Labour Laws and Practice · Law of Welfare and Working Condition

Registration of Establishments and Employer Duties under OSH Code 2020

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Under the OSH Code 2020, an employer must register the establishment as prescribed and then meet the duties in Section 6: a hazard-free workplace, compliance with standards, free annual health examinations where prescribed, appointment letters, no charge for safety and health measures, and responsibility for everyone on the premises of hazardous workplaces. Answer by stating the provision, applying it to the facts and concluding.

Understand Registration of Establishments and Duties of Employers

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code) brings the law on workplace safety, health and working conditions into one Code. It came into force on 21 November 2025 by notification. It does not apply to offices of the Central Government or State Governments, or to ships of war. It does apply to contract labour employed through a contractor in those offices, where the Government is the principal employer.

The first compliance step is registration of the establishment. The employer applies to the registering officer within the time and in the manner the rules prescribe. Registration puts the establishment on the official record, so inspectors and authorities can enforce the Code. The exact time limit, form and the class of establishments covered come from the definitions and the rules. Read those from the Rules in your study material.

The core of the topic is Section 6, the duties of the employer. They fall into three groups. The first is safety and health: a workplace free from hazards, a safe working environment as far as reasonably practicable, disposal of hazardous and toxic waste including e-waste, and compliance with the standards. The second is people-related duties: the appointment letter, the free annual health examination, and no charge on the employee for safety and health measures. The third is a special duty for factories, mines, docks, building or construction work and plantations: the employer is responsible for the safety and health of employees, workers and other persons on the premises, with or without the employer's knowledge.

Other sections support Section 6. Section 18 lets the Central Government notify safety and health standards. Section 23 makes the employer responsible for the health, safety and working conditions prescribed by the Central Government, such as cleanliness, ventilation, drinking water, lighting and separate latrines and urinals for male, female and transgender employees. Section 20 allows safety and occupational health surveys by designated officers after written notice, and the employer must give all facilities.

Employees also have duties and rights. In plain words, an employee must take reasonable care of his own safety and health and that of others, follow the safety rules and standards, and not misuse or interfere with safety equipment. An employee also has the right to information about workplace hazards and safety. This employee provision is not in the text you are given here, so learn its exact wording and section number from the Code itself before the exam.

Key rules to remember

Registration of establishment: Employer applies to the registering officer within the prescribed period and in the prescribed manner; Time limit, form and covered establishments are fixed by the Code's definitions and rules. State the rule and do not guess numbers.
General duties of employer (Section 6(1)(a) to (e)): Hazard-free workplace + compliance with standards and rules + safe environment (as far as reasonably practicable) + disposal of hazardous and toxic waste including e-waste; Clause (d) is qualified by 'as far as is reasonably practicable'. Clause (a) is not qualified.
Annual health examination (Section 6(1)(c)): Free of cost, for such age, class of employees or class of establishments as the appropriate Government prescribes; It is not automatic for every employee. It applies as prescribed.
Appointment letter (Section 6(1)(f)): Letter to every employee on appointment, in the prescribed form and with the prescribed information; if not issued before commencement, within three months of commencement; The three-month window is a transitional rule for existing employees.
No charge on employees (Section 6(1)(g)): No charge for anything done or provided for safety and health at the workplace, including medical examination for detecting occupational diseases; Safety gear, tests and similar measures cannot be recovered from the employee.
Premises responsibility (Section 6(1)(h)): For factory, mine, dock work, building or other construction work or plantation: responsible for safety and health of employees, workers and other persons on the premises, with or without the employer's knowledge; This covers visitors and contractor workers. It is limited to the listed types of workplaces.
Specific duties in hazardous workplaces (Section 6(2)): Safe plant and systems + safe handling, storage and transport of articles and substances + information, instruction, training and supervision + safe places of work with safe access and exit + safe working environment and welfare arrangements; These are particular duties without prejudice to Section 6(1).
Standards and surveys (Sections 18 and 20): Central Government notifies standards; designated officers survey after written notice; employer affords all facilities; A worker's time for survey medical examination or giving information counts as working hours for wages and overtime.

How to solve Registration of Establishments and Duties of Employers questions

Most questions give a short fact pattern about an employer and ask whether duties were breached or what the employer must do. Use the provision, analysis, conclusion pattern.

1Read the facts and list each act or omission by the employer, such as no letter issued, a fee charged, a hazard left, or an injured visitor.
2Identify the type of workplace. Factory, mine, dock, building or construction work and plantation attract the extra duties in Section 6(1)(h) and 6(2).
3Match each fact to the right clause of Section 6, or to Section 18, 20 or 23 if the facts involve standards, surveys or working conditions.
4State the rule in plain words with its exact conditions, for example 'as prescribed' for health examinations and 'as far as reasonably practicable' for the safe environment.
5Apply the rule to the facts. Say clearly whether the employer complied and why.
6Add the practical point, such as registration status, issuing appointment letters, records of health examinations and training, and displaying standards.
7Conclude with the employer's liability or the action to take. Mention that penalties follow under the Code's offences provisions, without quoting amounts unless you are sure.

Quickest way: Clause-matching shortcut for Section 6

When to use it: Use this when you have about ten minutes for a case-based question on employer duties.

Underline each fact in the question and tag it: safety, waste, appointment letter, health examination, charge on employee or premises.
Write the matching clause (a) to (h) of Section 6(1) beside each tag.
Check whether the workplace is a factory, mine, dock, building site or plantation. If yes, add Section 6(1)(h) and 6(2).
Write one line of rule and one line of application per tag, then a one-line conclusion.
Close with a compliance advice line: register, issue letters, record examinations, train staff.

Common mistakes in Registration of Establishments and Duties of Employers

Saying every employee gets a free annual health examination.
Students read clause (c) quickly and drop the words 'as may be prescribed'.
Fix: Write that the examination is free of cost for such age, class of employees or class of establishments as the appropriate Government prescribes.
Treating the duty to be responsible for persons on the premises as applying to all establishments.
Clause (h) sounds general, so students apply it to offices and shops too.
Fix: Link it to factory, mine, dock work, building or other construction work and plantation. Note it covers persons on the premises with or without the employer's knowledge.
Stating the three-month appointment letter rule as the general deadline.
The words 'three months' stick in memory and replace the main rule.
Fix: The main rule is a letter to every employee on appointment. The three months run from commencement and only help employees appointed before commencement who had no letter.
Allowing the employer to recover the cost of safety equipment or medical tests from wages.
Students think of cost-sharing in practice.
Fix: Clause (g) bars any charge on the employee for safety and health measures, including medical examination to detect occupational diseases.
Quoting registration time limits or establishment size limits from memory.
Students mix numbers from old Acts with the Code.
Fix: State the rule as 'within the prescribed period and in the prescribed manner'. Use numbers only if you are sure of them from the current Rules.
Forgetting that standards, surveys and working conditions are separate from Section 6.
Students focus on Section 6 and write nothing on Sections 18, 20 and 23.
Fix: Add a line on notified standards (Section 18), the Section 23 working conditions such as drinking water and lighting, and the employer's duty to facilitate surveys (Section 20).

Worked examples

Example 1

Bharat Chemicals Pvt Ltd runs a factory in Vadodara. It has not issued appointment letters to workers hired last month. It deducts ₹300 from each worker's wages for a medical test that detects occupational disease. A visiting vendor is injured by an unguarded machine. Advise the company.

Show the solution

Provision: Section 6(1)(f) requires an appointment letter to every employee on appointment, in the prescribed form and with the prescribed information.
Application: workers hired last month should have received letters on appointment. Not issuing them is a breach.
Provision: Section 6(1)(g) bars any charge on an employee for anything done or provided for safety and health, including medical examination to detect occupational diseases.
Application: the ₹300 deduction is a charge for a medical test to detect occupational disease, so it is not allowed.
Provision: for a factory, Section 6(1)(h) makes the employer responsible for the safety and health of employees, workers and other persons on the premises, with or without the employer's knowledge. Section 6(2)(a) requires safe plant and systems of work.
Application: the vendor is a person on the premises, and an unguarded machine is a failure to maintain safe plant. The company is responsible even if it did not know the vendor was there.
Conclusion and advice: issue the letters now, refund the deductions, guard the machine, and review its safety systems. Penalties follow under the Code's offences provisions.

Answer: The company has breached Section 6(1)(f), Section 6(1)(g), Section 6(1)(h) and Section 6(2)(a). It must issue the appointment letters, refund the ₹300 charges, make the plant safe and accept responsibility for the injured vendor.

Example 2

Sundaram Mills Ltd is a factory. A notified safety standard requires monitoring of worker exposure to dust. A designated officer gives written notice of a survey. Karan, a worker, is asked to attend a medical examination for the survey, which takes two hours of his shift. The employer says the two hours will be unpaid. Is the employer right?

Show the solution

Provision: Section 18 empowers the Central Government to notify standards, including norms for monitoring and measuring exposure to hazards. The employer must comply under Section 6(1)(b).
Provision: Section 20(1) lets the designated officer, such as the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator for a factory, survey the factory after written notice. The employer must afford all facilities, including testing of plant and collection of samples and data.
Application: written notice was given, so the survey is valid and the employer must cooperate.
Provision: Section 20(2) requires a worker, if asked, to present himself for the medical examination the surveyor considers necessary and to furnish relevant information.
Provision: Section 20(3) treats the time spent on that examination or on giving information as working hours for calculating wages and extra wages for overtime.
Application: Karan's two hours are deemed working hours, so they cannot be treated as unpaid time.
Conclusion: the employer is wrong on the wages point.

Answer: The employer is not right. Karan must attend the examination, but under Section 20(3) his two hours count as working hours for wages and overtime, so he must be paid for them.

Exam tips

Write the section number for Sections 6, 18, 20 and 23 as these are in the Code text. For the registration and employee duty provisions, describe the rule in plain words if you are not sure of the section number.
Use the exact qualifiers: 'as prescribed', 'as far as is reasonably practicable' and 'with or without his knowledge'. Examiners look for them.
In case questions, tag each fact to a clause of Section 6, then give a one-line practical step for the employer.
Always note the Code is in force from 21 November 2025, and that details such as time limits and forms are in the rules.
For duties and rights of employees, give a short list of duties and rights in plain words and link it to the employer's duties.

Practice questions from Law of Welfare and Working Condition

Registration of Establishments and Duties of Employers in other exams

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

CS ExecutiveShops and Establishments Registration

Registration of Establishments and Duties of Employers: frequently asked questions

Who has to register an establishment under the OSH Code 2020?

The employer of an establishment to which the Code applies must apply to the registering officer, within the prescribed period and in the prescribed manner. The Code's definitions and rules decide which establishments are covered. Check them in your study material before quoting size limits.

Is the annual health check-up under the OSH Code free for every employee?

No. Section 6(1)(c) says the employer provides it free of cost to employees of such age, class of employees or class of establishments as the appropriate Government prescribes. Where it applies, the employee bears no cost.

Must an employer issue an appointment letter to every employee?

Yes. Section 6(1)(f) requires a letter to every employee on appointment, in the prescribed form and with the prescribed information. If an employee had no letter before the Code commenced, the employer had to issue one within three months of commencement.

Is the employer responsible for visitors injured at the workplace?

For a factory, mine, dock work, building or other construction work or plantation, yes. Section 6(1)(h) makes the employer responsible for the safety and health of employees, workers and other persons on the premises, with or without the employer's knowledge.