50 employees, for a creche
Every establishment the maternity chapter reaches, with fifty employees, has a creche, and the mother gets four visits a day.
Source: Code on Social Security, 2020, s.67(1)
Free Word file
Creche and Canteen Compliance Checklist for Indian Employers
Two welfare duties, two Codes and two different headcounts. Find out which you owe, what each must have, and when an allowance can stand in for a creche by agreement.
- Creche at 50 employees, not workers
- Canteen at 100, contract labour counted
- Creche allowance agreement
Instant download. No card needed.
Attendo presents
Creche and Canteen Pack
For Indian employers
6
formats, check to notice
Attendo presents
What's inside
What is inside the pack
Six formats. The creche sits beside your maternity policy.
Format 01
Do these apply to us?
Employees for the creche, workers with contract labour for the canteen, and whether yours is a listed industry.
Formats 02 and 04
Creche and canteen checklists
Every standard in rules 37, 53 and 58, from one kilometre and ten square feet a child to separate washing places.
Format 03
Creche allowance agreement
With the union or a majority of employees: at least ₹500 a month a child, for two children, paid through your payroll.
Formats 05 and 06
Canteen committee and prices
Equal employer and worker seats, one third rotated every two years, and a no profit, no loss price notice.
Guide
Four worked examples
A factory, a hospital, a store and a construction site, each run through both counts, with what is still open.
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Why this matters
Why the creche and canteen get missed
Because each sits in a different Code with a different count, and most employers check neither. The creche runs on employees, the canteen on workers.
The creche is mostly a Social Security Code duty, at 50 employees, and employees means everyone on wages: managers and contract staff included. So a hospital or an office reaches 50 sooner than its workforce suggests.
The canteen is an OSH Code duty, at 100 workers, and contract labourers count. Rule 53 applies it to factories, mines, construction and a few other industries; for an office or store with 100 workers, the position is open.
Contract labour changes both. Where 50 or more are engaged, rule 86 makes the principal employer give contract labour at its premises the canteen and the creche, so the contractor is not the answer.
And these rules are unusual: both Codes give the rule-making to the Central Government itself, so on our reading the canteen and OSH creche rules reach every State, and so do the creche's 50 and one kilometre, unlike standing orders or most other labour rules.
Preview
Three things the pack settles
Each one is where a welfare audit usually finds a gap.
- The count. Employees for the creche, workers with contract labour for the canteen, never the same number.
- The allowance. Allowed only by agreement, at no less than ₹500 a month a child, which the annual return asks about.
- The canteen prices. No profit, no loss, fixed by a committee with equal worker and employer seats.
| Business (an example) | Employees | Workers | Creche, SS | Creche, rule 58 | Canteen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering factory | 80 | 62 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Hospital | 140 | 110 | Yes | Not listed | Open |
| Retail store | 45 | 40 | No | Not listed | No |
| Construction site | 160 | 150 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| The count used | Everyone | With contract | 50+ | More than 50 | 100+ |
Key stats
Three numbers behind both duties
100 workers, for a canteen
Facilities of canteen where one hundred or more workers, including contract labourers, are ordinarily employed.
Source: OSH Code, 2020, s.24(1)(v)₹500 a month a child, at least
The creche allowance where a creche is not provided, by agreement, for two children; women, widowers and single parents.
Source: Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026, rule 37(viii)
Common mistakes
6 Creche and Canteen Mistakes Indian Employers Make
Counting only workers for the creche
The Social Security Code counts employees: managers and contract staff included, apprentices out.
Thinking a creche is only for factories
It reaches a shop or establishment with ten or more employees. An office with 50 employees needs one.
Leaving contract labour out of the canteen count
The 100 includes contract labourers, in the Code and in rule 53.
An allowance without an agreement
The allowance route needs an agreement with the union or council, or a majority of employees.
A creche too far away
Within one kilometre, unless the authority relaxes it for an industrial park.
Running the canteen at a profit
No profit, no loss prices, fixed by the committee and displayed.
Comparison
A welfare policy on paper against this pack
A line in the handbook
Facilities as per law
- One headcount for both
- Contract labour forgotten
- Allowance paid ad hoc
- Canteen run for profit
- State rules assumed
Free either way
This pack
Six formats and a guide
- Employees and workers counted
- Contract labour included
- Allowance by agreement
- Committee-fixed prices
- Central rules, explained
Count twice, then build
Fill Format 01 with both counts, then the checklists. Keep the rest of the Codes in step.
FAQ
Common questions
Is this creche and canteen pack really free? +
Yes, completely. No card and no trial. The form asks for your name, work email, phone and city, then the Word file downloads straight away. The Attendo team may follow up about payroll software, and you are free to say no thanks.
When is a creche mandatory in India? +
Under the Code on Social Security, at 50 or more employees in a factory, mine, plantation, or a shop or establishment with ten or more employees. Employees means everyone on wages, contract staff and managers included. Listed industries with more than 50 workers also meet rule 58 of the OSH rules.
Can we pay a creche allowance instead of running a creche? +
Only by agreement, and as an agreed alternative rather than a release: section 67 still says you shall have a creche. Rule 37 of the Social Security Central rules allows the allowance where you agree it with the negotiating union or council, or a majority of employees: not less than ₹500 a month a child, for two children.
When must an employer provide a canteen? +
Where 100 or more workers, contract labourers included, are ordinarily employed, under section 24 of the OSH Code. Rule 53 applies it to factories, mines, construction, beedi and cigar, motor transport, dock work and plantations; for an office or store the position is open.
Do these Central rules apply in my State? +
On our reading, largely yes. The OSH Code gives the canteen and creche rules to the Central Government, and the Social Security Code does the same for the creche's 50 and its one kilometre. A State may add its own standards. That differs from most labour rules, which split between Central and State.
A
About Attendo
Attendo (formerly Petpooja Payroll) is payroll and attendance software used by 40,000+ businesses across manufacturing, corporate offices, retail, hospitals and education. General guidance, not legal advice. This pack is one of our free welfare checklists, each built from the law rather than from other templates.
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Get the creche and canteen pack
An applicability check, two checklists, an allowance agreement, a canteen committee order and a price notice, in Word. Free.
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