OSH Code 2020: Appointment Letter and Free Health Check Rights

If you work in any establishment covered by the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020, your employer must give you a written appointment letter, and must arrange a free annual health examination for prescribed age groups at the employer's cost. These two rights are in Section 6 of the Code, which came into force on 21 November 2025. You cannot be charged for the medical check.

Short on time? Jump to what to do if your employer refuses a letter below.

The Code covers a wide range of establishments, not just factories, and merges 13 older safety and welfare laws into one.

• Appointment letter: every employee, in every covered establishment. A universal right, not tied to any worker-count threshold.
• Free annual health check: employees of the age or class, in the establishments, that the appropriate Government notifies in the rules. The exact age band is set by prescribed rules, not the bare section.

Note: As of June 2026 the Central Rules are in draft for public consultation. Until the final rules are notified, confirm the exact age band and covered class with your labour department.

The prescribed form is set by the Government and typically records your name and your employer's name, your designation and nature of work, your wages and wage period, and your date of joining. Rely on whatever the notified form requires.

Section 6(1) lists the duties of every employer. Three clauses matter for these two rights.

Appointment letter, Section 6(1)(f). The employer must “issue a letter of appointment to every employee on his appointment in the establishment, with such information and in such form as may be prescribed”. Where an employee was not issued such a letter before the Code started, the employer must issue one within three months of the commencement.

Free health examination, Section 6(1)©. The employer must “provide such annual health examination or test free of costs to such employees of such age or such class of employees … as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government”.

No charge on the worker, Section 6(1)(g). The employer must “ensure that no charge is levied on any employee, in respect of anything done or provided for maintenance of safety and health at workplace including conduct of medical examination”.

In short: the letter is owed to everyone, the health check to the notified age or class, and the cost falls on the employer, never the worker.

1. Ask in writing. Send a short email or letter requesting your appointment letter under Section 6(1)(f) of the OSH Code 2020. Keep a copy and the delivery proof.
2. Cite the 3-month rule. If you were already working when the Code started on 21 November 2025 and never got a letter, point out the employer had to issue one within three months.
3. Set a date. Ask for the letter within a reasonable period, for example 15 days.
4. Keep your own proof of employment. Save salary slips, bank credits, ID cards, duty rosters, and messages. These help if there is a later dispute over your terms.
5. Escalate to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator if the employer still refuses. See the escalation steps below.

A written letter fixes your wages, role, and date of joining in one document, which matters for provident fund, gratuity, and any wage claim.

The health examination is a benefit, not a cost.

• It is free. Section 6(1)(g) bars any charge on the worker for a medical examination done for workplace safety and health.
• It is for notified groups. The Code targets workers of a particular age or class, in particular establishments. The precise band is whatever the rules notify.
• It is annual. For covered workers the examination repeats each year.

If you are in a covered group and your employer asks you to pay, or deducts the cost from your wages, that is contrary to Section 6(1)(g). Raise it in writing and escalate.

The Code replaces the old inspector with an Inspector-cum-Facilitator. This officer can inspect establishments, advise employers, and act on complaints about breaches, including denial of an appointment letter or a free health check.

1. Find your jurisdiction's officer through the State labour department. For central-sphere establishments, use the central labour machinery.
2. File a written complaint describing the breach, with your proof of employment and copies of your written requests.
3. Use the RTI route in parallel if a public authority is your employer or the regulator is slow. Ask the labour department for the status of your complaint and the action taken. See The RTI Playbook for how to frame and escalate such requests.

Yes. Section 6(1)(f) makes it a duty of every employer to issue a letter of appointment to every employee, in the form prescribed by the appropriate Government. This is a universal entitlement and does not depend on the size of the establishment.

Yes. The Code says that where an employee was not issued an appointment letter before the Code commenced, the employer must issue one within three months of the commencement. The Code came into force on 21 November 2025, so existing un-lettered staff are covered.

The employer. Section 6(1)© requires the health examination to be provided free of costs. Section 6(1)(g) separately bars any charge on the worker for a medical examination done for workplace safety and health. If a cost is deducted from your wages, that is contrary to the Code.

The Code provides it for employees of the age or class, in the establishments, that the appropriate Government prescribes by rules. The exact age band and covered class come from the notified rules, not the bare section. As of June 2026 the Central Rules are in draft, so confirm the current band with your labour department.

The Code says the letter carries the information and form prescribed by the appropriate Government. In practice the prescribed form records details such as your name and the employer's name, your designation and nature of work, your wages and wage period, and your date of joining. Rely on the fields in the notified form.

Complain to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator for your area, through the State labour department or, for central-sphere establishments, the central labour machinery. File a written complaint with your proof of employment. You can track the action with an RTI request to the labour department.

No. The OSH Code consolidates 13 laws and covers a wide range of establishments, including non-factory workplaces, subject to the thresholds and notifications in the Code and its rules. The appointment-letter right is framed for every employee in a covered establishment.

• Email your employer requesting your appointment letter under Section 6(1)(f), and keep the copy.
• Gather your proof of employment: salary slips, bank credits, ID card, duty roster.
• Note whether you have ever been offered a free annual health check, and whether any medical cost was deducted from your pay.
• Find your State labour department's Inspector-cum-Facilitator contact, ready for escalation.
• If a public authority is involved, draft an RTI on the status of your complaint.

• Working hours, overtime and spread-over under the OSH Code
• Leave, carry-forward and encashment under the OSH Code
• The RTI Playbook: file and escalate any information request

• Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020 (Act 37 of 2020), Section 6(1)©, (f) and (g), indiacode.nic.in.
• Ministry of Labour and Employment / Press Information Bureau: the four Labour Codes brought into force with effect from 21 November 2025.

Reviewed by the RTI Wiki editorial team. Last reviewed: June 2026. This guide explains the law in general terms and is not legal advice. Confirm the current notified rules with your labour department.