If you run a business in India, or you work for one, you've probably heard the term "OSH Code" thrown around a lot since late 2025. Maybe your HR team mentioned it. Maybe a labour consultant sent you a scary-sounding email about penalties. Maybe you just saw it in the news and moved on.

Here's the short version: the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 is the law that decides how safe your workplace has to be, how many hours you can be made to work, whether women can work night shifts, and what your employer owes you the day you're hired. It became a functioning law on 21 November 2025, and it quietly folded 13 older labour laws, including the famous Factories Act, 1948, into one single rulebook.

That's the headline. Now let's actually unpack what it means, because the details are where most businesses get tripped up.

Why did India even need this code?

Before this code, workplace safety in India was governed by a patchwork of separate laws, each written for a different era and a different type of workplace. There was one law for factories, another for mines, another for construction sites, another for dock workers, another for journalists, another for plantations, and so on. If your business touched more than one of these categories, you were juggling multiple registrations, multiple inspectors, and multiple sets of paperwork, often for the same basic idea: keep workers safe and treat them fairly.

The Second National Commission on Labour flagged this problem years ago and recommended that India simplify its labour laws instead of adding new ones on top of old ones. That recommendation eventually became four labour codes: one on wages, one on industrial relations, one on social security, and this one, on occupational safety. Parliament passed the OSH Code in September 2020 and it received presidential assent on 28 September 2020. But it sat unused for five years while the government worked out the practical side of rolling it out across a country where labour is a subject both the central government and state governments get to legislate on.

The 13 laws this code wipes off the books (Section 143)

Section 143 of the OSH Code is the repeal clause, and it's worth knowing by number because it answers one of the most Googled questions about this law: what actually happened to the Factories Act?

Here are the 13 central laws that Section 143 repeals and absorbs into the OSH Code:

1. The Factories Act, 1948

2. The Mines Act, 1952

3. The Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986

4. The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996

5. The Plantations Labour Act, 1951

6. The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970

7. The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979

8. The Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955

9. The Working Journalists (Fixation of Rates of Wages) Act, 1958

10. The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961

11. The Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976

12. The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966

13. The Cine Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers Act, 1981

If your business used to check compliance boxes under any of these (say, the Factories Act for your manufacturing unit, or the Contract Labour Act for your outsourced housekeeping staff), those obligations now live inside the OSH Code instead. People still refer to the old Act names out of habit, and honestly, so do a lot of consultants. But legally, these 13 statutes no longer stand on their own.

When did the OSH Code actually come into force?

This is the part people get confused about, so let's be precise.

The OSH Code, along with the other three labour codes, officially came into force on 21 November 2025. The Ministry of Labour and Employment issued a Gazette notification and a press release the same day, describing it as a long-overdue overhaul of the country's labour framework.

But a law coming "into force" and a law being fully workable are two different things. The Central Rules that spell out the day-to-day mechanics (how to register, what forms to file, what a safety committee actually looks like) weren't notified until 8 May 2026. And because states also get to frame their own rules under this code, the rollout has been uneven. Rajasthan finalised its rules by the end of June 2026. Bihar followed in July. Andhra Pradesh notified its final rules in August 2026. Other states were still working through draft rules well into the middle of 2026, and at least one large state, West Bengal, had not notified its rules at all as of earlier this year.

What this means practically: if your business operates in more than one state, you can't assume the same compliance calendar applies everywhere. You need to check your specific state's rules, not just the central framework.

Who does the OSH Code actually apply to?

The code is broader than the old Factories Act ever was, but it doesn't apply to every single workplace in the country.

As a general rule, any establishment with 10 or more workers falls under its safety and welfare provisions. Beyond that baseline, specific provisions kick in only once you cross specific worker thresholds, and this is where most confusion happens: people assume one threshold applies everywhere, when the code actually sets a different bar for different obligations.

Provision	Applicability threshold
General safety, health and welfare duties	10 or more workers
"Factory" status, with power used in manufacturing	20 or more workers
"Factory" status, without power	40 or more workers
Contract labour licensing (Sections 45 to 58)	50 or more contract workers
Inter-state migrant worker provisions (Sections 59 to 65)	10 or more such workers
Safety Committee (ordinary factory)	500 or more workers
Safety Committee (factory with hazardous process)	250 or more workers
Safety Committee (building or construction site)	250 or more workers
Safety Committee (mine)	100 or more workers
Welfare officer	250 or more workers
Canteen facility	100 or more workers (including contract labour)
Creche facility	50 or more workers

So if you're a contractor supplying, say, 35 workers to a client, you're outside the licensing requirement under Sections 45 to 58, but you're still bound by the general safety and welfare duties the moment you cross 10 workers. That distinction trips up a lot of small and mid-sized contractors, and it's worth checking exactly which bracket your establishment falls into rather than assuming the whole code either applies or doesn't.

If you're a smaller business, this might actually mean less paperwork than before, not more. If you're a mid-sized manufacturer or contractor who used to sit just above the old thresholds, you'll want to recheck where you now stand, because you may have moved in or out of certain obligations entirely.

What changes for workers, in plain terms

This is the part that actually affects people's daily working lives, and it's worth going through one by one.

Appointment letters are now compulsory (Section 6(1)(f)). Every worker, not just white-collar staff, must be given a written appointment letter stating their designation, wages, and other basic terms of employment. This sounds small, but for millions of informal and contract workers who never had anything in writing, it's a genuine shift. It gives them something to point to if there's a dispute later.

Working hours are capped, with paid overtime for anything beyond that (Sections 25 and 27). The standard is 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week. Employers can ask for extra hours, but only with the worker's consent and at double the normal wage rate. This isn't new in spirit, but it's now written into one unified law instead of being scattered across different acts with different limits.

Free annual health check-ups for workers over 40 (Section 6(1)(c)). Anyone above this age working in a factory, mine, plantation, or hazardous process is entitled to a free yearly medical check-up, paid for by the employer. The Ministry has reiterated this in Parliament, and government-run health camps under ESIC have already started rolling it out in several states.

Women can now legally work night shifts (Section 43). Between 7 PM and 6 AM, with their own consent and provided the employer arranges proper safety, transport, and security. Under the old Factories Act, this was largely off-limits. It's one of the more debated changes, but the intent behind it is to stop treating women as a category to be protected out of the workforce rather than protected within it.

Leave rules have been eased (Section 32). Workers now qualify for paid annual leave after working just 180 days in a year, down from 240 days earlier. Leave can be carried forward up to 30 days, and anything beyond that must be encashed rather than simply forfeited.

Migrant workers get real portability (Sections 59 to 65). Inter-state migrant workers are now entitled to benefits that travel with them across state lines, along with an annual journey allowance and access to a toll-free grievance helpline, something that barely existed in practice under the old law.

What employers need to actually do

If you're on the employer side, the compliance picture boils down to a few concrete steps.

Registration has been simplified into a single process instead of the old system of separate registrations for separate laws (Section 3). New establishments must apply within 60 days of the code applying to them, through the Shram Suvidha Portal, using Form I. If your paperwork is in order, you get your registration certificate, Form III, within 7 days. If the government doesn't respond in that window, the registration is treated as automatically granted (a "deemed registration"), which is a genuinely useful safeguard against bureaucratic delay. If you disagree with a decision on your registration, Section 4 gives you a right of appeal.

Beyond registration, you're expected to issue appointment letters, maintain safety standards appropriate to your industry, set up safety committees once you cross 500 workers in a factory or 100 in a mine (Section 22), appoint a welfare officer once you cross 250 workers (Section 24), and keep your registers, records, and returns ready for inspection under Section 33. Most of this can now be maintained digitally rather than in physical ledgers. Inspections themselves are carried out by Inspector-cum-Facilitators appointed under Section 34, a role that's meant to be part-inspector, part-adviser, rather than purely punitive.

Non-compliance isn't a minor risk either. Section 94 lays down the general penalty for offences, and Section 97 deals with punishment for contravening specific provisions. Fines can run into lakhs of rupees, and repeated or serious violations can lead to imprisonment.

The honest caveat: rules are still settling

If there's one thing worth remembering about the OSH Code right now, it's that it's a live, moving situation rather than a settled one. The central law is in force, the Central Rules are notified, but state-level rules are still trickling out one gazette notification at a time. A business operating out of Rajasthan, Bihar, and West Bengal today is technically dealing with three different stages of implementation for the same central code. That's not a reason to wait and do nothing, since the core obligations under the central code already apply, but it is a reason to keep checking your specific state's notifications rather than assuming last year's advice still holds.

The exact sections people search for

If you'd rather go to the source than take a blog's word for it, here's a quick map of where the most-searched provisions actually sit inside the OSH Code, 2020.

What you're looking for	Section
Registration of an establishment	Section 3
Appeal against a registration order	Section 4
Duties of the employer	Section 6
Appointment letter requirement	Section 6(1)(f)
Free annual health check-up	Section 6(1)(c)
Rights of an employee to raise safety concerns	Section 14
National and State Safety Advisory Boards	Sections 16 and 17
Safety Committee and Safety Officers	Section 22
Welfare facilities, canteen, creche, welfare officer	Section 24
Standard working hours (8 hours a day)	Section 25
Weekly and compensatory holidays	Section 26
Overtime wages (double pay)	Section 27
Night shift working	Section 28
Annual leave with wages	Section 32
Registers, records and returns	Section 33
Appointment of Inspector-cum-Facilitator	Section 34
Employment of women, including night shifts	Section 43
Contract labour licensing and rules	Sections 45 to 58
Inter-state migrant workers' rights	Sections 59 to 65
General penalty for offences	Section 94
Punishment for contravening specific provisions	Section 97
Rule-making power of Central and State Governments	Sections 133 and 135
Repeal of the 13 old laws	Section 143

Keep this list handy. When you read a state's OSH rules, Rajasthan's or Bihar's 2026 rules, for instance, they almost always cite Sections 133 and 135 as their authority to frame those rules, so recognising these numbers makes it much easier to follow the paper trail from the central code down to your own state's notification.

Where Praans Consultech fits in

This is exactly the kind of moving target that trips up HR teams and business owners who already have a company to run. At Praans Consultech, we track these state-by-state notifications as they happen, so our clients aren't left guessing whether their state has finalised its OSH rules or is still at the draft stage. If you're trying to figure out where your business actually stands under the new code (what's already mandatory, what's still pending in your state, and what your registration or compliance gaps look like), that's a conversation worth having before an inspector has it for you.

Quick answers to common questions

Is the OSH Code, 2020 in force right now?

Yes. It came into effect on 21 November 2025, and the Central Rules under it were notified on 8 May 2026.

Does the OSH Code replace the Factories Act, 1948?

Yes, along with 12 other central labour laws, including the Mines Act, the Contract Labour Act, and the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act.

Does it apply to small businesses?

Basic safety and welfare provisions apply once you have 10 or more workers. Higher thresholds apply for specific obligations like safety committees or welfare officers.

Can women legally work night shifts now?

Yes, between 7 PM and 6 AM, with their consent and with employer-provided safety and transport arrangements.

Are all state rules under the OSH Code finalised?

No. States are notifying their own rules at different speeds through 2026, so it's important to check your specific state's status rather than assume uniform national implementation.

About the author

Sandeep Kumar is the Founder of Praans Consultech, with 16 years of experience in labour law compliance and business advisory. He holds a B.Sc., LLB, LLM, and PGCHRM (XLRI), and writes regularly on India's new Labour Codes for the Praans Consultech blog.

Sources

● The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020: full bare act text, Bill No. 122 of 2020, PRS Legislative Research

● PRS Legislative Research: Bill Summary, PRS Legislative Research

● Government Makes the Four Labour Codes Effective, Press Information Bureau, Government of India, 21 November 2025

● PIB Factsheet on the OSH Code, 2020, Government of India

● FAQs on the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, Ministry of Labour and Employment

● OSH (Central) Rules, 2026: Key Highlights and Compliance Guide, SCC Online Blog

● Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, Wikipedia

● India: Government of India Announces Implementation of Four Labour Codes, KPMG Flash Alert

● Government of India Notifies the Labour Codes, DLA Piper Knowledge

● OSH Code, 2020: Key Provisions and Compliance, state rules tracker, LKS Law

● Our Company, Praans Consultech

Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020: What It Really Means for Indian Employers and Workers

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