An adult is a person who has completed the age of 18. An adolescent is a person who has completed the age of 15 but has not completed the age of 18. A child is a person who has not completed the age of 15.
Working
Hours, Holidays & Annual Leave
Adult [Section 2(a)], Adolescent [Section 2(b)] and Child [Section 2(c)]
An adult is a person who has
completed the age of 18. An adolescent is a person who has completed the age of
15 but has not completed the age of 18. A child is a person who has not
completed the age of 15.
It is very important to note that
according to Section 67, a child who has not completed the age of 14 cannot be
employed to work in a factory.
Working Hours
Weekly hours (Section 51): No
adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in a factory for more than 48
hours in a week. At present it is reduced to 40 hours.
Work not done in the factory
under direction of office will not be counted. [Superintendent &
Remembrancer of Legal Affairs, Bengal Vs. J.J. Andrews, (1931) I.L.R. 50 Cal.
519].
Daily Hours (Section 54): No
adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in a factory for more than 9
hours in any day and 40 hours in a week. However, to facilitate the change of
shift, this limit may be exceeded, subject to the previous approval of the
Chief Inspector of Factories.
Where work of the same kind is
carried out by two or more sets of workers working during different periods of
the day, each of such sets is called a “group” or “relay” and each of such
periods is called “shift” [Section 2(r)].
Classification
of Workers :
The manager of the factory shall
classify the workers into such groups, as he may deem fit and proper. This
would depend upon the nature of work, the number of workers in each group,
wherein all the adult workers are not required for such work during the same
period [Section 61
(4)]. For each group, which is not required to work
on a system of shifts, the manager of the factory shall fix the periods during
which the group may be required to work. [Section 61 (5)].
Group
working on a system of shifts :
The manager shall fix the period
during which each relay of the group may be required to work on shifts. This is
done in spite of the reason that there is already a pre-determined schedule
that has been fixed as a system specifying the shift in which the respective
relays have to work [Section 61 (6)].
Register
of Adult Workers (Section 62) :
Registers disclosing the
particulars of adult workers working in the factory shall be maintained by the
manager incorporating the changes from time to time. Registers shall show (a) the
name of each adult worker in the factory, (b) the nature of his work, (c) the
group, if any, in which he is included, (d) the place or spot where his group
works on shifts, the relay to which he is allotted; and (e) such other
particulars as may be prescribed. Work in accordance with Notice (Section 63) :
All adult workers who are required or allowed to work in the factory, shall be
in accordance with the notice periods of work as displayed on the general
notice board and in conformity with the entries made in the register of adult
workers.
It shall be the duty of the
occupier or manager in the factory, not to allow any adult worker beyond the
stipulated period of hours of work. Furthermore, he shall not allow the total
number of workers to exceed the number that has already been notified and
allocated for work. The plea of payment of overtime wages would not justify
employing a worker to do work beyond the usual hours of work.
Holidays
(Sections 52 & 53)
No adult worker shall be required
or allowed to work in a factory, on the first day of the week, which is a
Sunday. This would mean that a worker,
shall have a holiday for every six days of
continuous work. However, the manager may call upon a worker to work on a
Sunday. In such cases, one day holiday must be given either out of the 3 days
preceding the Sunday or out of the 3 days succeeding the Sunday. Before making
this arrangement, a manager shall deliver a notice to the office of the
inspector expressing his intention to that effect.
Furthermore, notice must also be
displayed in the factory, intimating such change. No substitution can however
be made, in such a way that it makes a worker to work for more than l0 days
consecutively. Sunday shall, for the purpose of calculating weekly hours of work,
be included in the preceding week, where any worker works on a Sunday.
Compensatory Holidays :
It is mandatory that a worker
shall be allowed compensatory holidays of equal number to the holidays so lost.
This arises on account of the worker being deprived of the weekly holidays
under Section 52 made by the State Government exempting the factory from such
provisions. The compensatory holidays must be allowed to the workman within 2
months or within a month in which the substitution of such holidays becomes
due. The manner in which compensatory holidays has to be allowed, is prescribed
by the State Government.
Annual Leave With Wages
(Section 79 To 82)
Section 78 to 84 of the Factories
Act deal with annual leave with wages. If any award or agreement including
settlement or contract of service provides for a longer annual leave with wages
under provisions of Section 79 to 82, the worker shall be entitled to such
leave. But there cannot be any award or settlement reducing the annual leave as
provided under the Act.
Tags : Business Environment and Law-Factories Act, 1948
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