• The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 consolidates multiple labour laws related to workplace safety, health, and employment conditions into a single legal framework.
• It seeks to simplify compliance, ensure uniform standards across sectors and States, and strengthen worker welfare while supporting economic growth.
• The Code forms part of India’s broader labour law reforms aimed at transparency, formalisation, and ease of doing business.

Rationale Behind the Code

• Earlier labour regulation governing occupational safety and working conditions was fragmented across several Central Acts, leading to duplication, complexity, and uneven enforcement.
• The Code addresses this by creating a unified regulatory architecture that balances worker protection with business facilitation.
• It aims to make India’s labour market more efficient, fair, and future-ready.

Structural Simplification and Compliance Framework

Legal Consolidation

• Multiple laws covering factories, mines, construction work, contract labour, migrant workers, and working journalists are unified under one Code.
• This reduces overlap and ensures consistent safety and welfare standards across industries.

Digital and Single-Window Compliance

• Establishments are required to follow a simplified system of registration and licensing.
• Emphasis is placed on electronic filings, digital record maintenance, and time-bound approvals.
• The number of forms, registers, and returns has been significantly reduced to lower procedural burden.

Applicability and Coverage

Universal Approach to Safety and Welfare

• The Code extends health, safety, and welfare protections to establishments across sectors, rather than limiting them to a few specified industries.
• Government is empowered to extend the Code even to small establishments if the work involved is hazardous or life-threatening.

Threshold-Based Regulation

• Obligations under the Code depend on factors such as number of workers, nature of work, and risk profile.
• This ensures proportional regulation, easing compliance for smaller units while retaining safeguards in larger or hazardous establishments.

Worker Welfare and Employment Conditions

Formalisation Through Appointment Letters

• Employers are required to issue appointment letters in a prescribed format.
• These letters specify wages, designation, working conditions, and social security coverage.
• This enhances transparency, reduces disputes, and supports formal employment relationships.

Annual Leave With Wages

• Workers become eligible for paid annual leave after completing a reduced number of working days in a calendar year.
• This promotes rest, recovery, productivity, and overall job satisfaction.

Working Hours and Overtime

• Daily and weekly working hour limits are clearly defined.
• Flexibility is allowed in work scheduling models subject to regulatory oversight.
• Overtime work must be compensated at a higher wage rate, ensuring fair remuneration for extra work.

Inter-State Migrant Workers

Expanded Definition and Inclusion

• Coverage includes workers employed through contractors as well as those who migrate on their own.
• Establishments must declare engagement of migrant workers to improve data availability and policy design.

Welfare and Portability

• Migrant workers are entitled to journey allowances for periodic visits to their native places.
• Portability of welfare benefits is encouraged, including access to food security and construction worker welfare schemes.
• Grievance redress mechanisms such as helplines are provided.

National Worker Database

• Focus on developing a national-level database for unorganised and migrant workers.
• This supports skill mapping, job matching, and targeted social security interventions.

Health, Safety and Well-Being Measures

Safety Committees

• Large establishments in high-risk sectors must constitute safety committees.
• These include worker representatives, strengthening participation in workplace safety decisions.

Preventive Healthcare

• Employees are entitled to periodic health check-ups.
• This supports early detection of occupational diseases and improves workforce productivity.

National OSH Standards

• A single national advisory board with tripartite representation advises on safety and health standards.
• Uniform standards promote consistency and fairness across States and sectors.

Victim Compensation

• Courts may direct that a significant portion of fines imposed for serious violations be paid as compensation to affected workers or their legal heirs.
• This strengthens accountability and justice in cases of serious injury or death.

Industry Facilitation and Ease of Doing Business

Simplified Licensing and Registration

• Single registration and licence systems reduce repetitive approvals.
• All-India licences improve operational mobility for businesses.

Time-Bound Approvals

• Certain permissions related to factory construction or expansion are subject to defined timelines.
• Deemed approvals apply if authorities fail to act within prescribed periods.

Inspector-cum-Facilitator Model

• Inspectors function as facilitators who guide establishments towards compliance.
• Web-based and randomised inspections reduce discretion and improve transparency.

Third-Party Audits

• Provision for third-party safety audits for specified establishments.
• This enables quicker compliance assessment and reduces dependency on direct inspections.

Digitisation of Records

• Significant reduction in the number of physical registers.
• Digital record-keeping improves efficiency and monitoring.

Contract Labour Provisions

Core and Non-Core Activities

• Clear distinction between core and non-core activities provides clarity to employers and workers.
• Contract labour is permitted in core activities under specific operational conditions such as seasonal demand or specialised work.

Higher Applicability Threshold

• Increased thresholds reduce regulatory burden on small contractors.
• Larger establishments remain subject to stricter welfare and safety obligations.

Wage and Welfare Safeguards

• Principal employers are responsible for ensuring welfare facilities for contract workers.
• In case of wage default by contractors, principal employers may be required to ensure payment.

Compliance, Compounding and Decriminalisation

Compounding of Offences

• Certain violations can be settled through monetary compounding, enabling faster resolution.
• This reduces litigation and promotes a compliance-oriented approach.

Decriminalisation and Improvement Notices

• Many procedural offences are shifted from criminal penalties to civil penalties.
• Employers are given an opportunity to rectify violations through improvement notices before punitive action.

Social Security Orientation

• Amounts collected through penalties and compounding can be credited to welfare funds for unorganised workers.

Women-Centric Provisions

Expanded Employment Opportunities

• Women are permitted to work in all establishments and roles, including night shifts, subject to safety measures and consent.
• This promotes gender equality and higher female labour force participation.

Crèche Facilities

• Establishments above a prescribed workforce size must provide crèche facilities.
• The provision supports work-family balance and is increasingly gender-neutral in design.

Conclusion

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 represents a significant step in modernising India’s labour governance framework. By unifying fragmented laws, expanding worker protections, and simplifying compliance through digital and single-window systems, it strengthens both safety outcomes and economic efficiency. Its success will ultimately depend on effective implementation, cooperative federalism, and maintaining a balance between regulatory simplification and robust protection of worker health, safety, and dignity.