India’s labour laws evolved incrementally since independence, with statutory provisions scattered across multiple enactments dating back to the pre-independence period. The collective of numerous sector-specific legislation created a complex regulatory maze. The Second National Commission on Labour, 2002 recommended consolidation of these laws into functional groupings to simplify compliance, enhance clarity, and align Indian labour law with contemporary global practice[i].

With a view to simplify and streamline labour laws, the Government of India has, in November of last year, implemented four (4) new labour codes in place of the older twenty-nine (29) statutes. The new labour codes boost employment and workforce welfare, aiming to make strong industries, and facilitating ease of doing business in the country.

We review the key features of each code in our 4-part series.

Part I – Code on Wages, 2019: Review of critical changes (click here)

Part II – Code on Industrial Relations, 2020: Review of critical changes (click here)

Part III – The Code on Social Security, 2020 – Review of Critical Changes (click here)

Part IV – The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020: Review of Critical Changes (click here)

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020: Review of Critical Changes

Introduction

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (hereafter “the OSH Code/ the Code”) was enacted by the Parliament of India to consolidate and amend the laws governing occupational safety, health, and working conditions for persons employed in establishments. The OSH Code seeks to replace thirteen (13) central labour statutes that regulated similar subjects in a fragmented manner. These include:

the Factories Act, 1948;
the Plantations Labour Act, 1951;
the Mines Act, 1952;
the Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955;
the Working Journalists (Fixation of Rates of Wages) Act, 1958;
the Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961;
the Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966;
the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970;
the Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976;
the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979;
the Cine-Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers Act, 1981;
the Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986; and
the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996.

Critical Changes

1. Applicability

The Code applies to all establishments where persons are employed, including factories, mines, plantations, docks, construction sites, transport undertakings, motor transport operations, warehouses, and other workplaces. It expands the scope of safety and health regulation to encompass a wider array of workplaces and categories of workers. The Code establishes a unified registration and licensing regime. It requires establishments employing a specified minimum number of workers to register with the registering officer appointed by the appropriate government.

2. Unified Single Registration Mechanism at 10-Worker Threshold

The OSH Code establishes a single electronic registration, valid for 5 years, applicable to all the covered establishments employing 10 or more workers, replacing six separate registration requirements under predecessor statutes. Establishments already registered under central labour laws are deemed registered. Mandatory registration is required to be done within 60 days of commencement of establishment or applicability. Changes in ownership, management or operations of registered establishments must be intimated within 30 days; closure notice must be given within 30 days with certification wage dues payment.

3. Employer’s Obligations

Under the OSH Code, employers are subject to comprehensive duties concerning safety, health, and working conditions. These duties include the obligations, such as:

to maintain standards of cleanliness, ventilation, lighting, and sanitation; to ensure safe handling, storage, and transport of materials;
to prevent occupational hazards;
to provide requisite welfare facilities, including potable drinking water, latrines and washrooms, canteens, and first-aid facilities;
to maintain records related to accidents, dangerous occurrences, diseases, and other matters specified in the Code, and to furnish returns to appropriate authorities within prescribed timelines; and
to institute safety committees in establishments employing a prescribed number of workers, and to identify and appoint safety officers where thresholds are met.

Obligations with respect to Mandatory Medical Examination for Hazardous Work: The Code mandates periodic medical examinations for workers exposed to hazardous processes or substances in factories, mines, plantations, and other workplaces, and empowers the appropriate Government to specify classes of employees for whom free annual health examinations must be provided by employers.

4. Working Hours

Working hours and rest periods are addressed within the Code’s framework.

The provisions stipulate that a normal work day shall not exceed eight hours and that weekly work hours will generally not exceed prescribed limits, with overtime payable at rates not less than twice the normal rate for work beyond these limits. Daily rest intervals and weekly holidays are also addressed within the Code.

The OSH Code allows for employment of women in night shifts, subject to their consent and to conditions prescribed to ensure safety.

5. Contract Labour and Migrant Worker Coverage

The Code explicitly integrates contract labour and inter-State migrant workers into the occupational safety regime:

Principal employers remain liable for contract worker safety compliance;
Contract labour licensing applies to establishments deploying 50+ contract workers;
Inter-State migrant workers receive explicit statutory protection under unified framework;
Contract workers receive equivalent safety, health, and welfare protections as direct employees;

Principal employers cannot disclaim responsibility for contractor-deployed worker safety. Contractual agreements must allocate safety obligations clearly.

6. National Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Board

To bring in uniformity and equality, the Code provides for the constitution of a National Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Board to advise the central government on policy, standards, and implementation issues related to safety and health across sectors; and replaces six (6) former, sector-specific boards. Provisions also contemplate the constitution of corresponding state advisory boards to mirror this structure at the state level.

Registering officers and inspectors under the OSH Code are empowered to enter workplaces, conduct inspections, and require production of records, registers, and returns.

Concluding Remarks

The steps taken by the Indian Government certainly show a well-reasoned addressal for balancing the needs of workers and employers in India, in order to enable harmonious industrial relations as well as promoting ease of doing business in the country.

The OSH Code contains specific offences and penalties for contraventions of its provisions, from imprisonment, fines and penalties to the tune of Rs.20,00,000/- (Rupees Twenty Lakh), depending on the nature and gravity of the violation. The Code also provides for compounding of offences and appellate remedies.

The consolidation under the OSH Code aims to provide uniform standards for occupational safety and health and to bring a singular statutory framework in place of the earlier multiplicity of sector-specific laws. The Code not only creates consistent rules across industries and states in India, but it also simplifies compliance for employers through single registration and electronic filings.

Contributed by Akash Sajan (Associate, Corporate Commercial)

[guidance from Aditi Verma Thakur (Managing Partner)]

[i] National Commission on Labour. (2002). Report of the Second National Commission on Labour. Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.