Factory Act

The Factories Act, 1948 is a social act that was passed to strengthen the position of workers, who are working in factories across the country. This Act is applicable to all factories which have employed 10 or more than workers on any day of the preceding 12 months, engaged in manufacturing process being carried out with the aid of power or twenty or more than twenty workers are employed in manufacturing process being carried out without the aid of power.

Factory Act brief

The main objectives of the Indian Factories Act, 1948 are:

According to the provision of working hours of adults, no adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in a factory for more than 48 hours a week.
For protecting the health of workers, the Act lays down that every factory shall be kept clean and all necessary precautions shall be taken in this regard. Adequate arrangements for drinking water should be made.
In order to provide safety to the workers, the Act provides that the machinery should be fenced, no young person shall work at any dangerous machine.
For the welfare of the workers, the Act provides that in every factory adequate and suitable facilities for washing should be provided and maintained for the use of workers.
Facilities for storing and drying clothing, facilities for sitting, first-aid appliances, shelters, restrooms, and lunchrooms should be there.
The provisions of The Factories Act, 1948, or any rules made under the Act, or any order given in writing under the Act is violated, it is treated as an offense.

Compliances

Under the Factories Act, the compliances to be followed usually are

Registration/Amendment/Renewal/Exemptions/Permission under the Factory Act, 1948, and The Building & Other Construction Workers (R.E &C) Act 1996.
Computerized statutory records and Late Night Women Working Permission.
Factory License, Factory building Plan, and Standing Order Approval.
Issuance of Assessment/NOC under the Building &Other Construction Workers (R.E &C) Act 1996.
Issuance of Registration Certificate under Contract Labour Act and under the BOCW Act.
Maintaining Notice Board Compliances under applicable labour laws.
Monthly Statutory Data Processing, Documentation & Submissions.

The Factories act mandates the following compliances for the entities on which it is applicable:

Section 6 and 7 (Licensing of Factory)

The occupier of the factory is required the previous permission from the State Government or the Chief Inspector in writing for the site on which the factory is to be situated. And to get a license, the occupier must send the notice under section 7 of the act to the Chief Inspector, at least 15 days before he begins to use the premise as a factory containing the following details:

Name and address of the occupier
Name and address of the factory
Name and owner of the premise
Address for communication
Nature of the manufacturing process to be carried in the factory

Chapter III (Health Provisions)

Every factory must be clean and there should be no accumulation of dirt. Floor, windows, passage, benches of workrooms, staircases, etc. should be cleaned on a regular basis.
The factory shall have proper arrangements for the treatment of wastes and effluents.
Factory premises should have adequate ventilation by the circulation of the fresh air. The temperature in the factory doesn’t rise beyond the reasonable conditions of comfort.
If the humidity in any factory is increased artificially, the water used for this purpose should be taken from a public water supply or should be purified before it is used.
No room in any factory shall be overcrowded to the extent that it becomes injurious to the health of the workers employed in the factory.
The working area for the workers and the passage have adequate and sufficient light, natural or artificial or both.
There should be a sufficient supply of drinking water.
Separate Male and female latrine and urinal accommodation should be there in every factory and they should be accessible to the workers all the time while they are present in the factory.

Chapter IV (Safety provisions)

Every moving part of a prime mover and every flywheel should be fenced securely unless they are safe to be used otherwise.
When it becomes necessary to examine any part of the machinery while the machinery is in motion, such a task should be done only be a specially trained worker.
Only a fully instructed person shall be allowed to work on dangerous machines under the supervision of a person who is knowledge and experience of the machine.
An appliance should be provided and maintained to move driving belts to and from fast and loose pulleys.
No self-acting machine shall be kept in such a space over which any person is liable to pass.
Every set, screw, bolt, or key in all machinery driven by power and installed in a factory should be encased effectively to prevent danger.
No person should be allowed to enter any confined space until precautionary measures have been taken to remove such fumes and gases.
The building of the factory should be maintained properly so that it does not cause any injury to the health of the workers.
In a factory, where the number of employers is more than 1000 then the factory is required to appoint a safety officer.

Chapter V (Welfare Provisions)

Separate and adequate facilities to be provided for male and female workers.
The factory should provide a suitable place for keeping the clothes not worn during the working hours and for the drying of wet clothes.
The workers who are obliged to work in a standing position should be given proper suitable sitting arrangements during their rest hours.
First-aid boxes or cupboards containing necessary contents should be provided during all the working hours.
A factory having more than 150 workers should provide adequate and suitable restrooms and lunchrooms, with provision for drinking water.
If the factory employs more than 30 women workers, it should provide a suitable room for the use of children under the age of 6 years of such women.
If a factory has more than 500 employers, such numbers of welfare officers should be employed as may be prescribed.

Chapter VI (Working Hours of Adults)

No worker should be made work for continuously 10 days without any holiday. No worker should work on the first day of the week unless he has or will have a holiday on one of the 3 days immediately before or after the said day.
If a worker is deprived of any of the weekly holidays, he should be allowed to take that holiday in that month or within the two months immediately following that month.
No worker should be allowed to work in a day more than 9 hours a day.
The working hours of an adult worker should be set in a way that he doesn’t work for more than 5 hours without taking an interval for rest of at least half an hour.
If a worker works on a night shift, the hours he has worked for after the midnight should be counted in the previous day.
If any worker works for more than 48 hours in any week, he should be entitled to wages at the rate of twice his ordinary rate of wages.
A worker should not be allowed to work in a factory if he is already doing work in one.

Chapter VII (Employment for young persons)

No child who is less than 14 years of age be allowed to work in any factory.
An adolescent should not be allowed to work in a factory unless a certificate of fitness has been granted to him under section 69 of the Act.
A certifying surgeon can issue a certificate of fitness to an adolescent only when the manager of the factory and the guardian of the adolescent sign a document.
No child should be allowed to work more than four and a half-day in a day and should not be allowed to work at night at all.
Every factory should display and maintain a notice every day for the periods during which children will be allowed to work.
A register should be maintained in the factory mentioning the name of the child worker, the nature of his work, the group in which he is included, the shift of his group, and his certificate of fitness.
No child should be employed in the factory otherwise in accordance with the notice of periods of work for children displayed in the factory.
An adolescent who has obtained a certificate of fitness can work in the factory only during the time period of 6 A.M.- 7 P.M.

Chapter VII (Annual Leave with Wages)

Every worker who has worked for 240 days or more in a factory in a year should be allowed to have leaves with wages in the subsequent year.
A worker who has taken leave under section 79 or 80 of the act, shall be entitled to wages at a rate equal to the daily average of his total earnings for the day during the month immediately preceding his leave.
A worker who has been allowed leave for less than four days, in the case of an adult, and five days, in the case of a child, should, before his leave begins, be paid the wages due for the period of the leave allowed.
In addition, the occupier a Health Register in respect of persons employed in occupations declared to be dangerous operation under section 87 of the Act.
- Maintain a Bound Inspection Book.
- Annual return to be filed on time.
- Report form Health Officer.

Penalties under the Factory Act, 1948

Section 92. General penalty for offences

Save as is otherwise expressly provided in this Act and subject to the provisions of section 93, if in, or in respect of, any factory there is any contravention of the provisions of this Act or of any rules made under or of any order in writing given under, the occupier or manager of the factory shall each be guilty of an offense and punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees or with both, and if the contravention is continued after conviction, with a further fine which may extend to one thousand rupees for each day on which the contravention is so continued.

Provided that where a contravention of any of the provisions of Chapter IV or any rule made there under or under section 87 has resulted in an accident causing death or serious bodily injury, the fine shall not be less than twenty-five thousand rupees in the case of an accident causing death, and five thousand rupees in the case of an accident causing serious bodily injury.

Section 94. Enhanced penalty after previous conviction.

(1) If any person who has been convicted of any offence punishable under section 92 is again found guilty of an offence involving a contravention of the same provision, he shall be punishable on a subsequent conviction with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine, which shall not be less than ten thousand rupees but which may extend to two lakh rupees or with both.

(2) For the purpose of sub-section (1), no cognizance shall be taken of any conviction made more than two years before the commission of the offence for which the person is subsequently being convicted.

Section 95. Penalty for obstructing inspector. –

Whoever wilfully obstructs an Inspector in the exercise of any power conferred on him by or under this Act, or fails to produce on demand by an Inspector any register or other documents kept in his custody in pursuance of this Act or of any rules made there under, or conceals or prevents any workers, in a factory from appearing before, or being examined by, an inspector, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees or with both.

Section 96A. Penalty for contravention of the provisions of sections 41B, 41C and 41H.-

(1) Whoever fails to comply with or contravenes any of the provisions of sections 41B, 41C or 41H or the rules made there under, shall, in respect of such failure or contravention, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees, and in case the failure or contravention continues, with additional fine which may extend to five thousand rupees for every day during which such failure or contravention continues, after the conviction for the first such failure or contravention.

(2) If the failure or contravention referred to in sub-section (1) continues beyond a period of one year after the date of conviction, the offender shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years.

Section 97. offences by workers. –

(1) Subject to the provisions of section 111, if any worker employed in a factory contravenes any provision of this Act or any rules or orders made thereunder, imposing any duty or liability on workers, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees.

(2) Where a worker is convicted of an offence punishable under sub-section (1) the occupier or manager of the factory shall not be deemed to be guilty of an offence in respect of that contravention unless it is proved that he failed to take all reasonable measures for its prevention.

Section 101. Exemption of occupier or manager from liability in certain cases.-

Where the occupier or manager of a factory is charged with an offence punishable under this Act he shall be entitled, upon complaint duly made by him and on giving to the prosecutor not less than three clear days’ notice in writing of his intention so to do, to have any other person whom he charges as the actual offender brought before the Court at the time appointed for hearing the charge; and if, after the commission of the offence has been proved, the occupier or manager of the factory, as the case may be, proves to the satisfaction of the Court

Then, that other person shall be convicted of the offence and shall be liable to the like punishment as if he was the occupier or manager of the factory, and the occupier or manager, as the case may be, shall be, discharged from any liability under this Act in respect of such offence:

Provided that in seeking to prove as aforesaid, the occupier or manager of the factory, as the case may be, may be examined on oath, and his evidence and that of any witness whom he calls in his support, shall be subject to cross-examination on behalf of the person he charges as the actual offender and by the prosecutor:

Changes made in Factories Act, 1948 in 2016

The Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016

The Factories Act 1948 was an Act of Parliament passed in the United Kingdom by the Labour government of Clement Attlee. It was passed with the intention of safeguarding the health of workers and adopted by India. The Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced in Lok Sabha on August 10, 2016, by the Minister for Labour and Employment, Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya. The Bill amends the Factories Act, 1948.

Key Amendments

# (Section 2) Power to make rules on various matters: The Act permits the state government to prescribe rules on a range of matters, including double employment, details of adult workers to be included in the factory’s register, conditions related to exemptions to certain workers, etc.

Powers to make rules for exemptions to workers: Under the Act, the state government may make rules to (i) define persons who hold management or confidential positions; and (ii) exempts certain types of adult workers from fixed working hours, periods of rest, etc. The Bill gives such rule-making powers to both, the central and state governments. Under the Act, such rules will not apply for more than five years. The Bill modifies this provision to state that the five-year limitation will not apply to rules made after the enactment of this Bill.

# (Section 64) Overtime hours of work in a quarter: The Act permits the state government to make rules related to the regulation of overtime hours of work. However, the total number of hours of overtime must not exceed 50 hours for a quarter. The Bill raises this limit to 100 hours. Rules in this regard may be prescribed by the central government as well.

# (Section 65) Overtime hours if the factory has a higher workload: The Act enables the state government to permit adult workers in a factory to work overtime hours if the factory has an exceptional workload. Further, the total number of hours of overtime work in a quarter must not exceed 75. The Bill permits the central or state government to raise this limit to 115

Overtime in the public interest: The Bill introduces a provision that permits the central or state government to extend the 115-hour limit to 125 hours. It may do so because of (i) excessive workload in the factory and (ii) public interest