(1) The appropriate Government shall, by notification, set up a fund to be called the worker re-skilling fund.
(2) The fund shall consist of: (a) the contribution of the employer of an industrial establishment of an amount equal to fifteen days wages last drawn by the worker immediately before the retrenchment, or such other number of days as may be notified, for every retrenched worker; and (b) other sources as may be prescribed.
(3) The fund shall be utilized by crediting fifteen days wages last drawn in the bank account of the retrenched worker within forty-five days of the retrenchment.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 85
Section 85 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 introduces an administrative adjudication framework empowering designated gazetted officers of the appropriate Government to conduct summary inquiries and impose civil monetary penalties for specified non-grave statutory contraventions, decriminalizing routine labor defaults and de-clogging criminal magistrates' courts.
Upon receipt of a show-cause notice under Section 85, submit a detailed reply within the stipulated time, demonstrating: (1) prompt remedial action; (2) absence of any financial injury or prejudice to workers; (3) technical or procedural inadvertence rather than deliberate defiance; and (4) clean prior compliance history. Invoke Section 85(4) factors to argue for mitigation to the minimum penalty, or submit an application for compounding under Section 89 prior to final order.