The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 has been enacted by the Government of India with the objective of consolidating and rationalising multiple labour laws relating to occupational safety, health, and working conditions of workers employed in establishments. The Code subsumes various central labour legislations governing factories, contract labour, migrant workers, mines, docks, construction work, and other hazardous employments, with an aim to ensure uniformity, simplification, and enhanced ease of compliance.
Applicability
These rules as specified under Chapter VII (Hours of Work and Annual Leave with Wages) of the Code are applicable to:
Compliance Requirements under the Rules in Accordance with the Code
(1) No worker shall be required or allowed to work in an establishment for more than 48 hours in any week.
(2) The period of work of a worker shall be so arranged that inclusive of his intervals for rest, shall not spread over for more than 12 hours in a day.
(3) The period of works of workers shall not exceed 5 hours and that no worker shall work for more than 5 hours before he has had an interval for rest of atleast half an hour.
(4) The working hours in a day may be modified by the State Government, subject to sub-rules (1), (2) and (3), so that the total number of working hours in a week shall be so fixed and followed.
It is also to be noted that:
i) The working hours in a day may be modified such that the total number of working hours in a week shall be so fixed and followed
ii) Hours of work for persons working in a mine shall be such as notified by CG in any day. Work to be carried in shifts and spreadover shall be as notified by CG and person to be present in mine only during work.
iii) For motor transport workers, daily limit of 8 hours in a day shall include time spent in work done during the running time of the transport vehicle; time spent in subsidiary work & period of mere attendance at terminals of less than fifteen minutes.
The working hours of an adolescent worker shall be regulated in accordance with the provisions of the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.
No worker shall be allowed to work in an establishment for more than six days in any one week.
Provided that in any motor transport undertaking, an employer may, in order to prevent any dislocation of a motor transport service, require a worker to work on any day of weekly holiday which is not a holiday so arranged that the worker does not work for more than ten days consecutively without a holiday for a whole day intervening.
There shall be posted up in a conspicuous place outside the office of every establishment a notice showing the weekly day of rest. Where the weekly day of rest is not the same day for all persons employed in the establishment, the notice shall show the day of rest allowed to each relay, or set of persons or individual.
Compensatory holidays, except for continuous technical work, must be spaced with no more than two per week. Managers must display notices by month-end, with changes at least 3 days prior. All due holidays must be granted before discharge or dismissal and not count toward notice.
It is to be noted that:
A worker who is appointed as a part time worker in a factory may be allowed to work in another establishment in any category of work notified by the State Government subject to the following conditions, namely-
(a) A separate attendance register shall be maintained. Pro-rata basis leave and other amenities shall be provided.
(b) One employer shall have name and address of other employer where he works as part time worker.
(c) Separate working days for the person shall be fixed for both the establishments.
(d) Provisions of the Code and Rule related to working hours, spread hours, weekly holiday and overtime shall remain applicable:
Provided that total working hours shall not exceed twelve hours and spread over of work shall not exceed sixteen hours:
Provided further that the State Government may, by notification, add any category of worker and conditions of double employment.
Where a worker in an establishment works on a shift which extends beyond midnight,—
(a) for the purposes of section 26, a weekly holiday for a whole day shall mean in his case a period of twenty-four consecutive hours beginning when his shift ends;
(b) the following day for him shall be deemed to be the period of twenty-four hours beginning when such shift ends, and the hours he has worked after midnight shall be counted in the previous day.
The work shall not be carried on in any establishment by means of a system of shifts so arranged that more than one relay of workers is engaged in work of the same kind at the same time.
It is to be noted that:
(1) Workers working in a shift system shall be rotated suitably. The period of work of workers operating in a single shift shall also be fixed. Such periods of work shall be notified to Inspector-cum-Facilitator electronically or otherwise.
(2) Notice of period of work for the adult workers shall be in Form-XIV in accordance with the provisions of the Code and Rules and it shall be displayed at conspicuous place in the establishment at or near the main entrance and such notice shall be intimated to concerned Inspector-cum-Facilitator electronically. It shall also be kept updated under the provisions of Section 31.
(3) Such notice as mentioned in sub-rule (2) shall clearly indicate for every day, the period during which an adult employee may be required to work.
(4) No person shall be allowed to work in an establishment otherwise than in accordance with sub rule(2):
Provided that if a person or persons are working on over time, the period of such hour and such employee shall be displayed duly signed by manager at a conspicuous place.
Every worker employed in an establishment shall be entitled for leave in a calendar year with wages subject to the condition that worker must have worked for 180 days or more in calendar year (incl. periods of layoff, maternity/ annual leave, but no leave is earned for these periods) & entitlement is 1 day of leave for every 20 days of work for adult & 1 day for every 15 days for adolescent/worker employed below ground in mine.
Other Conditions to be met are:
Workers exceeding 8 hours/day or 48 hours/week must be paid overtime at twice their ordinary wage. Ordinary wage includes basic pay and allowances but excludes bonuses. For piece-rate workers, overtime pay is based on average earnings from the prior month or week.
Penalty & Punishment
General Penalty u/s 94: For contravention, the employer or the principal employer of the establishment, as the case may be, shall be liable to penalty which shall not be less than two lakhs rupees but which may extend up to three lakh rupees, and if the contravention is continued after the conviction, then, with further penalty which may extend to two thousand rupees for each day till such contravention continues.
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