Which rules apply to you

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025. The Code sets the duty to report. The rules set the form, the people you notify and the deadline.

This guide follows the OSH&WC (Central) Rules, 2026. They cover the central sphere, such as docks, mines and central government work. For most factories, the state government is the appropriate government, so its rules apply. Check your state rules for any different deadline or portal.

Legal requirement

Section 10 of the Code makes the employer send notice of any accident that causes death, or an injury that keeps the person off work for 48 hours or more. Section 11 covers dangerous occurrences and section 12 covers notifiable diseases.

What counts

You report four kinds of event. Know them before anything happens.

  • A death at any place in the establishment.
  • A lost-time injury: the person cannot work for 48 hours or more straight after the accident.
  • A dangerous occurrence, even if nobody is hurt. Rule 7(4) lists them. They include a crane, hoist or lifting gear collapse, a crane overturning, a collapse of scaffolding, staging or formwork, a fire, explosion or toxic gas release, a hazardous spill, objects falling from height, and an electrical flash-over that burns someone.
  • A notifiable disease from the Third Schedule to the Code, such as noise-induced hearing loss.

Who reports, to whom, how fast

The employer of the establishment reports. On a construction site that is the employer of the building work. Rule 7 of the Central Rules sets these deadlines.

  • Death: notify the Inspector-cum-Facilitator forthwith on Form XI. Also tell the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator, the District Magistrate or Sub-divisional Officer, the local police station and the victim's family, electronically and by phone.
  • Injury, 48 hours or more off work: Form XI to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator, electronically, within 12 hours after the 48 hours are up.
  • Time off in more than one spell: Form XI within 24 hours of the total reaching 48 hours.
  • Dangerous occurrence: within 12 hours to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator and the District Magistrate or Sub-divisional Officer.
  • Injured person later dies: tell the same people at once by phone and electronically, then confirm in writing within 12 hours of the death.
  • Notifiable disease: notice forthwith, electronically or by speed post, to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator or Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator (rule 8).

The form

Form XI is the notice of accident or dangerous occurrence. It sits in the schedule of forms at the end of the Central Rules. It asks for the employer, the address of the premises, the nature of the industry, the department and details of the injured person. It also asks for ESIC codes where they apply.

Download the form now and fill in the fixed details. Keep the phone numbers and email addresses for your inspector, the District Magistrate or SDO and the police station on the same page. At 2 a.m. nobody wants to search for them.

Tip

Rule 73 also makes you show the accidents and dangerous occurrences of the last five years on the notice board. Each Form XI you send feeds that list.

The first hour

Life comes first. Paperwork can wait minutes, not hours.

  • Make the area safe. Stop the machine, isolate power, keep others out.
  • Give first aid and call an ambulance. Send the casualty to the nearest hospital.
  • Cordon off the scene. Move nothing unless you must to save life or stop more harm.
  • Tell the site manager and the safety officer.
  • For a death or a dangerous occurrence, start the phone calls now. Note who you rang and when.
  • Write down witness names and take photos.
  • Name one person to complete and send Form XI, and put the deadline in writing.

What to keep

Keep a copy of every Form XI with proof of when you sent it. Keep the call log, photos, witness notes and the investigation report together.

If you have a safety committee, rule 14 says it must get accident data. Bring each case to the next meeting. You must act on its recommendations within 15 days.

A death on a construction site, in a plantation or in some other establishments triggers an official inquiry within two months of your notice (section 10(2)). Your records are your evidence in that inquiry.

Penalties

A missed or late notice breaks the rules. The general penalty in section 94 is a fine of ₹2 lakh to ₹3 lakh. If the breach continues after conviction, add up to ₹2,000 a day.

Where a breach of duty leads to an accident, section 103 goes further. A death can bring up to 2 years in prison, a fine of at least ₹5 lakh, or both. A serious injury can bring up to 1 year, a fine of ₹2 lakh to ₹4 lakh, or both. The court can direct at least half the fine to the victim or their heirs. A second conviction doubles the punishment.

Warning

The fine is not the worst outcome. A late report delays help for the family and makes the inquiry harder for everyone.

Common mistakes

  • Waiting to see if the injured worker comes back. Count the 48 hours from the accident, then you have 12 more.
  • Treating a crane or scaffold collapse with no injury as a non-event. It is a dangerous occurrence.
  • Using forms from the repealed Acts. Under the Central Rules, the notice goes on Form XI.
  • Assuming the Central Rules apply to a state factory. Check the state rules.

Sources

  1. Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, Gazette of India.
  2. Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026, Gazette of India.
  3. Four Labour Codes in force from 21 November 2025, Press Information Bureau.

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.