribunal by its award directs reinstatement of any worker and the employer prefers any proceedings against such award in a High Court or the Supreme Court". The employer is then "liable to pay such worker, during the period of pendency of such proceedings in the High Court or the Supreme Court, full wages last drawn by him, inclusive of any maintenance allowance admissible to him under any rule".
Conditions
| Element | Text |
|---|---|
| Trigger | Tribunal or NIT award directing reinstatement; employer's proceedings in a High Court or the Supreme Court |
| Amount | Full wages last drawn, including any admissible maintenance allowance |
| Period | The pendency of the proceedings in the High Court or the Supreme Court |
| Condition on worker | "the worker had not been employed in any establishment during such period and an affidavit by such worker had been filed to that effect in such Court" |
The proviso: adequate remuneration elsewhere
Where it is proved "to the satisfaction of the High Court or the Supreme Court that such worker had been employed and had been receiving adequate remuneration during any such period or part thereof, the Court shall order that no wages shall be payable under this section for such period or part". So the court, not the Tribunal, tests this, and the no-payment order can apply to the whole period or only part.
Points for employers: the obligation begins from the filing of the proceedings and runs while they are pending; the worker's affidavit of non-employment is the trigger; the court's finding that the worker was adequately paid elsewhere removes the liability for that period. The section speaks of "wages last drawn"; for what counts as wages see our article on the definition of wages.
Example (invented). A Tribunal sets aside a dismissal and directs reinstatement; the employer files a writ petition in the High Court. The worker files an affidavit saying he has not been employed anywhere. While the petition is pending, the employer must pay him the wages last drawn. If the employer proves he had taken another job at adequate pay for four of those months, the court orders that no wages are payable under s.56 for those four months.
Section 57: who is bound
| Sub-section | Instrument | Binds |
|---|---|---|
| 57(1) | Settlement by agreement between employer and worker, otherwise than in conciliation | The parties to the agreement |
| 57(2) | Arbitration award that has become enforceable | The parties to the agreement who referred the dispute to arbitration (subject to s.57(3)) |
| 57(3) | Settlement in conciliation under the Code, or arbitration or award of a Tribunal or NIT that has become enforceable | Persons listed in clauses (a) to (d) |
The four classes in s.57(3)
- (a) All parties to the industrial dispute.
- (b) All other parties summoned to appear as parties to the dispute, unless the arbitrator, Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal "records the opinion that they were so summoned without proper cause".
- (c) Where a party in (a) or (b) is an employer, his heirs, successors or assigns in respect of the establishment to which the dispute relates.
- (d) Where a party in (a) or (b) is composed of workers, all persons employed in the establishment, or part of it, to which the dispute relates on the date of the dispute, and all persons who subsequently become employed there.
What this means in practice
- A purchaser of the business, or a successor, cannot ignore a settlement or award that bound the former employer for that establishment (clause (c)).
- New joiners are covered even though they were not workers when the dispute arose (clause (d)); a union's settlement reaches them.
- A settlement reached outside conciliation, under s.57(1), binds only the parties to the agreement. The wider binding effect in s.57(3) attaches to settlements in conciliation, and to enforceable arbitration and Tribunal awards. For the conciliation route, see sections 53 and 54.
- An award binds only once it has "become enforceable", which is governed by s.55 (see section 55).
How long a settlement or award binds is in s.58 (see section 58). The Central Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 342(E), 8 May 2026) prescribe the memorandum of settlement in rule 4 for Central-sphere matters; where the State Government is the appropriate Government, State rules apply.
Example (invented). A union and an employer sign a conciliation settlement on a shift allowance for a plant. Two years later the plant is transferred to a successor company. Workers hired after the settlement and the successor employer are both within s.57(3)(c) and (d) for that plant.
If you are an acquirer doing due diligence, or a union checking who is covered, our legal dispute resolution team can help you map the binding effect.
Need help with a settlement or an appeal against reinstatement?
Both sections carry real cost: wages during an appeal, and obligations that follow the establishment to a successor. Our legal dispute resolution team can help you weigh an appeal, draft the settlement and check who is bound.
Key takeaways
- An employer who challenges a reinstatement award in a High Court or the Supreme Court must pay full last-drawn wages during pendency, if the worker files an affidavit of non-employment (s.56).
- The court may order no wages for any period the worker was employed at adequate remuneration (s.56 proviso).
- A private settlement binds its parties; a conciliation settlement or enforceable award binds a wider group (s.57(1), (3)).
- Heirs, successors and assigns of the employer, and present and future workers, are bound (s.57(3)(c), (d)).
Read next
- Section 55: form of award and commencement
- Section 58: period of operation of settlements and awards
- Section 50-51-52: Tribunal powers, transfer of pending cases
- Industrial disputes under the new labour codes
Disclaimer: Based on the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (as enacted) and, where noted, the Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 342(E), 8 May 2026), as on 30 September 2026. The Code is in force from 21 November 2025; some provisions may be notified later, and State Governments make their own rules for establishments where the State is the appropriate Government. Verify the current position before acting.