KP Occupational Safety and Health Rules 2026: What Employers Must Do and Your Rights After an Injury

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet approved the Occupational Safety and Health Rules, 2026 on 9 July 2026. Employers must write a safety policy, assess hazards, give free protective equipment, appoint safety representatives at 50 or more workers and a qualified safety officer at 100 or more. An injury that keeps you off work for more than seven days must be reported to a labour inspector within 24 hours.

The rules sit under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2022, which the provincial assembly passed on 31 May 2022. The full text of the 2026 rules was not on the KP Labour Department's rules page when we checked on 6 October 2026. So this explains what the cabinet said the rules require, and what the Act already says in its own words.

It applies to far more than factories. The Act's definition of an establishment covers shops, offices, schools, hospitals, clinics, warehouses, transport and government offices in KP.

The cabinet approved the KP safety rules on 9 July 2026

The 55th meeting of the KP cabinet approved the rules alongside the KP Health Policy 2026. The provincial information department published the decisions the same day. Information Minister Shafi Jan briefed the media on them.

According to that briefing, the KP Occupational Safety and Health Rules, 2026:

• require employers to write and apply a workplace safety and health policy;
• require a structured system to identify, assess and control hazards;
• set a "hierarchy of control", meaning remove the danger first, then engineer it out, and use personal protective equipment (PPE) as the last line;
• make PPE compulsory where it is needed;
• require worker training, first aid, emergency plans and medical checks;
• set up the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Occupational Safety and Health Council.

Approval by cabinet is not the same as being in force. Rules usually take effect once they are notified in the official Gazette. We did not find a Gazette notification, so check with your district labour office before assuming a deadline applies to you.

Employers in KP carry 15 duties under the 2022 Act

Section 3 of the Act lists the employer's duties. Most of them already applied before the 2026 rules, which add the detail on how to meet them.

Two more duties are easy to miss. Section 9 says the employer must issue a written safety policy approved by the Chief Inspector. Section 11 says each worker gets a hygiene card, checked by a doctor every January and July, with the fee paid by the employer.

The Act itself lets workers elect safety representatives at any workplace with more than five workers, under section 10. The 50-worker figure in the cabinet briefing is for the rules. Read together, a small workshop may still owe its workers an elected representative.

Workers have duties too, and a protected right to stop

Section 4 asks every worker to take reasonable care, use the protective equipment provided, not misuse safety gear, escape from danger and report it to a supervisor at once. Workers must also report any work accident to the employer or the Labour Department.

If the danger cannot be controlled, the Labour Department can tell workers to stop work until it is fixed. The employer may move them to other work on the same terms. The Act says their employment "shall not be affected" until the Department resolves the dispute.

Basic workplace facilities like drinking water and toilets come from the Factories Act and its provincial versions. We explained those rules in what your workplace must provide by law.

After an injury, your employer must report it within 24 hours

Section 13 makes the employer record every accident in a register. Three kinds must also be recorded separately: a death, an injury that stops someone working for more than seven days, and anyone knocked unconscious by work. Every accident must be reported to the Inspector within 24 hours.

Here is what to do if you or a co-worker is hurt at work in KP:

1. Get medical help first. Section 14 allows moving things at the scene only to save life, help the injured or prevent serious damage.
2. Report the accident to your supervisor and ask that it is entered in the accident register.
3. Write down the date, time, place, witnesses and what caused it. Take photos if it is safe.
4. Keep every medical slip and receipt. Section 13(7) says medical examinations ordered under the Act are paid by the employer.
5. If the employer refuses to record or report it, complain in writing to the labour inspector for your district.

Compensation and sick pay are a separate claim. They come under social security and workers' compensation laws, not this Act. If you are registered with the KP Employees Social Security Institution, its injury benefits apply. Your EOBI old-age pension record is a different scheme again.

Complaints go to the labour inspector, then the Labour Court

The Act uses the Chief Inspector and Inspectors appointed under the KP Factories Act, 2013. They sit in the Labour Department. An inspector can close a workplace that breaks safety standards, with the Director Labour's approval, but the Labour Court must confirm that order within a week.

Under section 24, any aggrieved person can make a written complaint, not only an inspector. Under section 25, only the Labour Court can hear the case, and the complaint must be made within six months. Section 20 says an inspector must not reveal who complained, except to a court.

One limit matters for public sector staff. Section 25(2) says no prosecution can be brought against an employer that is a government agency. If you cannot afford a lawyer, free legal aid in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is available through the district legal empowerment committees.

Common questions

When did KP approve the Occupational Safety and Health Rules 2026?

The provincial cabinet approved them at its 55th meeting on 9 July 2026.

Are the KP safety rules in force?

We could not confirm it. We found no Gazette notification or published rules text on 6 October 2026.

When does a KP employer need a safety officer?

At 100 or more workers, according to the cabinet briefing. Safety representatives are needed at 50 or more.

Who pays for safety equipment in KP?

The employer. Section 3(1)(k) of the 2022 Act says protective clothing and equipment are provided at the employer's own expense.

How fast must a workplace accident be reported in KP?

Within 24 hours, to the Inspector, under section 13(4) of the 2022 Act.

Can a worker complain directly about unsafe work?

Yes. Section 24 lets any aggrieved person make a written complaint, and section 20 keeps the complainant's name confidential.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked on 6 October 2026. We read the 55th cabinet meeting release of 9 July 2026 on the KP information department website, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Occupational Safety and Health Bill, 2022 as passed, on the Provincial Assembly website. The KP Labour Department rules page did not list the 2026 rules, and its telephone directory showed no entries. This is general information, not legal advice. The notified text of the rules is what applies to your workplace.