The law after April 2026

Accident reporting sits in sections 80 to 82 of the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006. The Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act 2026 rewrote them. It took effect at once, on 10 April 2026.

The detail of forms and recipients comes from the Bangladesh Labour Rules 2015, rules 69 to 73. Where the Act and the Rules differ, follow the Act and meet the tighter deadline.

What counts

  • An accident that causes death or bodily injury.
  • An explosion, ignition, fire, or an inrush of water or fumes, even with no injury.
  • A dangerous occurrence of a kind the Rules name, injured or not. Rule 71 gives examples: explosion, fire, building collapse and a serious machine accident.
  • An occupational disease listed in the Second Schedule to the Act.
  • An accident on the way to or from work. Since 2026 you give notice of these too. They are used for statistics only and do not create liability.
How the Rules grade accidents

Rule 69 calls an accident fatal or serious if someone dies or has no reasonable chance of returning to work within 20 days. Rule 70 calls it minor if the worker cannot return within 48 hours but is back within 20 days.

Who reports, to whom, how fast

The employer, or the factory authority, reports. The 2026 text of section 80 also names occupational health services and medical practitioners.

  • Straight away: tell the Government, the Fire Service, DIFE, the police station and, if needed, the nearest hospital or clinic. Use phone, mobile, SMS or fax (s.80(1) proviso).
  • Within 2 working days of learning of it: written or digital notice to the DIFE inspector and the officer in charge of the regional or divisional labour office (s.80(1)).
  • Fatal or serious accident: confirm the phone or email notice in writing on Form-27 within two days (rule 69(2)).
  • Minor accident: Form-27 within 7 days (rule 70).
  • Dangerous occurrence: notice within 3 days to the DIFE Inspector General, the local inspector and the labour office (s.81). The Rules use Form-27(খ).
  • Occupational disease: written notice to the inspector, entered in the register within 2 working days (s.82).

Forms and follow-up

Form-27 is the accident notice. After a fatal or serious accident, send a final report on Form-27(ক) to the district Deputy Inspector General. It is due within two months of the accident, or after the worker returns (rule 69(3)).

Record every accident and dangerous occurrence in the Form-28 register, with the action you took to stop a repeat (rule 73). The Act also requires an injury that keeps a worker off for more than 48 hours to go in the register (s.80(2)).

Send the register entries to the inspector every six months. Rule 73(2) gives 10 working days after each half year ends. That also meets the Act's limit of 15 days after 30 June and 31 December (s.80(3)).

The first hour

  • Stop the work. Make the area safe and keep people back.
  • Give first aid and send the injured to hospital.
  • Phone the Fire Service, DIFE, the police station and the hospital. Note the time of each call.
  • Cordon off the scene. Move things only to rescue people or protect life and property.
  • List witnesses and take photos.
  • Name one person to send the written notice and Form-27, with the deadline in writing.
Legal requirement

After an accident that causes death or loss of a limb, rule 72 says keep the scene as it was until the inspector has visited, or for at least three days. Rescue and protecting life come first.

What to keep

Keep copies of every notice and Form-27, with proof of when you sent them. Keep the Form-28 register, photos, witness notes and your investigation.

Where you have 50 or more workers, the safety committee must tell the employer about accidents, dangerous occurrences and diseases it finds (s.90A, 2026). Put each case on its agenda.

Treatment does not stop when the report goes in. The employer pays for a competent or specialist doctor until the worker has fully recovered from a work-time accident or occupational disease (s.89(7)).

Penalties

Section 309 sets penalties when a breach of the Act or Rules has dangerous results. As amended in 2026:

  • Loss of life: up to 4 years in prison, a fine of up to Tk 1,00,000, or both.
  • Serious bodily injury: up to 2 years, a fine of Tk 50,000 to Tk 1,00,000, or both.
  • Other injury or danger: up to 6 months, a fine of Tk 10,000 to Tk 20,000, or both.
  • Other breaches, such as a missed notice, where no other penalty applies: up to 3 months, a fine of Tk 25,000 to Tk 50,000, or both (s.307).
Warning

A second conviction for the same offence within 2 years doubles the penalty (s.308). The court can order the fine paid to the injured worker or their family (s.309(2)).

Common mistakes

  • Waiting for the written notice before phoning the Fire Service and DIFE. The calls come first.
  • Clearing the scene of a fatal accident before the inspector arrives.
  • Forgetting that a fire with no injury still needs notice.
  • Leaving the Form-28 register blank between half-yearly returns.

Sources

  1. Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act 2026 (Act 43 of 2026), Laws of Bangladesh, Ministry of Law.
  2. Amendment Act 2026, s.22: new section 80(1), notice of accidents, Laws of Bangladesh, Ministry of Law.
  3. Amendment Act 2026, s.23: new section 81, dangerous occurrences, Laws of Bangladesh, Ministry of Law.
  4. Amendment Act 2026, s.24: section 82, occupational diseases, Laws of Bangladesh, Ministry of Law.
  5. Amendment Act 2026, s.73: new section 307, general penalty, Laws of Bangladesh, Ministry of Law.
  6. Amendment Act 2026, s.75: section 309 fines, Laws of Bangladesh, Ministry of Law.
  7. The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (English, amended to 2013), Laws of Bangladesh, Ministry of Law.
  8. Bangladesh Labour Rules 2015 (Bengali), DIFE.
  9. Rules and regulations page, DIFE.

This is practical guidance, not legal advice. Laws and codes of practice change; always check the current official text and your site's own procedures.