Labour Hub › OSHWC Code › Sections › Section 54

Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 · XI

Section 54: Effect of employing contract labour from a non-licenced contractor

Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026

Section 54 — Governs effect of employing contract labour from a non-licenced contractor and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: Where any principal employer of an establishment is employing contract labour through a contractor who is required to obtain a licence under this Part, but he has not obtained such licence, then, such employment shall be…

Full official textSource checked: 20 August 202617 direct Central Rule link(s)

Current-law status

All provisions were brought into force from 21 November 2025 under S.O. 5321(E), subject to the Central/State appropriate-Government split and provision-specific appointments/notifications.

Primary sources

Provision / India Code ↗ · Official Act PDF ↗ · 2026 Central Rules ↗

Finin2min analysis — what the section actually does

Operative clauses

Where any principal employer of an establishment is employing contract labour through a contractor who is required to obtain a licence under this Part, but he has not obtained such licence, then, such employment shall be deemed to be in contravention of the provision of this Code.

Provisos, explanations & qualifications

No proviso/explanation was separately extracted from this section text.

Thresholds and timelines in the text

No explicit day/month/year/hour/percentage/rupee expression was detected in this section text.

Actors expressly appearing in the text

Employer

Full statutory text — Section 54

Official English text transcribed from the current India Code consolidation; page headers/line breaks are normalised for web reading. The Gazette/India Code PDF remains authoritative for typography, amendment footnotes and schedules.

54. Effect of employing contract labour from a non-licenced contractor.—Where any principal
employer of an establishment is employing contract labour through a contractor who is required to obtain
a licence under this Part, but he has not obtained such licence, then, such employment shall be deemed to
be in contravention of the provision of this Code.

How to apply this provision

Primary statutory test — Where any principal employer of an establishment is employing contract labour through a contractor who is required to obtain a licence under this Part, but he has not obtained such licence, then, such employment shall be deemed to be in contravention of the provision of this Code.
Central Rule mapping — 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101. Read the mapped provision together with this text rather than treating the concordance as a substitute for it.
Evidence file — retain facts and records proving the role/status of: Employer.

Why this is section-specific: the operative-clause, exception, threshold and cross-reference panels above are extracted from Section 54 itself rather than a generic “trigger/control/evidence” template.

Rules, forms and cross-references

Direct 2026 Central Rule mapping

Rule 85 Rule 86 Rule 87 Rule 88 Rule 89 Rule 90 Rule 91 Rule 92 Rule 93 Rule 94 Rule 95 Rule 96 Rule 97 Rule 98 Rule 99 Rule 100 Rule 101

Forms mapped

No prescribed form is directly mapped in the current concordance.

Other sections cited in this text

None expressly mapped in the current concordance.

Related Labour Hub resources

State overlays Forms Labour litigation

A direct concordance is not exhaustive. Central/State jurisdiction, schemes, authority appointments, saved instruments and later notifications may change the practical route without changing the section wording.

Worked example

For an establishment affected by effect of employing contract labour from a non-licenced contractor, the compliance owner should identify the applicable sector and authority, document the prescribed control/notice/record and retain inspection or training evidence. A text point to test is: “Where any principal employer of an establishment is employing contract labour through a contractor who is required to obtain a licence under this Part, but he has not obtained such licence, then, such employment shall be deemed to be in contravention of the provision of this Code” Read the mapped Central Rule(s) 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101.

Illustration only; it is not statutory text or a substitute for applying the actual facts, jurisdiction, current rule/scheme and official instrument.

Q&A — Section 54

What does Section 54 of the OSHWC Code cover?

What is the main legal requirement or power in Section 54?

The first operative clause identified from the official text is: “Where any principal employer of an establishment is employing contract labour through a contractor who is required to obtain a licence under this Part, but he has not obtained such licence, then, such employment shall be deemed to be in contravention of the provision of this Code.” Read it with the remaining subsections and any proviso below.

Does Section 54 contain a proviso or explanation?

No standalone proviso or explanation was extracted from this section text. Check the full text below for clause-level qualifications.

What time limit, percentage or amount appears in Section 54?

No explicit day/month/year/hour/percentage/rupee expression was detected in the official section text.

Which 2026 Central Rules are linked to Section 54?

The current concordance maps Section 54 to Central Rule(s) 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101.

Is Section 54 currently operative?

All provisions were brought into force from 21 November 2025 under S.O. 5321(E), subject to the Central/State appropriate-Government split and provision-specific appointments/notifications.

Source & verification trail

Act: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 — official India Code PDF ↗

Central Rules: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 — G.S.R. 345(E), 8 May 2026 ↗

Official library: Ministry of Labour & Employment — Labour Codes ↗

Source check: 20 August 2026. Individual professional interpretation should be re-reviewed when the section, rules, notification, scheme, State overlay or controlling judgment changes.

Reliance note: This page is an educational legal-reference layer. Verify the current official text, the applicable Central/State rules, notifications, schemes and judicial decisions before acting on a live matter.