Lock-out
Also called: Illegal lock-out
The temporary closing of a place of employment, suspension of work, or an employer's refusal to continue to employ any number of persons employed by him (Section 2(u), Industrial Relations Code, 2020).
Explained
Section 2(u) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 defines a lock-out as the temporary closing of a place of employment, or the suspension of work, or the refusal by an employer to continue to employ any number of persons employed by him. It is the employer's counterpart to a strike under Section 2(zk), and it is used as a weapon of collective bargaining. The definition is carried over from Section 2(l) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, which the Code has replaced.
The key word is temporary. Closure under Section 2(h) of the Code means the permanent closing down of a place of employment or part of it. In a lock-out the employer keeps the business and the relationship of employment but withholds work to pressure the workers, whereas in closure the business itself comes to an end. Retrenchment and lay-off are also different, since they arise from surplus labour or inability to give work, not from a bargaining tactic.
Section 62(2) restricts lock-outs in every industrial establishment. No employer shall lock-out his workers without giving notice of lock-out within sixty days before locking out, or within fourteen days of giving such notice, or before the date specified in the notice, or during conciliation proceedings and seven days after their conclusion, or during proceedings before a Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal and sixty days after, or during arbitration proceedings where a notification under Section 42(5) has issued and sixty days after, or while a settlement or award covering the matter is in operation. Under the 1947 Act the notice requirement applied only to public utility services, so the Code widens it. Under Section 63(1) a lock-out is illegal if it contravenes Section 62 or continues in contravention of an order under Section 42(7).
Section 63(3) provides that a lock-out declared in consequence of an illegal strike, or a strike declared in consequence of an illegal lock-out, shall not be deemed to be illegal. Section 64 prohibits knowingly spending money in support of an illegal strike or lock-out, and the Code punishes an employer who acts in furtherance of an illegal lock-out. Examiners test the temporary and permanent distinction and Section 63(3).
What the law says
Section 2, Industrial Relations Code
(u) “lock-out” means the temporary closing of a place of employment, or the suspension of work, or the refusal by an employer to continue to employ any number of persons employed by him;
Section 2(u): definition of lock-out; 2(h) closure
Section 62, Industrial Relations Code
(2) No employer of an industrial establishment shall lock-out any of his workers—
(a) without giving them notice of lock-out as hereinafter provided, within sixty days before locking-out; or
(b) within fourteen days of giving such notice; or
Conditions and notice for lock-outs
Section 63, Industrial Relations Code
(1) A strike or lock-out shall be illegal, if it is—
(i) commenced or declared in contravention of section 62; or
(ii) continued in contravention of an order made under sub-section (7) of section 42.
Illegal lock-outs and the retaliation rule
Section 64, Industrial Relations Code
No person shall knowingly spend or apply any money in direct furtherance or support of any illegal strike or lock-out.
No financial aid to illegal lock-outs
Example
For example, if workers begin an illegal strike and the management, in response, shuts the factory gates until they resume work on old terms, the lock-out is not deemed illegal by reason of Section 63(3).
For the exam
- Section 2(u) IRC: lock-out is temporary; closure under Section 2(h) is permanent.
- Notice within sixty days before, and no lock-out within fourteen days of notice (Section 62(2)).
- The Code applies these restrictions to every industrial establishment, not only public utilities.
- A lock-out in consequence of an illegal strike is not deemed illegal (Section 63(3)).
- Financial aid to an illegal lock-out is prohibited (Section 64).
7 questions in the Law Maker question bank use this term. Practise Labour & Industrial Law questions
Related terms
- StrikeCessation of work by persons employed in an industry acting in combination, or a concerted refusal to work, including concerted casual leave by 50% or more workers on a day. Section 2(zk), IR Code.
- Industrial disputeA dispute between employers, employers and workers, or workers, connected with employment, non-employment, terms of employment or conditions of labour, including an individual termination dispute (Section 2(q) IRC).
- WorkmanA person employed to do manual, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward. The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 now uses the term worker in Section 2(zr).
- RetrenchmentTermination by the employer of a worker's service for any reason other than disciplinary punishment, excluding retirement, non renewal or end of contract, end of fixed term and ill health. Section 2(zh) of the IR Code, 2020.
- Trade unionUnder Section 2(zl) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, any combination formed primarily to regulate relations between workers and employers, workers and workers, or employers and employers.
Further reading
Checked 6 November 2026. Statutory text is quoted from the Bare Acts library, taken from India Code. See the full glossary.