IRC 2020 Mandate in Force from November 2025

Appointment Letters for Indian Companies, Done Right

The Industrial Relations Code 2020 requires every employer to issue a formal appointment letter. Offrd generates a compliant PDF on your company letterhead in minutes, and files it to the employee record automatically.

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Acme Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

Date: 16 May 2026

To,
Priya Sharma
Software Engineer, Engineering

Subject: Letter of Appointment

Dear Priya Sharma,
We are pleased to appoint you as Software Engineer in the Engineering department at Acme Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Your terms of employment are set out below.

Date of Joining	1 June 2026
Employment Type	Full-Time, Permanent
Place of Posting	Bengaluru
Annual CTC	₹X,XX,XXX
Probation Period	3 months
Notice Period	XX days

Your employment is governed by the company's HR policies which will be shared during onboarding. This appointment is subject to satisfactory verification...

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Why appointment letters are no longer optional

The Industrial Relations Code 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025. It requires employers to issue a formal appointment letter to every worker they engage. The letter must state the terms clearly: designation, remuneration, working hours, leave entitlement, probation conditions, and notice period.

Before this, many smaller employers sent an email and considered it sufficient. For establishments covered under the Code, that is no longer legally acceptable.

Non-issuance of appointment letters is an inspectable item under the Code. A labour inspector can flag it during a routine audit. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has published the consolidated Labour Codes for reference.

Generate a Compliant Letter

What the appointment letter must cover

Name of the employer and the establishment

Name and designation of the worker

Nature of employment: permanent, fixed-term, or probationary

Wages and how remuneration is structured

Working hours and leave entitlement

Place of work

Notice period for termination or resignation

Probation period and confirmation conditions, where applicable

What Offrd does differently

Most companies still draft these manually or copy the last hire's letter and change the name. That is where mistakes happen.

Your letterhead, not a blank page

Offrd generates the letter on your company letterhead automatically. No formatting, no Word file, no printing on blank paper.

Labour Code 2025 template

The template covers all terms the IRC 2020 requires. Fixed-term clauses, probation conditions, and notice period language are already in the right place.

Filed to the employee record

Every letter is stored against the employee. When you need it for an audit or a dispute, it is there. Not in someone's email drafts.

Connected to the full lifecycle

The appointment letter links directly to onboarding, payslip, probation, and eventually the separation letter. One record, start to exit.

Fixed-term gratuity built in

Under the IRC 2020, fixed-term employees earn gratuity after one year, not five. Offrd reflects this in both the letter template and gratuity calculations.

Setup in under 2 minutes

Add your company, add the employee, generate. No implementation project, no consultant, no week-long onboarding.

How it works

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Under 2 minutes. 50 credits on the house, no card required.

Add the employee

Name, designation, department, date of joining. Or import a CSV.

Generate

Offrd fills the template with the correct terms and puts it on your letterhead. The PDF is ready in seconds.

Send and file

Share the PDF. The letter is stored in the employee record for future reference.

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Common questions

Is issuing an appointment letter mandatory in India?

Yes. The Industrial Relations Code 2020, which came into force on 21 November 2025, requires employers to issue appointment letters to all workers they engage. Establishments covered under the Code cannot rely on verbal offers or informal emails as a substitute.

What is the difference between an offer letter and an appointment letter?

An offer letter is issued before the candidate accepts. It outlines the intent to hire and the broad terms. An appointment letter is issued on or before the date of joining and is the formal, binding employment document. The IRC 2020 mandates the appointment letter specifically. Offrd generates both, linked to the same employee record.

How much does it cost to generate an appointment letter on Offrd?

You get 50 free credits on signup, which covers 50 documents. After that, it is either ₹99 per document on a pay-as-you-go basis, or ₹50 per active employee per month on the subscription plan. No setup fees.

Can I use the same template for all employment types?

Offrd handles the variations for you. A fixed-term letter includes the contract end date. A probationary appointment includes the confirmation clause. You do not manage separate files for each type.

What happens if I do not issue an appointment letter?

Under the Industrial Relations Code 2020, not issuing appointment letters is an inspectable violation. A labour inspector can flag this during a workplace audit. Beyond the compliance exposure, it creates ambiguity in any employment dispute, which is typically expensive to resolve without a signed document.

Does Offrd support fixed-term employment under the new Labour Codes?

Yes. Under the Industrial Relations Code 2020, fixed-term employees are entitled to gratuity after one year of service, not five. Offrd's appointment letter template includes the correct fixed-term clauses, and the gratuity calculation in the platform reflects this rule.