Rules 2026 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Chapters III and IV of the Uttar Pradesh Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2026 set the safety duties of an employer in the State: preventing bodily injury, issuing appointment letters and identity cards, arranging health examinations, giving notice of accidents, constituting safety committees and appointing safety officers. They are the part of the rules an Inspector-cum-Facilitator is most likely to test after an accident.
A fatal accident is notified to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator forthwith and confirmed within twelve hours in Form 10; an injury that keeps a person off work for forty eight hours or more is notified within twelve hours after the forty eight hours. A Safety Committee is required where two hundred fifty or more employees are ordinarily employed, or a hazardous process is carried on, and it meets at least once every quarter. A Safety Officer is required in a factory with five hundred workers or more.
The rule set
This article covers the Uttar Pradesh Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2026, as notified by notification no. 962/XXXVI-03-2026-1903305 dated 27 August 2026. Later amendments and State notifications under these rules should be checked in the State Gazette. Rule 1(4) says the rules "shall come into force from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette". Registration and fees are in our first OSH article.
The Central companions are explained in rule 5 on annual health examination, rule 6 on the letter of appointment, rule 7 on notice of accidents and rule 14 on the safety committee. The Uttar Pradesh numbers differ. For a unit that has never run a safety committee, a labour law compliance review is the usual first step.
Rule 8 and related duties
Rule 8 bars constructing, situating or maintaining any structure, machinery, process, work or stacked material so as to cause risk of bodily injury. For a continuously running conveyor or assembly line, no worker may be required to work for long hours in limited or repetitive postures without reasonable rest intervals or at an excessive speed likely to cause fatigue; the employer prepares, on a competent person's recommendation, a matrix of maximum permissible speed or output and permissible duration of work, gets it approved by the Inspector-cum-Facilitator, and displays it at the line. A matrix recommended by a recognised international agency is deemed approved. Under rule 8(6), no charge or fee is realised from a worker for any arrangement, facility, PPE or appliance the employer must supply under the Code or the rules.
Rule 9 extends safety, record-keeping and Chapter VII provisions to employees not covered as workers. Rule 10 requires railway wagon movements to be directly supervised, with the persons named in the attendance register in Form-6, and mechanical transport to be run only by trained persons. Rule 11 extends health, safety and welfare provisions to apprentices. Rule 12 requires buildings of five or more floors or a height of twenty metres or more to comply with Part-F (Fire and Life Safety) of the National Building Construction Standards, 2026 of the Bureau of Indian Standards.
Rule 13: health examination
The employer arranges, without charge to the employees, a health examination at least once in every twelve months of all employees who have completed forty years of age, of all persons before employing them, and of employees who have met an accident resulting in serious bodily injury in the previous two years. Employees in hazardous processes or dangerous operations are examined as the specific rules provide. A qualified medical practitioner or factory medical officer conducts it; the Health Register is in Form-7 and a pre-employment certificate of fitness in Form-8; findings are shared with the employee. The content of the examination includes medical and occupational history, clinical examination (physique, vision, hearing, breathing, limbs, spine, general alertness), a complete blood count and lipid profile.
Rule 14: appointment letters and identity cards
The employer issues a letter of appointment on appointment or before work begins, containing the particulars in Form-9; disputes on its conditions are decided by the Appellate Officer under section 4 of the Code. Employee codes are allotted and an identity card is issued within one month of appointment; existing employees were to receive letters and cards within three months of the rules coming into force. A replacement card is issued within one month, and the employer may charge Rupees Ten for it and Rupees Fifty for any subsequent issuance within a calendar year, subject to section 21 of the Code on Wages, 2019. Apprentices get identity cards within one month and their training contract must be executed.
Rules 15 to 21: notices and reports
| Event | Rule | Form | Time as printed | To whom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fatal accident | 15(1) | Form 10 | Notice forthwith; confirm within twelve hours | Inspector-cum-Facilitator; also informed by telephone or messenger: Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator, District Magistrate or Subdivisional Officer, nearest police station, family of the deceased |
| Injury preventing work for forty eight hours or more | 15(2) | Form 10 | Within twelve hours after completion of forty eight hours | Inspector-cum-Facilitator |
| Dangerous occurrence (rule 16 classes) | 15(3) | Form 11 | Within twelve hours | Inspector-cum-Facilitator; District Magistrate or Subdivisional Officer |
| Death after earlier notice | 15(3) proviso | - | Forthwith by telephone and electronically; confirm in writing within twelve hours of the death | Same authorities |
| Disability in several spells | 15(3) second proviso | Form 10 | Within 24 hours after the total reaches 48 hours | Inspector-cum-Facilitator |
| Notified disease (Third Schedule) | 17 | Form-12 | Within forty-eight hours of coming to knowledge | Inspector-cum-Facilitator, Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator, Chief Medical Officer |
Rule 15(4) forbids disturbing a fatal accident site before the Inspector-cum-Facilitator or a police officer not below Sub-Inspector arrives, except to prevent a further accident or secure persons from danger. Rule 16 lists the classes of dangerous occurrences, including bursting of plant or pipeline under pressure, collapse of a crane or hoist, explosion, fire and toxic gas leakage, collapse of structures and scaffolding, spillage of hazardous substances, and any other occurrence the State Government declares by order. Rule 18 requires a medical practitioner who attends a patient believed to have a Third Schedule disease to report without delay to the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator.
Rule 19 requires an employee to report unsafe conditions and to carry the identity card; rule 20 lists employee rights to safety information, training and direct representation to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator; rule 21 requires immediate remedial action on a report of imminent danger and a report to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator forthwith, whether or not the employer is satisfied of the danger.
Rules 42 to 48: safety committee and safety officers
Statistics and migrant workers (rule 42). Every employer submits occupational safety and health statistics to the State Government and the Director General, Labour Bureau electronically, in the form the Central Government prescribes. Every inter-State migrant worker, employed or self-employed in the State, registers on the specified portal.
Safety Committee (rules 43 and 44). A Safety Committee is constituted in every establishment where two hundred fifty employees or more are ordinarily employed, or a process declared dangerous under section 82 is carried on, or a Hazardous Process or hazardous substance handling is carried on, or a major accident hazard factory is involved. The employer is Chairman; a senior official is Deputy Chairman; a Safety Officer or other responsible person is Member-Secretary; the establishment's medical officer is a member; three representatives from production, maintenance and purchase; and worker representatives not fewer than the employer's, chosen by the registered trade union or, where there is none, by the workers. Women get proper representation. The tenure is a maximum of three years, with an extension of six months on the concurrence of two thirds of members. The constitution is communicated electronically to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator. The Committee meets as often as necessary but at least once every quarter, minutes with follow-up action plans are kept in a register, produced on demand and a copy sent to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator. Where more than one thousand employees are ordinarily employed, not fewer than two sub-committees are formed.
Safety Officers (rules 45 to 48). At least one Safety Officer is appointed in a factory with five hundred workers or more; a factory with a hazardous process and two hundred fifty workers or more; building or construction work with two hundred and fifty workers; a major accident hazard installation; or a sulfuric acid factory. More officers are required above the stated worker counts (rule 45(1) provisos). The appointment is intimated to the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator and the Inspector-cum-Facilitator within seven days. Rule 46 sets the qualifications by degree or diploma and experience, with a degree or diploma in industrial safety or an equivalent. Rule 47 lists the officer's duties, including plant safety inspections, accident investigation, and a quarterly report to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator through the employer; rule 48 bars other work inconsistent with those duties.
A worked example
A tyre plant in Noida with six hundred workers sees a press operator killed. The plant manager sends notice to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator immediately, confirms it in Form 10 within twelve hours, telephones the District Magistrate's office and the police station, informs the family, and keeps the site undisturbed until the Inspector-cum-Facilitator arrives. At its next quarterly meeting the Safety Committee records the follow-up in its register.
Common lapses
- Confirming a fatal accident notice after twelve hours or sending it only to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator.
- No quarterly Safety Committee minutes, or minutes not sent to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator.
- Appointing a Safety Officer without informing the authorities within seven days.
- Charging workers for PPE, contrary to rule 8(6).
Need help with accident notices and safety committees?
If your establishment may cross a safety committee or safety officer threshold, or you want a notice procedure ready before an accident, our labour law compliance team can build and test it with your plant managers. Twelve hours is very little time to learn a procedure.
Key takeaways
- Fatal accident: notice forthwith, confirmed in Form 10 within twelve hours; other notifications in Forms 10, 11 and 12 as the table shows.
- Do not disturb a fatal accident site before the Inspector-cum-Facilitator or police officer arrives.
- Safety Committee where two hundred fifty or more employees, or a hazardous process; meets at least every quarter.
- Safety Officer at five hundred workers or more in a factory (lower thresholds for hazardous and construction settings).
- No charge to workers for PPE or required appliances.
Read next
- Uttar Pradesh OSH Rules, 2026: notification, definitions and registration of establishments
- Uttar Pradesh OSH Rules, 2026: hours of work, overtime, leave and employment of women
- Central OSH rule 14: safety committee
- Central OSH rule 7: notice of accidents and dangerous occurrences
Disclaimer: Based on the State or Union territory rules named above, as notified under the Labour Codes and consulted on 4 October 2026. Later amendments, State notifications, fees and forms should be checked in the State Gazette and on the State labour department website. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.