The Government of Uttar Pradesh notified the Uttar Pradesh Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2026 on 27 August 2026 through Notification No. 962/36-3-2026-1903305.
The Rules came into force from the date of publication and apply throughout Uttar Pradesh to factories, building and other construction workplaces, and other establishments covered by the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.
Key provisions
Establishment registration must be completed electronically in Form 3 through the State Labour Department portal.
Existing establishments registered under earlier Central labour laws must upload their registration details on the portal within six months.
Changes in ownership, management or registration particulars must be reported within 30 days.
Employers must issue:
Appointment letters in Form 9 at or before joining.
Identity cards within one month.
Appointment letters and identity cards to existing employees within three months of commencement of the Rules.
Free medical examination is required:
Before employment;
Annually for employees aged 40 years or above; and
For employees who suffered serious workplace injuries during the preceding two years.
A Safety Committee is mandatory where:
250 or more employees are ordinarily employed;
Hazardous or dangerous processes are carried on; or
The establishment is a Major Accident Hazard installation.
Safety Officers are mandatory for:
Factories with 500 or more workers;
Hazardous-process factories with 250 or more workers;
Construction establishments with 250 or more workers; and
Major Accident Hazard installations and specified factories.
Normal working time cannot exceed 48 hours per week. A worker must receive at least a 30-minute rest interval after five hours of work.
Overtime beyond eight hours a day or 48 hours a week is payable at twice the ordinary rate of wages.
Total working time cannot exceed 10 hours a day, while the spread-over, including rest intervals, cannot ordinarily exceed 12 hours in overtime cases.
Overtime is generally restricted to 115 hours per quarter, extendable to 144 hours with prior State Government approval.
Women may work before 6:00 AM and after 7:00 PM only with written consent and prescribed safeguards, including transport, supervision, CCTV coverage, adequate facilities, POSH compliance and a minimum of four women during night shifts.
Contractors engaging 50 or more contract workers must obtain a licence. The security deposit is ₹1,000 per contract worker.
Fatal accidents, serious accidents and dangerous occurrences must generally be reported within 12 hours in the prescribed forms.
Occupational diseases must be reported within 48 hours.
Registers and records may be maintained electronically and must generally be preserved for five years. Specified medical records must be preserved for seven years.
The annual return in Form 17 must be filed by 31 January every year.
Major Accident Hazard installations must also file a half-yearly return in Form 18 by 31 July.
The Rules prescribe a common licence mechanism for factories, contract labour and beedi/cigar establishments.
Appeals against penalties may be filed before the Labour Commissioner within 60 days. Compoundable offences may be settled through the prescribed compounding procedure.
Supersession
The 2026 Rules replace the earlier Uttar Pradesh rules governing factories, contract labour, inter-State migrant workers, beedi and cigar workers, welfare officers, safety officers, building and construction workers, and the Uttar Pradesh OSH&WC Rules, 2022, while protecting actions already taken under the superseded rules.
Compliance impact: Employers in Uttar Pradesh should immediately review establishment registration, appointment letters, identity cards, medical examinations, working hours, overtime controls, women’s night-shift safeguards, Safety Committee/Safety Officer requirements, statutory registers and return-filing procedures.