OSH Central Rules, 2026: LKS Synthesis
A ready reckoner from Lakshmikumaran and Sridharan Attorneys on the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026, covering applicability, the 16 key employer obligations, welfare thresholds, and an action checklist.
Pursuant to the notification of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (“OSH Code”) by the Central Government, through the Ministry of Labour and Employment, on November 21, 2025, and release of draft rules on December 30, 2025 (“Draft Rules”), the Central Government has notified the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 (“OSH Central Rules”) on May 8, 2026 superseding 15 central subordinate legislations.
The OSH Central Rules aims to operationalize the OSH Code by laying down detailed provisions on workplace safety, health standards, welfare facilities and compliance requirements and providing procedural clarity and guidance on administration of key provisions under the OSH Code.
Applicability
Applicability of OSH Central Rules, linked to the concept of ‘appropriate government’ under the OSH Code, is primarily to establishments where Central Government is the ‘appropriate government’. Therefore, the OSH Central Rules are applicable on:
As an important applicability point, the OSH Code generally applies to establishments employing 10 or more workers. However, this threshold does not apply to (a) mines, ports, or the vicinity of ports; (b) industries, trades, businesses, manufacturing activities or occupations, motor transport undertakings, newspaper establishments, audio-video productions, building and other construction work, or plantations that carry on notified hazardous or life-threatening activities; and (c) offices of the Central Government, offices of the State Government, or any ship of war of any nationality.
Accordingly, the OSH Central Rules are now relevant for the above sectors and entities, subject to the 10-worker threshold where applicable and the specific exceptions noted above.
Key Obligations
The OSH Central Rules cast a wide net of responsibilities across employers, contractors and employees, to ensure safe and healthy workplace across all covered establishments. The said rules translate the broad mandates of the OSH Code into specific actionable duties spanning registration and licensing, health and safety standards, welfare facilities, working hour limits and recordkeeping.
The employers should take note of the following key compliances:
Registration of establishment:
The OSH Central Rules introduces single electronic application on Shram Suvidha Portal for registration of establishment, deviating from multiple registration requirement under earlier regime. Employers not registered under any other Central labour laws in force shall apply for registration of their establishment within 60 days, whereas if they are registered under any other Central labour laws in force, they shall update the registration particulars on Shram Suvidha portal by November 8, 2026.
Annual free health examination:
Employer of dock work, building or other construction work must now arrange for free medical examination (to be conducted by qualified medical practitioner or through ESIC) of employees aged 40 years or above. A corresponding obligation has not been prescribed for factory employers under the notified central rules, as factories fall within the regulatory jurisdiction of the respective States. Accordingly, factory employers must comply with any such requirements prescribed under the applicable State rules. Further, employers of mine shall make arrangement for initial medical examination of person seeking employment in mine (including for contract labour), and periodical medical examination annually.
Issuance of letter of appointment:
Employers shall issue appointment letter in prescribed format to employees on or before joining the establishment. While the Draft Rules prescribed for a 3-month transition period, the notified rules do not prescribe for any such grace period, thereby, making this an immediate and uniform compliance requirement for employers. Employers should also ensure that appointment letters contain all particulars mandated under the OSH Central Rules, including employee consent for recording Aadhaar details, skill classification, basic wages and allowances, nature of employment (i.e., regular, fixed-term, or contractual), and details of maternity benefits available to female employees under the SS Code.
Reporting of accidents, dangerous occurrences and occupational diseases:
Employers are required to mandatorily inform/ intimate specified authorities, including the Inspector-cum-Facilitator, and persons about any accident in the establishment resulting in death, bodily injury preventing person from working for minimum 48 hours, and/or occurrence of any specified dangerous occurrence in prescribed format. Notably, the OSH Central Rules expand the scope of reportable dangerous occurrences and now prescribe a broader list than what was proposed under the Draft Rules. Employers are also required to report any specified occupational disease contracted by a worker to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator or Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator in prescribed format.
Digital database of inter-State migrant workers:
Employers are required to furnish detailed statistics relating to inter-State migrant workers and their occupational safety and health to the Central Government electronically through the web portal designated for this purpose.
Constitution of safety committee:
Employers of establishments employing 500 or more workers, as well as such other establishments as may be notified by the Central Government from time to time, are required to constitute a Safety Committee comprising representatives of both employers and workers, with adequate representation of women. The employers shall also ensure that the Safety Committee meets at least once every quarter, and in the case of mine, at least once every month.
Appointment of safety officer:
Employers of every establishment of dock work employing 500 or more workers, building or other construction work employing 250 or more workers, and mine employing 100 or more workers are required to appoint specified number of safety officer depending on the number of workers employed, for instance, establishment of dock work employing up to 1000 workers has to appoint 1 safety officer, whereas establishment of building or other construction work employing up to 500 workers has to appoint 1 safety officer.
Health, safety and working conditions:
Employers of every factory, mine, building or other construction work, industrial premise for manufacture of beedi and cigar motor transport undertaking, dock work, and plantation must ensure certain health, safety and working conditions, including the following (as applicable):
- a. sanitary and hygienic conditions;
- b. suitable atmospheric conditions;
- c. adequate ventilation;
- d. suitable temperature and humidity;
- e. precautions against dust, noxious gas, fumes and other impurities;
- f. availability, accessibility, adequate storage, replenishment, demarcation and safe transport of safe drinking water;
- g. availability of adequate lighting in the establishment;
- h. provision, maintenance and cleanliness of separate latrine and urinal accommodation for male, female, transgender and disabled person;
- i. arrangements for treatment of waste and effluents.
Welfare facilities:
The OSH Central Rules prescribe detailed welfare provisions to be made available to workers employed in covered establishments. Consequently, employers meeting the below-mentioned applicability threshold shall ensure that the corresponding welfare facilities are provided to their workers:
| Welfare facility | Applicability |
|---|---|
| Separate washing facilities | Factory, mine, building or other construction work, motor transport undertaking, dock work and plantation. |
| Separate bathing places and locker rooms, separate changing rooms and installations for keeping clothes not worn during working hours and drying them, first aid and medical appliance | Factory, mine, building or other construction work, industrial premise for manufacturing of beedi and cigar, motor transport undertaking, dock work and plantation. |
| Canteen | Factory, mine, building or other construction work, industrial premise for manufacturing of beedi and cigar, motor transport undertaking, dock work and plantation ordinarily employing 100 workers or more. |
| Creche facility for employees’ children under the age of 6 years | Factory, mine, building or other construction work, industrial premise for manufacturing of beedi and cigar, motor transport undertaking, dock work and plantation ordinarily employing more than 50 workers. |
| Conduct mock drills | Quarterly basis: Factory, mine, building or other construction work, motor transport undertaking, dock work. Annual basis: Plantation. |
| Sitting arrangements for employees obliged to work in standing position | Factory, mine and dock work |
| Ambulance room or dispensary | Factory, mine and building or other construction work ordinarily employing more than 500 workers. |
| Separate lunchroom, drinking water and washing facilities | Factory and mine ordinarily employing more than 50 workers and motor transport undertaking requiring employees to half at night, except where canteen is maintained. |
Appointment of Welfare Officer:
Employer of every factory, mine and plantation ordinarily employing minimum 250 workers are required to appoint prescribed number of welfare officer(s), depending on the number of workers and women employed by the establishment. Further, in case more than one welfare officer is appointed, employer is required to designate a chief welfare officer amongst them.
Working hours and compensatory holidays:
The notified rules have now fixed the maximum working hours for workers in an establishment at 8 hours in a day, 48 hours a week and 144 hours in a quarter year. Consequently, the employers are required to provide compensatory holidays to eligible workers, except where work is required to be continuously performed throughout the day due to technical reasons. Employers must note that such compensatory holidays should be spaced such that maximum 2 such holidays are provided in a week to eligible workers.
Overtime Wages:
Employers must provide overtime wages at twice the rate of wages to their workers working for more than 8 hours in any day as daily wager or more than 48 hours in any week in other case, at the end of the wage period of the respective workers.
Issuance of wage slips:
Employers are now required to issue wage slips electronically on or before the date of wage payment. Unlike the Draft Rules, which allowed manual issuance, the notified OSH Central Rules mandate electronic wage slips.
Registers and returns:
Employers are required to maintain the prescribed registers, either in electronic or physical form, at a location within a 3-kilometre radius of the workplace. However, the OSH Central Rules clarify that employers are not required to maintain such registers where the corresponding registers are already maintained under the Code on Wages, 2019 and the rules made thereunder. Employers must also ensure the timely filing of annual returns on the designated portal, as well as returns relating to the sale, abandonment, or discontinuance of the establishment. In addition, every employer is required to submit an electronic annual return containing prescribed particulars, including details relating to employee categories, health and welfare facilities, retrenchment and lay-offs, bonus payments, maternity benefits, and other specified matters.
Self-declaration of EPF and ESIC:
Employers of establishments to which Chapter III (Employees’ Provident Fund) and/or Chapter IV (Employees’ State Insurance) of the Code on Social Security, 2020 (“SS Code”) apply are required to submit a self-declaration in the prescribed format through electronic means.
Employment of women:
Employers seeking to employ women before 6:00 a.m. or beyond 7:00 p.m. are required to comply with the conditions prescribed under the OSH Central Rules. These include obtaining the woman's written consent and implementing specified safety and welfare measures, such as providing transportation facilities for pick-up and drop-off, ensuring a well-lit workplace, maintaining accessible toilet, washroom, and drinking water facilities, installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance in the workplace and along the relevant access routes, and ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act), among other prescribed requirements.
Note: Employers must note that non-compliance with the OSH Central Rules may attract penalties under the OSH Code, including fines and, in certain cases, imprisonment, particularly for repeat offences.
LKS Comments
The OSH Central Rules mark a significant shift toward a more digitized, prescriptive and enforcement-oriented compliance framework under the OSH Code. For covered establishments, the notified rules translate the Code’s broad obligations into immediate, operational requirements spanning registration, appointment documentation, health and safety measures, welfare facilities, reporting obligations, maintenance of electronic records and periodic filings. In view of the breadth of these changes, organizations should promptly undertake a detailed applicability and gap assessment, map their workforce across relevant categories such as employees, workers, contract labour and inter-State migrant workers, and align internal policies, processes, systems and vendor arrangements with the notified requirements. Given the potential exposure to regulatory action and penalties for non-compliance, early compliance planning and implementation will be critical.
Further, a key gap under the OSH Code and the Central OSH Rules pertains to the continued applicability of state-specific Shops and Establishments (“S&E”) legislations. Since S&E laws are enacted and administered by individual States, employers may remain subject to separate obligations relating to registration, working hours, leave, opening and closing hours, maintenance of records, and employee welfare, resulting in potential overlap with the compliance framework envisaged under the OSH Code. While certain States have sought to address this issue, the position remains fragmented. For instance, the Governments of Haryana and Maharashtra have issued notifications exempting establishments registered under the OSH Code from obtaining separate registration under their respective S&E laws. However, such exemption is limited to registration-related obligations and do not dispense with compliance under the substantive provisions of the relevant S&E legislation. Further, Government of Bihar has repealed its S&E act to streamline the framework with the overlapping central legislation. Consequently, in the absence of a harmonised framework, certain establishments may continue to face dual compliance burdens, particularly where workers are governed by the OSH Code while employees simultaneously remain subject to rights and obligations prescribed under the applicable State S&E act, thereby creating uncertainty regarding the extent of overlapping compliance requirements and regulatory oversight.
Key actions for employers:
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