The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code)

What this chapter covers

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020: topics in the order to study them

1. 1OSH Code 2020: Introduction, Application and DefinitionsDefinitions such as employer, establishment and contract labour are used in every later topic, so you need them first.
2. 2Duties of Employer and EmployeesSection 6 and the employee duties are the core of the code and are asked often, so learn them early.
3. 3Registration, Licensing and Occupational Safety and Health StandardsOnce you know who owes duties, you learn how establishments register and which standards they must meet.
4. 4Health, Welfare and Working Conditions in EstablishmentsThis covers day-to-day compliance such as hours, holidays, overtime and welfare, and builds on the standards.
5. 5Special Provisions: Factories, Mines, Docks, Building WorkersThese are extra rules for high-risk sectors, easier to learn once the general rules are clear.
6. 6Contract Labour, Inter-State Migrant Workers and Audio-Visual WorkersThese groups have separate licensing and responsibility rules, which are best learned after the general framework.
7. 7Inspector-cum-Facilitator, Enforcement, Offences and PenaltiesEnforcement ties everything together and works best as the last step, when you know the duties being enforced.

How to prepare The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020

1. Read the list of repealed laws in section 143 so you know which older Acts the code replaces, and note that earlier rules continue until replaced, to the extent they are not contrary to the code.
2. Learn the definitions in your own words. For each, write one example of an Indian factory, shop or contractor to make it concrete.
3. Memorise section 6 in two parts: the general duties of every employer, and the extra duties for factories, mines, docks, building work and plantations. Section 6(1)(f) on appointment letters and 6(1)(g) on no charge to employees are easy marks.
4. Make one-page summary sheets for each topic: provision, who it applies to, who enforces it, and the consequence of breach.
5. Note which matters the code leaves to rules. Section 133 lists many of them, such as annual health examination, safety committees and safety officers, and wage-payment periods. Know that the appropriate Government fills these in by rules.
6. Solve past and practice scenario questions. Write each answer as the provision, the facts applied, then a clear conclusion citing the Code and section.
7. Revise using your summary sheets, then test yourself on definitions, duties and penalties without looking.

Common mistakes in The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020

• Citing the Factories Act, 1948 or other repealed laws as the current law.

  Fix: Use the OSH Code and its sections. Mention the old Act only when you contrast it, and note that section 143 repeals it.

• Learning only the general employer duties and skipping the sector-specific ones.

  Fix: Also learn section 6(1)(h) and 6(2), which add duties for factories, mines, docks, building work and plantations.

• Stating details such as safety officer numbers or time limits as if they were fixed in the Code.

  Fix: Know that many details are left to rules under section 133. Say that they are as prescribed by the appropriate Government unless you are sure of the text.

• Writing answers as a list of facts without a conclusion.

  Fix: Follow the ICSI style: state the provision, apply it to the facts, and end with a clear conclusion.

• Mixing up the four Labour Codes.

  Fix: Tag each summary sheet with its Code. Wages go to the Code on Wages, safety and working conditions to the OSH Code.

• Ignoring the transition provisions in section 143.

  Fix: Remember that old appointments and actions are deemed made under the Code. This is a common short-note topic.

Last-day revision: The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020

• ✓The OSH Code, 2020 repeals thirteen enactments listed in section 143, including the Factories Act, 1948 and the Mines Act, 1952.
• ✓Section 143(2): officers appointed under repealed laws are deemed appointed under the Code.
• ✓Section 143(3): actions and rules under repealed laws are deemed taken under the Code and stay in force to the extent not contrary to it.
• ✓Section 143(4): section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 applies to the repeal.
• ✓Section 6(1)(a): the employer must keep the workplace free from hazards likely to cause injury or occupational disease.
• ✓Section 6(1)(f): every employee gets a letter of appointment; where none was issued, it must be issued within three months of commencement.
• ✓Section 6(1)(g): no charge can be levied on employees for safety and health measures, including medical examination for detecting occupational diseases.
• ✓Section 6(1)(h): in factories, mines, dock work, building work and plantations, the employer is responsible for the safety and health of all persons on the premises, with or without his knowledge.
• ✓Section 6(1)(c): annual health examination is free of cost for such employees as the appropriate Government prescribes.
• ✓Section 133: the appropriate Government makes rules by notification, subject to previous publication.
• ✓The Code is one of four Labour Codes taught in Paper 3 Part II.

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 practice questions

• Meera Constructions Ltd. runs a building site in Chennai. A worker developed an occupational disease and then left the job. Under the OSH Co…
• Sunrise Pictures, a producer, engages Meera as an audio-visual worker through a contractor, Vikas Crew Services, for a web series. Under the…
• After the OSH Code comes into force, an Inspector earlier appointed under the repealed Mines Act, 1952 continues to work. What is his status…
• Rohan, a safety officer at a Pune engineering factory, asks which authority notifies occupational safety and health standards for workplaces…
• A State Government department engages a housekeeping contractor for its office, with the department as principal employer. Under section 1 o…
• A State Government office in Jaipur engages contract labour through a contractor, with the State Government as principal employer. Does the …
• A State Government wants to modify the occupational safety and health standards declared by the Central Government for establishments for wh…
• A producer engages an audio-visual worker directly under a written agreement that covers nature of assignment, wages, safety and hours of wo…

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 in other exams

The same ground in other exams, if you are preparing for more than one or want another angle on it.

• CS ProfessionalLaw of Welfare and Working Condition
• CMA IntermediateFactories Act, 1948
• CFA Level IIGuidance for Standard IV: Duties to Employers
• CFA Level IIICode of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct