In Tamil Nadu, a factory carrying on a hazardous process must run occupational health services sized to its workforce. Up to 100 workers, a factory medical practitioner on retainer is enough. From 101 workers there must be an occupational health centre, and above 250 a full-time practitioner. Every worker in the process is examined before starting and every six months, and the health records are open to each worker. Contract crews are covered on the same terms.
Which factories need it
Factories carrying on a hazardous process, which section 2(1)(za) of the OSH Code 2020 defines by reference to the industries in its First Schedule. Section 85 puts three duties on the occupier of such a factory: keep accurate and up-to-date health records of workers exposed to harmful substances, accessible to those workers; appoint competent persons to supervise the handling of hazardous substances; and examine every worker before assignment and at intervals of no more than twelve months, during and after the job. Tamil Nadu's draft OSH rules of 11 April 2022 fill in the detail in rules 90 to 93 [VERIFY: whether Tamil Nadu has since notified final rules].
A factory without a hazardous process still has health duties, but lighter ones: the annual health check-up for older workers, first-aid boxes and trained first-aiders, and an ambulance room above 500 workers. Those are covered in separate posts on this site.
The scale: practitioner, centre and staff
Rule 92 of the Tamil Nadu draft sets three tiers by the number of workers employed:
| Workers | Medical practitioner | Centre and staff |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 100 | A factory medical practitioner on retainer, at a clinic the occupier notifies, for the examinations and emergencies | At least five people trained in first aid, one always on duty; a fully equipped first-aid box |
| 101 to 250 | A part-time practitioner in overall charge, visiting at least twice a week and available in emergencies | An occupational health centre, with a suggested room of 15 square metres; a trained dresser-cum-compounder throughout working hours; first-aid boxes in every department |
| Above 250 | One full-time practitioner up to 500 workers, and one more for every further 1,000 or part of 1,000 | A centre with a suggested two rooms of 15 square metres, equipped to manage medical emergencies; a nurse, a dresser-cum-compounder and a sweeper-cum-ward boy throughout working hours |
- Qualification (r.92(2)). A registered medical practitioner with a certificate of training in industrial health of at least three months, on a DGFASLI-approved syllabus, or a diploma in industrial health. The Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator can relax this where no qualified person is available.
- Notice (r.92(4)). Within a month of appointing a practitioner, the occupier sends the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator their name, enrolment number, qualifications and experience.
- Ambulance (r.93). An equipped ambulance van with a full-time driver-cum-mechanic and a helper trained in first aid, kept for that use alone. A factory with fewer than 250 workers may instead arrange one at short notice from a nearby hospital.
Examinations and fitness certificates
Before the job and every six months, under rule 91. The practitioner examines each worker in the hazardous process before employment, to check fitness for that particular job, and then once every six months, or more often if the practitioner or the Inspector-cum-Facilitator thinks it necessary. Six months is stricter than the twelve-month outer limit in section 85(c); the draft rule sets the working interval.
- No start without a certificate. "No person shall be employed for the first time without a Certificate of Fitness in FORM XXIII" from the practitioner (r.91(2)). A worker declared unfit can appeal to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator, who refers it to the government Medical Officer.
- Everything recorded. Pre-employment and periodic results go into the Health Register in Form XXIV (r.91(1)(iii)).
- Abnormal findings escalated. The practitioner reports any abnormality to the Medical Officer at once, and the Medical Officer examines the worker and tells the occupier within thirty days. If the worker must come off the process, the occupier provides another placement, or rehabilitation if the worker is fully incapacitated (r.91(3)).
- Return only on a certificate. A worker taken off the process goes back only with a fitness certificate from the Medical Officer, entered in the Health Register (r.91(5)).
- Free to the worker. Section 6(1)(g) of the Code bars any charge to an employee for medical examinations, and r.91(4) puts the Medical Officer's fee on the occupier. A worker may not refuse an examination under these rules (r.91(6)).
Health records and notifiable diseases
The records belong in the worker's hands as well as the occupier's file. Rule 90 makes them accessible to the worker every six months or straight after an examination, whichever is earlier; when the practitioner sees signs of a notifiable disease; when the worker leaves; and when an inspector, health officer, ESIC or DGFASLI so directs. A worker can ask for a copy of the up-to-date record, and X-rays and reports can go to the worker's own doctor (r.90(2)).
Section 12 of the Code then covers the diseases in its Third Schedule. The employer must give notice when a worker contracts one, and a practitioner who attends a worker believed to have one must report to the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator without delay. A practitioner who fails to report can be fined up to ₹10,000 (s.12(3)).
How contract crews are covered
On the same footing as the site's own workers, because the rules are written about the process and the person, not the payroll. Section 85(c) requires examination of "every worker" assigned to work with a hazardous substance. Rule 91(2) bars employing "any person" in the process for the first time without a fitness certificate. Rule 44(3) of the Tamil Nadu draft makes it a condition of the contractor's licence that the principal employer maintains health conditions for contract workers on its premises.
- Deployment waits for the certificate. A contract worker who arrives on Monday and starts on the line the same day, before the practitioner has seen them, is the gap to close first.
- The six-monthly date follows the worker. Contract crews turn over faster than direct staff, so a register sorted by joining date shows quickly who is overdue.
- Exit is a record point. Rule 90(1)(iii) makes the record accessible when the worker leaves, which matters most for a contractor's crew moving to another site or another contractor.
- Cost between site and contractor is a contract term. The law makes the checks free to the worker and puts health conditions on the principal employer. How the site and the contractor share the cost is for their contract and the site's own counsel.
How Velura Services helps
On hazardous-process sites, we book each new worker's examination with the site's factory medical practitioner before the first shift, so nobody starts without a fitness certificate, and we track every worker's six-monthly date. When a worker leaves or moves site, we ask for their health record so the next examination has a baseline. Nothing for these checks is recovered from wages.
Sources
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (Act 37 of 2020), Gazette text hosted by DGFASLI. Sections cited: s.2(1)(za) (hazardous process), s.6(1)(g) (no charge for medical examination), s.12 (notice and report of Third Schedule diseases; penalty up to ₹10,000), s.85 (health records, competent persons, medical examination at intervals not exceeding twelve months), First and Third Schedules. Opened and read.
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Tamil Nadu) Rules, 2022 (draft), G.O. Ms. No. 38, 11 April 2022, Tamil Nadu Government Gazette Extraordinary No. 216. Rules cited: r.44(3) (principal employer maintains health conditions for contract workers), r.90 (health records accessible to workers), r.91 (pre-employment and six-monthly examination; Forms XXIII and XXIV; Medical Officer; alternate placement), r.92 (occupational health centres; practitioner qualifications and notice), r.93 (ambulance van). Opened and read.