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Section 23: Responsibility of employer for health and working conditions

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (Act No. 37 of 2020) • Official Statutory Text & Plain English Practice Guide

Statutory Mandate
Chapter V: Health, Safety and Working Conditions
Competent Labour Forum
Act No. 37 of 2020
Section 22 All 143 Sections of OSH Code, 2020 Section 24

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 23

Section 23 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 establishes the comprehensive statutory responsibility of every employer to provide and maintain safe, hygienic, and dignified physical working conditions across every industrial and commercial establishment in India. Anchoring Chapter V of the Code, this provision translates the constitutional right to healthy working conditions under Article 21 and Article 42 into affirmative, non-delegable statutory liabilities that every occupier, manager, and contractor must implement.

  • Core Legal Standard: Under this section, employers are legally obligated to maintain rigorous environmental and sanitary benchmarks on workplace premises.
  • Inquiry & Trial Mechanism: These duties mandate daily cleanliness and floor sanitation, safe and effective disposal of industrial wastes and chemical effluents, effective natural and mechanical ventilation, ambient temperature control to prevent thermal exhaustion, elimination of hazardous atmospheric dust and fumes, prevention of structural overcrowding, adequate natural and artificial illumination, and accessible, wholesome drinking water.

Employers must also maintain adequate, cleanly maintained latrines and urinals with separate accommodations for male, female, and transgender employees, ensuring privacy and personal dignity across all shifts.

Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Occupational Health and Safety Association v. Union of India (2014) 3 SCC 547: The Supreme Court affirmed that the right to health and safe working conditions is an integral component of the right to life under Article 21, holding employers and the state strictly responsible for maintaining dust-free, well-ventilated, and medically monitored environments for industrial workers.
  • Consumer Education & Research Centre v. Union of India (1995) 3 SCC 42: The Supreme Court held that the right to occupational health is a fundamental human right, directing hazardous industries to maintain strict environmental standards and preventive medical infrastructure.
Legal Commentary:

The statutory duty to maintain working conditions under Section 23 is absolute and cannot be subordinated to cost efficiency or production quotas. Defaulting employers face immediate rectification notices, monetary penalties under Chapter XI, and operational suspension orders from Inspector-cum-Facilitators where sanitary or environmental conditions threaten employee health.

Section 22 All 143 Sections of OSH Code, 2020 Section 24