Women Employees under the OSH Code: Night Work and Safety

For decades Indian labour law protected women mainly by excluding them: from factories at night, from underground mines, from certain dangerous work. The OSH Code reverses that approach. It declares that women are entitled to work in all establishments for all types of work, allows night work with their consent, and replaces outright bans with safeguards. This note explains the change, the conditions for night work, the related protections in the other Codes, and the cases that drove the shift.

1. From Exclusion to Safeguards

Figure 1: The change made by sections 43 and 44

• Section 43. Women are entitled to be employed in all establishments for all types of work, and may be employed with their consent before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m., subject to conditions on safety, holidays, working hours and other matters prescribed by the appropriate Government.
• Section 44. Where the employment of women in an establishment or in a hazardous or dangerous process is dangerous to their health and safety, the Government may require the employer to provide adequate safeguards before employing them.
• Constitutional basis. Article 15(3) allows special provisions for women, but Articles 14, 15(1) and 16 forbid exclusion based on stereotypes about women's roles.

2. Conditions for Night Work

Figure 2: Typical conditions under the Rules and State notifications

• Consent is personal. Night work depends on the woman's own consent; the detailed conditions come from the Rules and State notifications.
• State practice. Before the Code, several States, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, had issued notifications allowing night work in factories subject to similar conditions.

3. Related Protections in the Other Codes

• Equal pay. No gender discrimination in wages or recruitment under s.3 of the Code on Wages (Topic 8)
• Maternity. 26 weeks' benefit, nursing breaks and creche under the Social Security Code (Topic 23)
• Grievances. Women must be represented on Grievance Redressal Committees in proportion to their numbers (Topic 13)
• Harassment. The POSH Act, 2013 continues to apply alongside the Codes.

4. Leading Cases

Figure 3: Equality at work for women

5. Frequently Asked Questions

Can women work night shifts under the OSH Code?

Yes. Section 43 entitles women to be employed in all establishments for all types of work, and allows employment before 6 a.m. and after 7 p.m. with their consent, subject to conditions on safety, holidays and working hours prescribed by the appropriate Government, such as safe transport, adequate lighting and security, and facilities at the workplace.

Are women barred from dangerous operations?

No. Under section 44, where the Government considers employment of women in a dangerous operation to be hazardous to their health and safety, it may require the employer to provide adequate safeguards before women are employed in that operation. The Code replaces outright exclusion with safeguards.

6. Related Topics

• Topic 8: Equal Remuneration and Non-Discrimination. Gender equality in wages.
• Topic 30: Hours of Work, Leave and Overtime. General limits on working time.