Labour Laws and Practice · Law of Welfare and Working Condition

Health, Safety and Welfare Provisions under the OSH Code 2020

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Under the OSH Code 2020, the employer must keep the workplace free from hazards (section 6), maintain prescribed health and working conditions (section 23) and provide prescribed welfare facilities (section 24). Safety committees and safety officers come under section 22. Employees have duties too (section 13). Solve questions by identifying the section, the headcount threshold, and the conclusion.

Understand Health, Safety and Welfare Provisions

The OSH Code 2020 puts three layers of duty on the employer: safety, health and working conditions, and welfare. Learn them as separate groups, because exam questions usually test one group at a time.

Safety and general duties (section 6). The employer must keep the workplace free from hazards that cause or are likely to cause injury or occupational disease. The employer must follow the safety and health standards and rules, and provide a safe working environment as far as reasonably practicable. Other duties: dispose of hazardous and toxic waste including e-waste, issue appointment letters, and give annual health examination free of cost to the class of employees the appropriate Government prescribes. No charge may be levied on an employee for anything done for safety and health, including medical examination to detect occupational diseases. For a factory, mine, dock work, building or other construction work or plantation, the employer is responsible for the safety and health of all persons on the premises, with or without his knowledge.

Health and working conditions (section 23). The employer must maintain the health, safety and working conditions the Central Government prescribes. The 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, prevention of overcrowding, adequate lighting, separate latrines and urinals for male, female and transgender employees, and treatment of wastes and effluents.

Welfare (section 24). The employer must provide the welfare facilities prescribed by the Central Government. These include separate washing facilities, bathing places and locker rooms, a place for clothing, sitting arrangements for those who work standing, first-aid boxes, and a canteen where one hundred or more workers, including contract labourers, are ordinarily employed. Further matters may be prescribed, such as a welfare officer and a creche.

Safety committees and officers (section 22). The appropriate Government may require an establishment or class of establishments to set up a Safety Committee. Worker representatives must be at least as many as employer representatives. Safety officers are compulsory in specified large or hazardous establishments.

Employee duties (section 13). Employees must take reasonable care, follow safety standards, cooperate with the employer, report unsafe situations, and not wilfully misuse safety appliances or endanger anyone.

Key rules to remember

Canteen threshold: Canteen: 100 or more workers, including contract labourers, ordinarily employed; Section 24(1)(v). Contract labour counts toward the number.
Creche threshold: Creche: more than 50 workers ordinarily employed; for children under 6 years; Section 24(3). Central Government may make rules. Common or pooled creche is allowed.
Rest-rooms and lunch-room: Factory or mine with more than 50 workers ordinarily employed; Section 24(2)(iii). Separate for male, female and transgender employees. Also for motor transport undertakings where employees halt at night.
Welfare officer: Factory, mine or plantation with 250 or more workers ordinarily employed; Section 24(2)(iv). Qualifications, service conditions and duties are prescribed.
Ambulance room: Factory, mine, building or construction work with more than 500 workers ordinarily employed; Section 24(2)(i).
Safety officers: Factory: 500 or more workers; hazardous process factory: 250 or more; building or construction work: 250 or more; mine: 100 or more; Section 22(2). Employer must appoint safety officers as prescribed.
Safety Committee composition: Worker representatives ≥ employer representatives; Section 22(1). Constituted when the appropriate Government orders it.

How to solve Health, Safety and Welfare Provisions questions

Use this method for any case-based question on health, safety and welfare.

1Identify the type of establishment: factory, mine, construction work, plantation, motor transport or other.
2Count the workers ordinarily employed, and check whether contract labourers are to be included.
3List the duties triggered: section 6 (safety), section 23 (health and conditions), section 24 (welfare), section 22 (committee and officers).
4Compare the headcount with each threshold, noting 'more than' versus 'or more'.
5Note whether the duty is direct in the Code or depends on rules prescribed by the Government or an order.
6Apply the facts, such as a charge levied on workers or an unreported hazard, and check the employee duties in section 13.
7State a clear conclusion and the practical compliance step, such as appointing an officer or setting up a canteen.

Quickest way: Threshold table method

When to use it: Use it when a question gives numbers of workers and asks which facilities or appointments are required.

Write the headcount and establishment type at the top.
Tick each threshold from memory: 50, 100, 250, 500.
Mark 'more than' for 50 and 500 items, and 'or more' for 100 and 250 items (safety officers: 500 or more in a factory).
Write one line of conclusion per item.

Common mistakes in Health, Safety and Welfare Provisions

Mixing 'more than' and 'or more' in thresholds.
The numbers look similar and the wording differs across clauses.
Fix: A canteen needs 100 or more; a welfare officer needs 250 or more; rest-rooms and creche need more than 50; ambulance room needs more than 500.
Ignoring contract labourers when counting for the canteen.
Students count only direct employees.
Fix: Section 24(1)(v) expressly includes contract labourers.
Saying the Code itself fixes the detail of every facility.
Students overlook the 'as may be prescribed' wording.
Fix: Say the Central Government prescribes the details through rules, while the Code sets the duty and the listed matters.
Treating safety committees as compulsory for all establishments.
Students confuse them with safety officers.
Fix: A committee is required only when the appropriate Government orders it; safety officers are mandatory at the section 22(2) thresholds.
Forgetting that employees also have duties.
Focus is only on employer obligations.
Fix: Add section 13 duties: reasonable care, compliance, cooperation, reporting unsafe situations, no misuse of safety appliances.
Allowing the employer to recover medical or safety costs from workers.
Students assume cost sharing is normal.
Fix: Section 6(1)(g) bars any charge for safety and health measures, including medical examination for occupational diseases.

Worked examples

Example 1

Sundaram Textiles Ltd runs a factory in Coimbatore with 320 workers ordinarily employed, including 40 contract labourers. It is not a hazardous process factory. Advise which welfare facilities and appointments the Code requires, subject to rules.

Show the solution

Type: a factory, 320 workers ordinarily employed, contract labourers included.
Canteen: 100 or more workers including contract labourers, so a canteen is required (section 24(1)(v)).
Rest-rooms and lunch-room: more than 50 workers in a factory, so they are required, separate for male, female and transgender employees (section 24(2)(iii)).
Creche: more than 50 workers, so the Central Government may prescribe a creche, which the company may provide in a common or pooled form (section 24(3)).
Welfare officer: 250 or more workers in a factory, so a welfare officer is required (section 24(2)(iv)).
Ambulance room: needs more than 500 workers, so not required.
Safety officer: a non-hazardous factory needs 500 or more workers, so none is compulsory under section 22(2).

Answer: The company needs a canteen, rest-rooms and lunch-room, and a welfare officer, and should provide a creche as prescribed. It does not need an ambulance room or a mandatory safety officer, though a Safety Committee may be required if the appropriate Government orders it.

Example 2

At Kaveri Constructions, a building project with 300 workers, the employer deducts ₹200 per month from each worker for 'safety gear and annual medical check-up'. A worker notices a damaged scaffold but says nothing. Discuss.

Show the solution

Deduction: section 6(1)(g) says no charge may be levied on an employee for anything done for safety and health, including medical examination for detecting occupational diseases. The deduction is not permitted.
Construction work: under section 6(1)(h), the employer is responsible for the safety and health of all persons on the premises, with or without his knowledge.
Safety officer: a building or construction work with 250 or more workers must appoint safety officers (section 22(2)(c)). With 300 workers, this applies.
Worker's silence: section 13(d) requires an employee to report an unsafe situation as soon as practicable to the employer or health and safety representative.
Employer must also keep access and places of work safe (section 6(2)(d)).

Answer: The deduction is unlawful and should be refunded. Kaveri Constructions must appoint safety officers and fix the scaffold. The worker breached section 13(d) by not reporting the damaged scaffold.

Exam tips

Memorise the threshold numbers 50, 100, 250 and 500 along with the facility each one triggers.
Quote the section number with each conclusion; the official text is the authority.
Use the phrase 'as may be prescribed' to show you know the details come from rules.
In case questions, apply both employer duties and employee duties.
Finish with a practical compliance step, since answers are judged on drafting and compliance points.

Practice questions from Law of Welfare and Working Condition

Health, Safety and Welfare Provisions in other exams

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

CS ExecutiveHealth, Safety and Welfare of Apprentices (Section 14)

Health, Safety and Welfare Provisions: frequently asked questions

When is a canteen mandatory under the OSH Code 2020?

Section 24(1)(v) requires a canteen in an establishment where one hundred or more workers, including contract labourers, are ordinarily employed. Details are prescribed by the Central Government.

When must a welfare officer be appointed?

Section 24(2)(iv) provides for a welfare officer in every factory, mine or plantation where two hundred and fifty or more workers are ordinarily employed. Qualifications, conditions of service and duties are prescribed.

What is the creche rule?

Under section 24(3), the Central Government may make rules for a creche for children under six years in establishments with more than fifty workers. Establishments may use a common creche or pool resources.

Is a safety committee compulsory?

Not automatically. Under section 22(1), the appropriate Government may by order require an establishment or class of establishments to form one. Worker representatives cannot be fewer than employer representatives.

Can the employer charge workers for medical examination?

No charge may be levied for anything done for safety and health at the workplace, including medical examination to detect occupational diseases (section 6(1)(g)).