Health and safety basics for Indian employers
Reviewed by Mellow Editorial Team, HR & payroll content team
Employers in India have specific legal duties to provide a safe working environment — and from 2025, those duties are consolidated under the Occupational Safety, Health and Code on Wages framework within India's four Labour Codes.
What the Labour Codes changed
India's four Labour Codes — covering wages, industrial relations, social security, and occupational safety — came into force in 2025. For health and safety, the most relevant is the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (OSH Code), which replaced over a dozen older laws including the Factories Act, 1948 and the Contract Labour Act.
The OSH Code standardises obligations across a wider range of establishments and workers. It covers factories, mines, construction sites, plantations and service sectors above certain thresholds. If you employ workers on contract or through a third party, those workers now fall more clearly within your duty-of-care obligations than they did under the old patchwork of laws.
Core employer obligations
Safe workplace and equipment. You must provide and maintain a working environment that is, as far as reasonably practicable, free from risk to health and safety. This means safe plant and machinery, proper handling and storage of materials, and adequate instruction for workers on hazards.
Health and hygiene facilities. Depending on the size and type of your establishment, the OSH Code requires drinking water, sanitation facilities, first-aid boxes and — above certain worker thresholds — a welfare officer, canteen and rest rooms. The specific thresholds vary by industry; check the Rules notified by your state government, as states retain the authority to set thresholds and enforce the Codes.
Working hours and rest. The OSH Code sets maximum working hours per day and week, mandatory rest intervals and weekly off. Overtime is permitted within limits, and any overtime worked must be compensated at the prescribed rate under the Code on Wages.
Annual health examinations. Workers engaged in hazardous processes are entitled to periodic medical examinations at the employer's cost. You must maintain health records and make them available to the relevant authority on request.
Accident reporting. Serious workplace accidents must be reported to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator (the enforcement officer created by the Labour Codes) within prescribed timelines. Failure to report is an offence.
ESI: your social security obligation on health
The Employees' State Insurance scheme is a major part of health protection for lower-wage workers. ESI applies to employees whose wages fall below the applicable threshold — both employer and employee contribute a percentage of wages each month. The scheme gives covered employees access to medical treatment, hospitalisation, maternity benefit and sickness benefit.
As the employer, you are responsible for registering your establishment with ESIC once you meet the coverage threshold, deducting the employee's contribution from wages, adding your own contribution and remitting the combined amount monthly. Failure to register or remit contributions is a liability that accumulates with interest and penalties.
ESI and EPF together form the floor of your statutory social security obligations. EPF contributions — 12% from the employee and 12% from the employer — cover retirement, but ESI covers health contingencies for eligible workers. For employees above the ESI wage threshold who are not covered, employers should consider what alternative health cover is appropriate, both as a compliance matter and a retention consideration.
Practical steps most employers overlook
State Rules matter as much as central law. The four Labour Codes are central legislation, but most operational thresholds — worker counts that trigger canteen requirements, welfare officer appointments, and so on — are specified in state-level Rules. Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and other states have notified their own Rules with varying numbers. Check the Rules for each state where you operate.
Contractor and gig workers. If you engage workers through a contractor, the OSH Code places obligations on the principal employer to ensure contractors comply with safety standards on your premises. You cannot fully transfer liability to the contractor for incidents that occur at your site.
Documentation and registers. The OSH Code requires employers to maintain registers covering workers' attendance, overtime, wages, accidents and health examinations. These must be produced for inspection. Digital record-keeping is now explicitly recognised, but the data must be accessible and accurate.
Internal complaints committee. Under the POSH Act (which sits outside the Labour Codes but is equally binding), any establishment with ten or more employees must have an Internal Complaints Committee to address sexual harassment at the workplace. This is a health and safety obligation in the broad sense and is actively enforced.
Penalties
Non-compliance with the OSH Code carries financial penalties and, for serious or repeat offences, criminal liability for the employer and any officer in charge. The Inspector-cum-Facilitator has powers to inspect premises, issue improvement notices and prosecute. The shift to a "facilitator" model is meant to encourage compliance before prosecution, but enforcement discretion varies by state and industry.
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