Setting Up of Business, Industrial and Labour Laws · The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020

Health, Welfare and Working Conditions under the OSH Code, 2020

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Under the OSH Code, 2020, the employer must maintain health and safety conditions (Section 23) and provide welfare facilities (Section 24) as prescribed by the Central Government. Working conditions cover weekly holidays (Section 26), night shifts (Section 28) and women's employment (Section 43). Answer by stating the provision, applying the headcount or condition, and concluding.

Understand Health, Welfare and Working Conditions in Establishments

The OSH Code, 2020 puts a duty on the employer to keep the workplace healthy, safe and decent. The Code sets the framework. The detailed standards are left to rules made by the government.

Health and working conditions (Section 23). The employer is responsible for maintaining the health, safety and working conditions prescribed by the Central Government. The Central Government may prescribe matters such as cleanliness and hygiene, ventilation, temperature and humidity, an environment free from dust, noxious gas and fumes, potable drinking water, preventing overcrowding, adequate lighting, separate latrines and urinals for male, female and transgender employees, and treatment of wastes and effluents. It may also prescribe any other arrangement it considers appropriate.

Welfare facilities (Section 24). The employer must provide welfare facilities as prescribed. These include separate washing facilities, bathing places and locker rooms, a place for keeping and drying clothing, sitting arrangements for employees who work standing, a canteen, first-aid boxes, and medical examination in mines. Many facilities depend on headcount. Learn these numbers carefully.

Working conditions. A worker cannot be made to work more than six days in a week (Section 26). If an exemption deprives a worker of weekly holidays, compensatory holidays must follow. Section 28 handles shifts that run past midnight. Section 43 lets women work in all establishments for all types of work, and also before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m. with their consent, subject to conditions on safety, holidays and working hours prescribed by the appropriate Government.

Also know Section 20. Authorised officers can survey an establishment for safety and occupational health after written notice. Workers must cooperate, and time spent on this counts as working hours.

Key rules to remember

Employer's health and safety duty (Section 23): Employer maintains health, safety and working conditions as prescribed by the Central Government; Section 23(2) lists matters such as cleanliness, ventilation, drinking water, lighting, separate latrines and urinals, and waste treatment.
Canteen (Section 24(1)(v)): Canteen where 100 or more workers, including contract labourers, are ordinarily employed; Contract labourers are counted in the headcount.
Creche (Section 24(3)): Creche for children under 6 years where more than 50 workers are ordinarily employed; Rule-making power. Common creche or pooled resources are allowed.
Rest rooms and lunch room (Section 24(2)(iii)): Separate shelters or rest rooms and lunch room in every factory and mine with more than 50 workers ordinarily employed; Also applies to motor transport undertakings where an employee must halt at night.
Welfare officer (Section 24(2)(iv)): Factory, mine or plantation with 250 or more workers ordinarily employed; Note 'or more' here, against 'more than' for other limits.
Ambulance room (Section 24(2)(i)): Factory, mine, building or construction work with more than 500 workers ordinarily employed; Prescribed by the Central Government.
Weekly holiday (Section 26): No worker works more than 6 days in any one week; Motor transport proviso: no more than ten days consecutively without a whole-day holiday.
Compensatory holiday (Section 26(3)): Allowed within the month the holidays were due or within the 2 months immediately following; Number of compensatory holidays equals the holidays lost.
Women's work hours (Section 43): Before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m. only with consent, subject to prescribed conditions; Women may be employed in all establishments for all types of work.
Plantation creche (Section 92(1)(b)): 50 or more workers employed, or employed on any day of the preceding 12 months; Plantation education facility applies where children aged 6 to 12 exceed 25.

How to solve Health, Welfare and Working Conditions in Establishments questions

Most questions give you a workplace with a headcount or a situation, and ask what the employer must do. Use this method.

1Identify the facility or condition in the question: health, welfare, holiday, night shift or women's employment.
2Name the section: 23 for health and safety, 24 for welfare, 26 for weekly holidays, 28 for night shifts, 43 for women, 92 for plantations.
3State the rule in plain words, with its trigger number and the exact wording such as 'more than' or 'or more'.
4Check the type of establishment: factory, mine, plantation, building work or motor transport.
5Count workers correctly. Canteen counts contract labourers. Use 'ordinarily employed'.
6Apply the rule to the facts. Note that details are prescribed by rules, so say 'as prescribed'.
7Write a clear conclusion in one sentence.

Quickest way: Headcount ladder

When to use it: Use it when the question gives the number of workers and asks which facilities are due.

Write the thresholds in order: 50, 100, 250, 500.
Match each facility: creche and rest rooms above 50, canteen at 100 or more, welfare officer at 250 or more, ambulance room above 500.
Mark the establishment type, because rest rooms and welfare officer apply to specified types.
Tick every facility whose threshold is met and give the section against each.

Common mistakes in Health, Welfare and Working Conditions in Establishments

Saying a canteen is needed above 100 workers.
Students mix up 'more than' and 'or more'.
Fix: The canteen applies where one hundred or more workers are ordinarily employed, so exactly 100 qualifies.
Leaving out contract labourers when counting for a canteen.
Students count only direct employees.
Fix: Section 24(1)(v) counts workers including contract labourers.
Stating that women can never work at night.
Old factory-law memory.
Fix: Under Section 43, women may work before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m. with their consent, subject to prescribed conditions.
Treating the welfare officer threshold as more than 250.
Mixing it with the 50 and 500 thresholds.
Fix: It is 250 or more workers, in a factory, mine or plantation.
Treating the facilities as fixed by the Code itself.
Students ignore the words 'as may be prescribed'.
Fix: Say the Central Government prescribes the standards. Section 23 and 24 give the framework.
Counting hours after midnight in the new day for a night-shift worker.
Students apply the normal calendar day.
Fix: Under Section 28, hours worked after midnight count in the previous day, and the weekly holiday is 24 consecutive hours from the shift end.

Worked examples

Example 1

Sundar Textiles Ltd runs a factory in Coimbatore with 120 workers ordinarily employed, including 30 contract labourers. State which welfare facilities under Section 24 the employer must provide as prescribed.

Show the solution

Provision: Section 24 requires the employer to provide and maintain prescribed welfare facilities.
Canteen: it applies where 100 or more workers, including contract labourers, are ordinarily employed. Here 120 workers qualify.
Creche: the rule-making power applies where more than 50 workers are ordinarily employed. 120 is more than 50, so a creche for children under six may be required. The employer may use a common creche or pool resources with others.
Rest rooms and lunch room: a factory with more than 50 workers must have separate rest rooms for male, female and transgender employees and a lunch room.
Welfare officer: needs 250 or more workers. At 120 it does not apply. Ambulance room needs more than 500, so it does not apply either.

Answer: The employer must provide a canteen, and a creche and separate rest rooms with a lunch room as prescribed, plus the basic facilities such as washing facilities and first-aid boxes. A welfare officer and an ambulance room are not required at 120 workers.

Example 2

Meera works for a Pune company on a shift ending at 3 a.m. She is asked to work 7 days in one week. Another employee, Anita, is asked to work until 9 p.m. Examine the legal position.

Show the solution

Weekly limit: Section 26(1) says no worker may be allowed to work more than six days in any one week. A seventh day is not permitted unless an exemption is notified. The motor transport proviso does not apply to an office company.
If an exemption is notified and she loses a holiday, Section 26(3) gives compensatory holidays of equal number within the month the holidays were due or within the two months that follow.
Night shift: for a shift that extends beyond midnight, Section 28 says the weekly holiday means 24 consecutive hours from when the shift ends, and hours after midnight count in the previous day.
Anita: Section 43 allows women to be employed beyond 7 p.m. only with their consent and subject to safety, holiday and working hours conditions prescribed by the appropriate Government.

Answer: Meera cannot be required to work seven days in a week unless a notified exemption applies, and then she gets compensatory holidays. Her night shift is treated under Section 28. Anita may work beyond 7 p.m. only with her consent and subject to prescribed conditions.

Exam tips

Memorise the headcount ladder: 50, 100, 250, 500 and the facility tied to each. Examiners like fact-based questions on these.
Write 'as may be prescribed' where the Code leaves details to rules. It shows you know who sets the standards.
Always attach the section number: 23, 24, 26, 28, 43, 92, 20. Cite the section in the first line of the answer.
For night work and women, state consent and prescribed conditions, not a ban.
End with a one-line conclusion. ICSI marking rewards the provision, analysis and conclusion sequence.

Practice questions from The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020

Health, Welfare and Working Conditions in Establishments in other exams

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

CS ProfessionalHealth, Safety and Welfare Provisions

Health, Welfare and Working Conditions in Establishments: frequently asked questions

When must an employer provide a canteen under the OSH Code?

Under Section 24(1)(v), a canteen is required in an establishment where one hundred or more workers, including contract labourers, are ordinarily employed. The details are as prescribed by the Central Government.

Can women work night shifts under the OSH Code, 2020?

Yes. Section 43 allows women to be employed in all establishments for all types of work. They may work before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m. with their consent, subject to conditions on safety, holidays and working hours prescribed by the appropriate Government.

What are the creche rules under the OSH Code?

Section 24(3) lets the Central Government make rules for a creche for children under six years in establishments where more than 50 workers are ordinarily employed. A common creche may be used, or establishments may pool resources. For plantations, Section 92 applies to 50 or more workers.

What is the weekly working limit under the OSH Code?

Section 26(1) says no worker may be allowed to work in an establishment for more than six days in any one week. If an exemption removes a weekly holiday, compensatory holidays must be given within the month or the following two months.