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FAQs

Comprehensive Q&A bank for Labour law on concepts, compliance procedures and other issues pertaining to HR Policy, ESOPs, POSH Act and more.

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TOPICS

What kind of health, safety and working conditions are to be maintained by the employer in his establishment under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (“OSH Code”)?

It is the responsibility of the employer to maintain healthy and safe working conditions, such as cleanliness, ventilation, temperature, adequate lighting, potable drinking water, adequate standards to prevent overcrowding, separate washrooms for males, females and  other genders, and effective arrangements for treatment of wastes and effluents. 

It is the responsibility of the employer of an establishment to provide certain facilities to its employees including separate washing facilities and room (bathing and locker room) for male and female employees, first aid boxes, sitting arrangements, canteen facilities (where 100 or more workers are working) and a place for keeping clothing not worn during work, and drying it. 

The following facilities shall be provided to women working during the night, or before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m. on any day: 

 

i. Adequate transportation facilities, i.e., pick-up and drop at her respective residence, 

ii. Well-lit workplace including the passage towards convenience or facilities pertaining to toilet, washrooms, drinking water, entry and exit of employees, 

 iii. Toilets, washrooms and drinking facilities to be near-by from the workplace, 

iv. Safe, secure and healthy working conditions so that no woman employee is disadvantaged in connection with her employment, and v. In case the workplace is below-ground mine, not less than 3 women employees should be on duty at any such place. 

Every establishment employing  50 or more employees shall be required to provide creche facilities for the use of such employees' children under the age of 6 years. 

The responsibility to provide welfare facilities to contract labourers employed in an establishment is entrusted on the principal employer employing such contract labour in such establishment. 

Every factory, mine, building or other construction work employing 500 or more workers is required to provide an ambulance room. 

An employer employing inter-State migrant workers is responsible for providing suitable conditions of work, medical health check-up facilities, reporting fatal accidents or serious bodily injury to the authorities of both States and next of kin, and extending all benefits available to any worker of that establishment, including benefits under the Employees' State Insurance Act or the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act or any other law for the time being in force. 

The employer shall pay to every inter-State migrant worker employed in his establishment, in a year, a lump sum amount of fare for the to and fro journey to his native place from the place of his employment. 

The employer of a plantation shall be required to provide certain facilities to its workers such as housing accommodations (including drinking water, kitchen, and toilet), creche facilities (if 50 or more workers are employed, including contract labourers), educational facilities for children of the employed workers (where there are more than 25 such children aged between 6 to 12 years), health facilities, and recreational facilities. 

The owner of a plantation shall be required to provide its workers with certain safety facilities such as periodic medical examinations, appointing qualified persons, adoption of safety measures and safe work practices in relation to the use, handling, storage and transportation of insecticides, chemicals, and toxic substances. 


The owner of the plantation shall also be required to provide washing, bathing, and cloak room facilities, protective clothing and equipment, to every worker engaged in handling insecticides, pesticides, chemicals and toxic substances, etc. 

The owner of a below-ground mine employing more than 100 persons, and where there is no rescue station within its radius of 35 kilometres, shall be required to establish and maintain a rescue room on the surface close to such a mine. 

A rescue room shall provide facilities for the storage, assembly, testing and adjustments of breathing apparatus and other rescue equipment and apparatus and for their speedy transport to mines.