OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY, HEALTH AND

WORKING CONDITIONS CODE, 2020

October 01, 2022

 BACKGROUND

July, 2019 - OSH Code, 2019 introduced in the Lok

Sabha

October, 2019 - Referred to Parliamentary Standing

Committee on Labour & Employment for examination.

September 19, 2020 - OSH Code, 2020 re-introduced in

the Lok Sabha.

September 22, 2020 and September 23, 2020 - OSH

Code, 2020 passed by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya
Sabha, respectively.

September 28, 2020 - OSH Code, 2020 received the

Presidential assent and on September 29, 2020 –
published in the Official Gazette for general
information.
 WHAT IS CHANGING?

v The OSH Code intends to consolidate, into a single code, 13 central labour statutes
related to safety, health and working conditions. They are as follows:

1. The Factories Act, 1948;

2. The Plantations Labour Act, 1951;
3. The Mines Act, 1952;
4. The Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service
and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1955;
5. The Working Journalists (Fixation of Rates of Wages) Act, 1958;
6. The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961;
7. The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966;
8. The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970;
9. The Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976;
10. The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of
Service) Act, 1979;
11. The Cine Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers Act, 1981;
12. The Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986; and
13. The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and
Conditions of Service) Act, 1996.
 OSH CODE: BRIEF

Mandatory
Contains 14 Definitions of
issuance of Hours of work and
Chapters, 143 contract labour,
appointment leave
Sections, and 3 employee, worker letters by
Schedules; etc.
employers

Provisions related
Removal of
Online to core-activity Duties of
restrictions on
registration of and engagement employer and
employment of of contract
establishments women. employees
workers

Maintenance of Enhanced
Exclusion of Inspection and
consolidated penalties and
jurisdiction of civil opportunity to compounding of
courts registers, forms
and returns cure offences

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 APPLICABILITY
The OSH Code inter alia is applicable to:
q Non- manufacturing establishments;

q Factory;

q Contract labour;

q Inter state migrant worker;

q Plantation labour; and

q Workers including sales promotion employees, motor transport worker,

working journalists and dock workers.

It shall not apply to the offices of the Central Government offices of the State
Government and any ship of war of any nationality.

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Chapter II- Registration
Ø Electronic registration –

q To be obtained by all establishments (whether a factory or a commercial

establishment such as IT/ITeS establishments);

q Timeline - within 60 days from the applicability of the OSH Code 2020;

q Registering officer to issue the certificate within a prescribed timeline,

else deemed registration.

q Any subsequent change in the ownership or management or any

particulars contained in the registration - required to be electronically
intimated to the registering officer within 30 days of such change.
Ø Continuity of the existing registrations–

q Existing registration under any applicable central labour laws to be

deemed to be valid under the Code;

q Relevant details to be conveyed in the prescribed manner.

Ø Notice of commencement to be issued.

 REGISTERS, RECORDS AND LICENSES
Ø Registers, records & filing of returns -
q To be maintained in electronic mode;
q Offers considerable relief to employers by consolidating the various
registers and records.

Ø Common license –
q Application to be made electronically;
q For a factory, engagement of contract workers or any such combination.

Ø Work Specific license –

q Introduced a concept of ‘work-specific license’ for project based work
orders and a ‘national’ license for undertaking work in more than one
State, for contractors.

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 Chapter III: DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS
Ø Ensure hazard-free workplace and disposal of hazardous and toxic waste
including e-waste;

Ø Comply with occupational safety and health standards;

Ø Provide annual health examination or tests free of cost to the applicable

employees;

Ø Provide a safe and risk free work environment to all employees and visitors;

Ø Issue letter of appointment to every employee with the prescribed information;

Ø Provide necessary information, instruction, training & supervision ensuring

health & safety of all employees;

Ø Send notice in the prescribed time and manner in case of an accident and
upon contraction of the specified disease;

Ø Appoint safety officers possessing the prescribed qualifications in a factory

having >500 workers; factory involved in hazardous process/BOCW
>250 workers;
 Chapter III: DUTIES OF EMPLOYEES

Ø OSH Code introduces certain duties of employees at the workplace apart

from the ones that existed in certain previous regimes, mainly Factories Act,
1948;

Ø Take reasonable care and comply with safety and health requirements;

Ø Cooperate in meeting statutory obligations and performing the prescribed

duties, etc.;

Ø Report to the employer any unsafe or unhealthy

situation at the workplace;

Ø Contravention attracts a penalty upto INR 10k.

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 Chapter VII: HOURS OF WORK AND LEAVES
Ø Daily hours of work – upto 8 hours (wherein under Factories Act, it was 9
hours a day or 48 hours a week);

Ø Spread hours – to be notified by the appropriate Govt.;

Ø Working days – upto 6 days in a week;

Ø Overtime –
q Subject to the consent of the worker;
q Paid at the rate of twice the rate of wages;
q Overtime hours to be prescribed by the appropriate Govt.

Ø Overlapping shifts –
q To be prohibited;
q One relay of workers not to be engaged in work of the same kind at the
same time.

Ø Annual leave with wages –

q Entitled upon completion of upto 180 days in a calendar year (unlike 240
days under the Factories Act);
q 1 day for every 20 days and carry forward upto 30 days beyond which
leave encashment is possible.
 Chapter X: EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN
EMPLOYEES
Ø Change in regime where women’s daily working hours were limited or
curtailed to specific times : The OSH Code allows women to be employed, with
prior consent and subject to following conditions laid out by the appropriate
government, at all points in time.

Ø Women shall be entitled to be employed in all establishments for all types of

work under this Code and they may also be employed, with their consent
before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m. subject to such conditions relating to safety,
holidays and working hours or any other condition to be observed by the
employer as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.

Ø Employer to ensure conditions relating to safety, holidays, work hours etc. -

Where the appropriate Government considers that the employment of women
is dangerous for their health and safety, in an establishment or class of
establishments or in any particular hazardous or dangerous processes in
such establishment or class of establishments, due to the operation carried
out therein, such Government may in the prescribed manner, require the
employer to provide adequate safeguards prior to the employment of women
for such operation.
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 CONTRACT LABOUR
Ø Applicability and validity–
q Increased threshold for applicability; now 50 or more;
q Excludes establishments performing intermittent or casual work;
q Validity of contractor license up to 5 years;
q Definition of core activity.

Ø Non licensed contractor –

q If a contractor has not obtained a license as is required for under the OSH
Code, such Engagement of contract labour to be deemed in contravention
of the Code.

Ø Experience certificate –
q To be issued on demand by the concerned contractor;
q Certificate to contain details of the work performed.

Ø Liability of principal employer : welfare facilities-

q Varying from the previous regime, wherein the liability of providing
welfare facilities to contract labour rested with the contractor, the OSH
Code requires principal employer to an establishment employing contract
labour to provide welfare facilities as specified, to its contract labour.
 …CONTRACT LABOUR

Ø Payment of wages-
q Responsibility – contractor to make payments before the prescribed
period;
q Disbursement of wages – via bank transfer or electronic mode;
q Failure of payment by contractor – principal employer liable to make such
payments and recover such amount from the contractor.

Ø Exemption –
q The appropriate Govt. empowered to exempt contractors from the
provisions of this Code in case of an emergency, subject to such
conditions as may be notified.
 …CONTRACT LABOUR
Contract labour under the CLRA and the OSH Code, key differences:

Ø Definition of Contract Labour:

The Code has modified the definition of ‘contract labour’ to mean “a worker
who shall be deemed to be employed in or in connection with the work of an
establishment when he is hired in or in connection with such work by or
through a contractor, with or without the knowledge of the principal employer
and includes inter-state migrant worker
but does not include a worker (other than part time employee) who is
regularly employed by the contractor for any activity of his establishment and
his employment is governed by mutually accepted standards of the conditions
of employment (including engagement on permanent basis), and gets
periodical increment in the pay, social security coverage and other welfare
benefits in accordance with the law for the time being in force in such
employment.”

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 …CONTRACT LABOUR
Ø Definition of Core Activities:
q The Code has a blanket prohibition on the engagement of contract workers
for core activities.
q CLRA Act: Engagement of contract workers was permitted, unless
specifically prohibited.
q ‘Core activities’ = any activity for which the establishment is set up and
includes any activity which is essential or necessary to such activity.
q What are not core activities:
• sanitation works, including sweeping, cleaning, dusting and collection
and disposal of all kinds of waste;
• watch and ward services including security services;
• canteen and catering services;
• loading and unloading operations;
• running of hospitals, educational and training institutions, guest houses,
clubs and the like where they are in the nature of support services of an
establishment;
• courier services which are in nature of support services of an
establishment;
• civil and other constructional works, including maintenance;
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 …CONTRACT LABOUR
q What are not core activities:
• gardening and maintenance of lawns and other like activities;

• housekeeping and laundry services, and other like activities, where

these are in nature of support services of an establishment;
• transport services including, ambulance services;

• any activity of intermittent nature even if that constitutes a core activity

of an establishment.

q Code permits the engagement of contract workers in core activities if:

• the normal functioning of the establishment is such that the activity is
ordinarily done through contractor;
• the activities are such that they do not require full time workers for the
major portion of the working hours in a day or for longer periods, as the
case may be; or
• any sudden increase of volume of work in the core activity which needs
to be accomplished in a specified time.

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 PENALTY
List of penalties inter alia include the following -
Particulars Fine Imprisonment Both fine and
imprisonment
General penalty for offences INR 2 Lakhs to
INR 3 Lakhs
Non-maintenance of INR 50k to INR 1
registers, records and non- Lakh
filing of returns
Falsification of records Up to INR 1 Lakh Up to 3 months P
Contravention relating to Up to INR 5 Up to 2 years
hazardous processes Lakhs

Contravention relating to Up to INR 20 Up to 3 years P

hazardous processes Lakhs
upon conviction
Contravention relating to (a) Up to INR 5 (a) Up to 2 years (a) P
safety provisions resulting in Lakhs
accident causing - (b) INR 2 Lakhs (b) Up to 1 year
(b) P
(a) Death; to INR 4 Lakhs
(b) Serious bodily injury.
 COMPOUNDING OF OFFENCES
The OSH Code, 2020 provides:

Ø Compounding of certain offences upon an inquiry or institution of prosecution;

Ø Officer for such compounding of offences to be notified by the appropriate

Govt.

Ø Manner of compounding-
q For a sum of 50% of the maximum stipulated fine in case of a ‘penalty’;
and
q For a sum of 75% of the maximum stipulated fine for an ‘offence’.

Ø Compounding of offence not permitted for a repeated offence committed

within 3 years from the date of the first violation.
 SUMMARY OF THE COMPLIANCE
REQUIREMENTS
Ø ESTABLISHMENT :
q Applicability Threshold: 10 or more workers;
q Requirement: Registration of the establishment within 60 days from the date of
applicability of the OSH Code, via an electronic application;
q Any change in ownership or particulars of the registration to be intimated
electronically to the relevant authority within 30 days of such change;
q Employer to give notice, electronically, of commencement and cessation of
operation within such time as may be prescribed;
q Constitution of safety committee – as may be required by the appropriate
Government;
q Appointment of safety officer - In every establishment which is a—
• factory wherein five hundred workers or more; or
• factory carrying on hazardous process wherein two hundred fifty workers or
more; or
• building or other construction work wherein two hundred fifty workers or
more; or
• mine wherein one hundred workers or more, are ordinarily employed.
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 SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT COMPLIANCE
REQUIREMENTS
Ø ESTABLISHMENT :
q Display: Notice of periods of work to be display in an establishment , showing
clearly for every day the periods during which workers may be required to
work in accordance with the provisions of the OSH Code. The form of notice,
manner of display and the manner in which such notice shall be sent to the
Inspector-cum-Facilitator be such as may be prescribed by the appropriate
Government;
q Maintenance of registers and records and filing of returns by an employer,
electronically or otherwise, containing details which include (i) the work
performed by workers; (ii) number of hours of work constituting normal
working hours in a day; (iii) day of rest allowed in every period of seven days;
(iv) wage paid and receipts given therefor; (v) leave, leave wages, overtime
work, attendance and dangerous occurrences; and (vi) employment of
adolescent;
q Issuance of wage slips to workers; and
q Filing such return electronically or otherwise to the Inspector-cum Facilitator
in such manner and during such periods as may be prescribed by the
appropriate Government.
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 SUMMARY OF THE SIGNIFICANT
COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS
Ø CONTRACT LABOUR :
q Applicability Threshold: (i) Principal Employer: every establishment in which
50 or more contract labour are employed or were employed on any day of the
preceding twelve months through contract;
q (ii) Contractor: every manpower supply contractor who has employed, on any
day of the preceding twelve months, 50 or more contract labour;
q Registration:
q Not applicable to establishments which perform work only of an intermittent or
casual nature;
q Licensing of contractors: Mandatory;
q Liability of principal employer to ensure health and working conditions and
provide welfare facilities to contract labour in an establishment;
q Contractor to issue experience certificate , on demand, to the contract labour
for the work performed by them;
q Prohibition of employment of contract labour in core activities , subject to
certain exemptions

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THANK YOU