| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Human Resources |
| Level | Mid level |
| Reports to | Industrial Relations Manager |
| Direct reports | None |
| Experience | 2 to 6 years in industrial relations, personnel or time office roles in a plant |
Industrial Relations Officer job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Industrial Relations Officer
Department: Human Resources
Reports to: Industrial Relations Manager
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
An Industrial Relations Officer handles day-to-day relations with workmen and unions on the shop floor of a plant. The role receives and follows up grievances, prepares disciplinary documents and supports domestic inquiries, records union meetings, checks contract labour compliance and assists the IR Manager in conciliation and settlement work. It reports to the Industrial Relations Manager. A good IR officer is known on the shop floor, hears problems early and keeps every action within the standing orders.
Key responsibilities
- Walk the shop floor across shifts, meet workmen and supervisors, and report emerging issues to the IR Manager every day.
- Receive grievances from workmen, enter them in the grievance register and follow up with departments until closure.
- Prepare charge sheets, show cause notices and suspension orders under the standing orders from the facts collected.
- Arrange domestic inquiries, including notices, venue, support to the presenting officer, witness schedules and proceedings records.
- Record minutes of union and works committee meetings and track every commitment made by management.
- Check contractors' attendance and wage registers, wage payments and PF and ESI challans every month.
- Maintain disciplinary files, settlements, circulars and labour court case files in order.
- Support the time office on attendance disputes, overtime records and leave issues raised by workmen.
- Explain rules on leave, shifts, overtime and conduct to workmen in the local language.
- Assist the IR Manager in conciliation meetings and labour department inspections with prepared documents.
Requirements
- Postgraduate degree in social work, personnel management or labour welfare, such as an MSW, MPM or MA
- Graduate in any discipline
- Labour law coursework or a labour law diploma is an advantage
- 2 to 6 years in industrial relations, personnel or time office roles in a plant
KRAs and KPIs for a Industrial Relations Officer
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Grievance follow-up | Workmen's grievances logged and closed within the procedure timeline |
| Disciplinary documents | Charge sheets and notices issued within 3 days of an incident report |
| Inquiry support | No inquiry hearing adjourned because of missing documents |
| Contractor checks | Monthly wage and challan checks completed for every contractor |
| Shop-floor presence | Every shift visited at least twice a week |
| IR records | IR files and registers current, with no gaps found in audits |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Biometric attendance system, MS Word and Excel, Grievance register, Contractor compliance checklist, HRMS.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Industrial Relations Manager, Plant HR Manager, Assistant HR Manager
Interview questions for a Industrial Relations Officer
- A worker slaps a supervisor on the night shift. What documents do you prepare the next morning?
- How do you check whether a contractor's wage register is genuine?
- What is the difference between a charge sheet and a show cause notice?
- A group of workers suddenly refuses overtime. How do you find out what is really wrong?
- How do you keep a union representative informed without committing management?
- What records would you prepare for a domestic inquiry hearing?
Managing a Industrial Relations Officer in ZeniaHR
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What does an industrial relations officer do?
An industrial relations officer handles daily contact with workmen and unions in a plant: logging and following up grievances, drafting charge sheets and notices, arranging domestic inquiries, recording union meetings, checking contractor compliance and supporting the IR manager in conciliation and inspections.
What qualifications do you need to become an IR officer?
Plants usually look for a postgraduate degree in social work, personnel management or labour welfare, and value labour law coursework. They prefer candidates who have worked in a time office or personnel department and who speak the local language of the workforce fluently.
What is a domestic inquiry?
A domestic inquiry is an internal hearing held before serious disciplinary action against an employee, such as dismissal for misconduct. An inquiry officer hears the management's evidence and the employee's defence, with a chance to cross-examine witnesses, and records findings. Following a fair procedure is what makes the final decision defensible.