Rule 47 of the OSH (Central) Rules 2026 requires at least one latrine for every 25 men and every 15 women, one urinal for every 15 men employed at the same time, and at least one separate latrine each for transgender employees and employees with disabilities. Each block needs water, a washbasin, privacy and daily cleaning. Women's toilets need free sanitary napkins, replenished every day. The principal employer provides all of it to the contract crew.
Which sites the rules cover
Rule 47 covers every factory, mine, building or construction site, beedi and cigar premises, motor transport undertaking, dock and plantation. Rule 49 sets the washing standard for most of the same list. Behind both is the OSH Code 2020: section 23(2)(viii) requires separate latrine and urinal accommodation for male, female and transgender employees, and section 24(1)(i) requires separate washing facilities. In both cases the Code leaves the detail to the Central Government, so the Central rules set the standard for a Tamil Nadu site too.
As with the canteen and first-aid rules, warehouses are not on the list. A distribution centre that is not a factory under the Code should ask its own counsel which standard applies. In practice few sites with a large floor crew would want to argue for less than rule 47.
How many toilets, worked through
Count every person on the floor, direct and contract, and round up. Rule 47(3) attaches "employed at the same time" only to the urinal ratio; the latrine ratio does not say whether it means a shift or the whole roll. Sizing on the largest shift is the common reading, and counsel decides the specific case. Take a shift of 120 men and 45 women, most of them contract staff:
| Facility | Rule 47(3) ratio | Shift of 120 men and 45 women |
|---|---|---|
| Latrines, men | At least 1 per 25 male employees | 5 (120 ÷ 25 = 4.8, rounded up) |
| Latrines, women | At least 1 per 15 female employees | 3 (45 ÷ 15) |
| Urinals | At least 1 per 15 males employed at the same time | 8 (120 ÷ 15) |
| Latrine for employees with disabilities | At least 1, separate | 1 |
| Latrine for transgender employees | At least 1, separate | 1 |
The ratios count people, not where they stand. Rule 47(1) also requires the accommodation to be "at conveniently accessible places". A site whose toilets are all at the gatehouse, a long walk from the far end of a warehouse, can meet the count and still fail the rule.
What each block must have
Rules 47 and 49 between them set a fixed list, and an inspector checks it item by item:
- Privacy and build. Every latrine covered and partitioned, with a proper door, fastenings and an exhaust (r.47(8)). Floors non-slip, and internal walls in glazed tiles or another smooth, impervious finish (r.47(2)).
- Water and washbasins. Water supply in every latrine and urinal, taps in or near the block, and a washbasin with tap water (r.47(3), (5), (11)).
- For women. Sanitary napkins provided free in women's toilets and replenished daily, and lidded bins for disposal; lidded bins in men's, transgender and accessible toilets too (r.47(6), (7)).
- Signs. "For men only", "For women only", "For transgender persons only" or "For persons with disabilities only" outside each block, and a cleaning-in-progress sign while it is cleaned, in English or Hindi and the local language (r.47(4), (9)).
- Washing. Separate, lockable washing facilities with a regular supply of water, soap and towels, kept apart from the work area. Common towels are prohibited (r.49).
- Construction, docks, plantations. Mobile toilets wherever required (proviso to r.47). On construction work, showers with hot and cold water where workers are exposed to oil, grease, dust or irritants (r.49).
Night shifts add a lighting and distance test
Where women work at night, rule 83(d) requires the toilet and washroom to be near the workplace, the route to them to be well lit, and CCTV on the way to them. A block that passes in daylight can fail at 2 a.m. if the path runs past an unlit loading bay. A site opening a night shift to a women's contract crew should walk the route at night before the first roster runs.
Who provides it for a contract crew
The site provides it, and the rules say so by name. Section 53 of the OSH Code puts the section 23 and 24 facilities on the principal employer for contract labour in its establishment. Rule 86(1)(iii) of the Central rules spells it out: where a contractor's crew works on the principal employer's premises, "it shall be the responsibility of the principal employer to provide the facilities or amenities such as toilet, washroom, drinking water, bathing facilities if required, changing room". Under rule 86(1)(iv), everything else falls to the contractor.
Two things follow for the site. First, the contract crew counts when the toilets are sized. A site that planned its blocks for its payroll staff, then added a 60-person contract shift, is short of the ratio from that day. Second, the contract can settle who pays for cleaning and consumables, but it cannot make the toilets the contractor's to provide, and it cannot keep the crew out of them. Whether a particular arrangement meets the rules is a question for the site's own counsel.
How Velura Services helps
We count our crew into your sanitation planning before deployment, so toilet and washroom ratios cover the full floor on every shift. Where a ramp or a night shift changes the numbers, we raise it at the Requirement stage and agree the fix with your site in writing.
Sources
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (Act 37 of 2020), Gazette text hosted by DGFASLI. Sections cited: s.23(2)(viii) (separate latrine and urinal accommodation for male, female and transgender employees), s.24(1)(i) (separate washing facilities), s.53 (principal employer provides s.23 and s.24 facilities to contract labour). Opened and read.
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026, G.S.R. 345(E) dated 8 May 2026. Rules cited: r.47 (latrine and urinal accommodation: ratios, build, water, sanitary napkins, signs, mobile toilets), r.49 (washing facilities; no common towels), r.83(d) (women employees: lit route, toilets near the workplace, CCTV), r.86(1)(iii) and (iv) (principal employer provides toilet, washroom and related amenities to contract labour on its premises). Opened and read from a mirrored copy of the Gazette [VERIFY: against the e-Gazette original].
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Tamil Nadu) Rules, 2022 (draft), G.O. Ms. No. 38 dated 11 April 2022 [VERIFY: whether Tamil Nadu has notified final rules with any state-specific sanitation standard; none was found in the draft for general establishments].