Under Section 25 and Section 32 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OS

Section 25(1) of the OSH Code, 2020 fixes the maximum daily working hours at 8 hours per day, which is a significant reduction from the earlier regime under the Factories Act, 1948 where the permissible limit was 10.5 hours per day. Under Section 32 of the Code, a worker becomes eligible for paid annual leave (earned leave) if they have worked for 180 or more days in a calendar year a notable reduction from the earlier threshold of 240 days under the Factories Act, 1948, making leave entitlement accessible to more workers. The leave entitlement accrues at the rate of one day for every 20 days worked (for adult workers), one day for every 15 days for adolescent workers, and one day for every 15 days for workers employed in underground mines. A key new feature of the Code is that accumulated leave cannot lapse if a worker's total leave exceeds 30 days, the excess leave must be encashed rather than forfeited. Further, under Section 27, overtime work can now only be assigned with the consent of the worker, and overtime wages are payable at twice the normal wage rate.