Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020

What Is the OSH Code, 2020?

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code) is the fourth and largest of India’s labour codes, consolidating 13 central laws governing workplace safety, working hours, leave, welfare facilities, contract labour, and inter-state migrant workers. It received Presidential assent on 28 September 2020. The Code applies to factories, mines, plantations, motor transport, construction sites, dock work, and most establishments with 10 or more workers, replacing a fragmented inspectorate and licensing regime with a unified safety and welfare framework. See the India labour codes 2025 guide for the full four-code overview.

Acts Consolidated

The Code subsumes 13 central statutes: Factories Act 1948; Mines Act 1952; Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act 1986; Building and Other Construction Workers Act 1996; Plantations Labour Act 1951; Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970; Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act 1979; Working Journalists Acts 1955 and 1958; Motor Transport Workers Act 1961; Sales Promotion Employees Act 1976; Beedi and Cigar Workers Act 1966; and the Cine-Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers Act 1981.

Implementation Status

The OSH Code has been notified but not yet brought fully into operational force. The Centre has issued the OSH Code (Central) Rules, 2020 in draft form. As of 2026, around 25 States have published draft rules and many have notified them; final pan-India enforcement is pending coordination across the four labour codes. Employers should treat the Code as imminent and align HR, EHS, and contract-labour processes accordingly.

Working Hours

Section 25 prescribes daily and weekly hour limits:

• Maximum 8 hours per day, 48 hours per week.
• Spread-over (work plus rest intervals) capped at 12 hours per day.
• Rest interval of at least 30 minutes after every 5 hours of work (or 6 hours, depending on State rule).
• Weekly off of at least one full day per week.
• Overtime payable at twice the ordinary rate of wages (Section 27).

The Centre has indicated that the OT cap may be raised to 125 hours per quarter under the Central Rules (up from 50 hours under the Factories Act). Several States have already notified higher OT limits (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra) in line with this. Employers must check the State-specific OT cap applicable to each establishment.

Daily and Weekly Rest

• One full day off in any week (typically Sunday or as notified).
• 30-minute meal break after 5–6 hours of continuous work.
• Female workers entitled to be informed of the weekly off in advance.

Failure to grant rest invites prosecution under the Code regardless of the worker’s consent.

Annual Leave with Wages

Section 32 standardises earned leave:

• One day of earned leave for every 20 days of work performed during the previous calendar year (factories, plantations, mines).
• Adult workers: typically 1 day per 20 days worked.
• Young workers (below 18): 1 day per 15 days worked.
• Eligibility kicks in after 180 days of work in a calendar year.
• Maximum carry-forward of 30 days for adults (state-specific variations apply).
• Encashment of unused EL on exit is mandatory.

Female Workers in Night Shifts

Section 43 expressly permits women to work in all establishments and at night (between 7 PM and 6 AM), subject to:

• Their written consent.
• Adequate safety, transportation, and welfare arrangements.
• Compliance with State Government conditions.

This is a major liberalisation from the Factories Act, which restricted women’s night work in many sectors.

Single Registration and Licence

Section 3 mandates a single common registration for any establishment covered by the Code, replacing multiple registrations under the 13 repealed Acts. A common digital portal (Shram Suvidha) enables employers to register, file returns, and obtain licences for factories, contract labour, beedi & cigar, and other categories under one window. This sits alongside the state-level Shops and Establishments Act registrations that continue to apply.

Contract Labour

Chapter XI updates the Contract Labour regime:

• Threshold raised to 50 workers (from 20 under the CLRA Act). Establishments and contractors below 50 are exempt from licence requirements.
• Principal employer obligations: ensure payment of wages, statutory contributions, welfare amenities, and prohibit deployment of contract labour in core activities.
• Core activity is defined and listed; deployment of contract labour in core activities is prohibited unless seasonal, intermittent, or sanctioned by the appropriate Government.
• Welfare amenities (canteen, restroom, drinking water, first aid) must be provided where 50+ contract workers are deployed.

Inter-State Migrant Workers

Section 60–63 strengthen migrant worker protections:

• A migrant worker database (eShram-linked) tracks portability of social-security entitlements.
• Journey allowance payable annually to and from the home State.
• Helpline and grievance officer in each State for migrant worker complaints.
• Public Distribution System portability so migrants can draw rations in destination States.
• Equal wages and conditions with local workers.

Penalties

The Code introduces graded penalties:

• Failure to comply with provisions causing death or serious injury: imprisonment up to 2 years and fine up to ₹5,00,000.
• Other contraventions: up to ₹1,00,000–₹3,00,000 with daily fines for continuing offences.
• Compounding allowed for first-time non-imprisonable offences.
• “Inspector-cum-Facilitators” replace the older Inspector regime, with a duty to advise before prosecution.

Implication for Employers

1. Review attendance and OT systems — confirm daily/weekly caps, spread-over limits, and OT pay at 2× wages.
2. Update leave policy — apply the 1-per-20 earned-leave formula and 180-day eligibility.
3. Run a contract-labour audit — licence position under the new 50-worker threshold and the prohibition on core-activity deployment.
4. Migrant-worker registration, journey allowance, and PDS portability.
5. Female night-shift compliance — written consent, transport, and security.
6. Single registration via the unified portal once notified; EHS upgrades (first aid, canteens, restrooms, crèches) by workforce size.

How Omnivoo Helps

Omnivoo’s EOR platform operates within the OSH Code, 2020 framework. Working-hour, OT, and earned-leave configurations match the Code’s caps; female employees on night shifts have consent and transport flows built in; contract-labour deployments are tracked against the 50-worker licence threshold; and migrant-worker journey-allowance entitlements are computed automatically. Once States notify their final OSH rules, Omnivoo updates registers, returns, and the unified-registration filings without any change on the employer’s side.