A labour inspector is the government officer who checks whether an establishment follows labour law, visiting premises, reading registers and recording violations. The Labour Codes rename the post “Inspector-cum-Facilitator” and add an advisory duty, so the same person is meant to explain the rules before reaching for a prosecution.

What the new title changes

Section 51 of the Code on Wages and section 34 of the OSH Code let the appropriate government appoint Inspector-cum-Facilitators by notification. Under the Wages Code they advise employers and workers on compliance and inspect the establishments assigned to them. Both Codes also allow an inspection scheme: web-based inspections, information called for electronically, and randomised selection of both the establishment and the inspector. The OSH scheme can tie each inspection to the establishment’s registration number, require reports to be uploaded within a set time, and provide for special inspections on notified grounds. Whether the scheme is running in your state depends on that state’s notification, so do not assume a visit will always be randomised.

The softer approach has a written limit. Under section 110 of the OSH Code, the inspector must first give a notice and 30 days to comply, and if you fix the lapse in that window no prosecution is started. There is no second chance after an accident, or for the same violation repeated within three years. The Wages Code has a similar written-direction route, with a longer repeat period. The powers themselves remain wide: entering the workplace, examining records, taking statements, issuing show-cause notices and, in a factory facing imminent danger, ordering most workers out for three days until the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator extends the order.

Getting ready for a visit

Registers are what an inspector asks for first. Keep the register of wages, the muster roll and your statutory compliance register current and retrievable the same day. Treat an advisory notice as a deadline and diarise the 30 days at once.

Frequently asked questions

Can an inspector walk in without notice?

Inspectors keep the power to enter a workplace, and the web-based scheme is about selection and reporting, not advance notice to you. Give the visit an authorised contact and a copy of your registers.

Is the old Factory Inspector the same post?

Under the OSH Code, factory inspection also falls to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator, with the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator above. See factory licence for how factories are registered.

Does the improvement window apply to every offence?

No, it excludes accident cases and repeat violations within the prescribed period.

If a notice arrives, the labour commissioner page explains which office usually sits above the inspector who sent it.