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ARTICLE · 18 MAY 2026

From Overlap To Order: Recalibrating Registration Obligations Between Central Labour Codes And State Laws

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The overlap between Central and State labour laws could be a source of complexity for employers in India. The constitutional principles suggest that central legislation ordinarily prevails over State laws on matters in the concurrent list. This issue came into focus pursuant to notification of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (“OSH Code”).

IndiaEmployment and HR
Gerald Manoharan
Gerald Manoharan
Sonakshi Das
Sonakshi Das
Mayank Jain
Mayank Jain
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The overlap between Central and State labour laws could be a source of complexity for employers in India. The constitutional principles suggest that central legislation ordinarily prevails over State laws on matters in the concurrent list. This issue came into focus pursuant to notification of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (“OSH Code”). It arose particularly due to the concurrent provisions on establishment registration and intimation requirements under the OSH Code, the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017 (“MSEA”) and the Haryana Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958 (“HSEA”), respectively.

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