From welfare facilities to working conditions: What manufacturing employees are entitled to under new labour code rules

The recently announced new labour code rules from the central government, along with the Model Standing Orders, 2026, has introduced a bunch of changes aimed at improving employee welfare. This is great news for employees as it provides them with clear information regarding their work hours, conditions, role, benefits and more.

According to experts, the new labour law framework establishes enforceable, sector-specific standards on health, safety, welfare facilities, working hours, leave entitlements, wage payment timelines and workplace conditions, all consolidated into one law for those working in the manufacturing sector.

Check out the details below.

What does Model Standing Order, 2026 mean for employees working in the manufacturing sector?

Preetha Soman– Partner, JSA Advocates & Solicitors, says that the notification of the OSH Central Rules and the simultaneous issuance of the Model Standing Orders, 2026 for the manufacturing sector under Section 29(1) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, together marks one of the most consequential shifts in Indian labour law in decades.

Soman says that specifically for manufacturing workers, this translates into something that has been long overdue: a single, consolidated compliance framework replacing a patchwork of legacy legislation including the Factories Act, 1948 and the law on standing orders that had become fragmented, was inconsistently interpreted, and often difficult for workers to navigate.

Soman says that the new framework brings enforceable, sector-specific standards on health, safety, welfare facilities, working hours, leave entitlements, wage payment timelines and workplace conditions under one coherent regime.

According to Soman, “this gives employees working in the manufacturing sector far greater clarity on what they are entitled to and what their employer is legally obligated to provide.”

If properly implemented, this framework has the potential to improve not only baseline safety and welfare compliance in manufacturing, but also provide procedural fairness, transparency in employment conditions, and workers' confidence in the employment relationship, according to Soman.

Also read: Insurer denied claim against workplace accident during lunch break; employee escalated the issue in Delhi HC and won ₹7.86 lakh compensation with 12% interest

Women employees also benefit from new labour code

Moksha Bhat, Managing Partner, AP & Partners, says that the transition from the Model Factories Rules to the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code) is particularly significant for women workers.

Earlier, the Model Factories Rules restricted women from working in factories except between 6 A.M. and 7 P.M. and also barred them from working in certain hazardous or dangerous operations.

In contrast, Bhat says, the OSH Code adopts a more enabling framework by permitting women to be employed in all establishments and for all types of work, including night shifts, subject to their consent and prescribed conditions relating to safety, holidays and working hours.

During the transitional period, before the OSH Code rules became operational, Bhat says the industries and factories faced some uncertainty regarding the interplay between the new Code and the existing provisions under the Factories Act and the Model Factories Rules, particularly because the older framework continued to restrict women’s working hours and participation in certain dangerous operations.

Also read: Salary has to be paid before 7th day of the succeeding month under new labour code; Know what else the new labour code says about salary timeline

New rules are notified by central government

Since the new labour code rules have been notified by the central government and not all state governments, it means the Central Rules apply primarily to establishments where the central government is the appropriate authority. Most states are yet to notify corresponding state-level rules.

Soman points out that means the full protective reach of the new labour law framework will vary by geography till state-level alignment is complete.