Factory Safety Laws — Basic Structure

Basic Structure

Keep the legal milestones separate

The Code was enacted in 2020 and commenced on 21 November 2025 through S.O. 5321(E). Final Central Rules were notified in May 2026. A draft rule, commencement notification and enacted Code have different roles. Central and State rulemaking must be read within the appropriate-government framework.

Read repeal with savings

Section 143 includes the Factories Act, 1948 among repealed enactments, while preserving specified earlier actions and instruments on stated terms. This is neither complete erasure of all earlier rules nor indefinite unchanged continuation of the old Act as the sole framework.

Connect duties with controls

Section 6 addresses employer responsibilities for hazards, systems, equipment, information, supervision and safe access. Employee duties under section 13 and information and representation rights under section 14 complement those responsibilities. They do not transfer the employer's obligations to workers.

Classify and verify prevention

The general hierarchy of controls distinguishes elimination, substitution, engineering measures, administrative measures and PPE. A physical guard differs from a reminder poster or work schedule. This technical framework is not itself an Indian statute. Evaluate how preventive controls work against actual workplace hazards, and use comparable exposure measures rather than raw accident counts alone when assessing workplace performance.