Section 32 of Factories Act 1948 - Floors, Stairs and Means of Access

Section 32 of the Factories Act, 1948 prescribed safety requirements for floors, steps, stairs, passages, gangways, access to places of work and protection against falls from height. The provision is important for understanding the historical statutory framework governing physical access and fall prevention in factories.

Current legal status: The Factories Act, 1948 was repealed upon commencement of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 on 21 November 2025. Accordingly, Section 32 is reproduced on this page for historical, reference and legacy-compliance purposes. Current workplace safety obligations should be read under the OSHWC Code, 2020 and the applicable rules, standards and notifications.

What Section 32 required

The provision required factory premises to provide structurally sound and properly maintained walking and access surfaces, to keep them free from hazards likely to cause slipping, and to provide handrails where necessary for safety. It also required safe access to every place where a person was required to work and reasonable protection where work at height created a risk of falling.

Text of Section 32 - Floors, stairs and means of access

In every factory--

(a)

all floors, steps, stairs, passages and gangways shall be of sound construction and properly maintained and shall be kept free from obstructions and substances likely to cause persons to slip, and where it is necessary to ensure safety, steps, stairs, passages and gangways shall be provided with substantial handrails;

(b)

there shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, be provided and maintained safe means of access to every place at which any person is at any time required to work.

(c)

when any person has to work at a height from where he is likely to fall, provision shall be made, so far as is reasonably practicable, by fencing or otherwise, to ensure the safety of the person so working.

Amendment notes: The words concerning keeping specified areas free from obstructions and substances likely to cause slipping were inserted with effect from 26 October 1976. Clause (c) was substituted by Act 20 of 1987 with effect from 1 December 1987.

Meaning and practical scope of the provision

Sound construction and proper maintenance

The requirement covered floors, steps, stairs, passages and gangways used in a factory. The statutory emphasis was not limited to initial construction: these areas also had to be properly maintained so that deterioration did not create avoidable workplace risks.

Obstructions and slip hazards

Access and walking surfaces were required to be kept free from obstructions and substances likely to cause persons to slip. In practical terms, the provision addressed common hazards such as blocked passages and unsafe walking surfaces.

Handrails

Where necessary to ensure safety, substantial handrails had to be provided for steps, stairs, passages and gangways. Whether a handrail was necessary depended on the safety requirements of the particular access route and workplace conditions.

Safe means of access

Clause (b) required, so far as reasonably practicable, safe means of access to every place where a person was required to work. The expression "reasonably practicable" linked the duty to practical workplace conditions while retaining safety as the statutory objective.

Protection while working at height

Clause (c) addressed the risk of a person falling while working at height. Where such a risk existed, fencing or another reasonably practicable protective measure had to be used to ensure the worker's safety.

Current law under the OSHWC Code 2020

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 is the current central statutory framework. It came into force on 21 November 2025. Section 143 provides for repeal of the Factories Act, 1948, subject to the Code's savings provisions.

Under Section 6 of the OSHWC Code, the employer has general duties concerning the safety and health of employees and other persons at the workplace. For factories and specified workplaces, these duties include maintaining places of work in a condition that is safe and without risk to health and providing and maintaining safe means of access to and egress from such places. This carries forward the central safety principle that was reflected in former Section 32 of the Factories Act.

For the official statutory text and current notifications, see the Ministry of Labour and Employment - OSH Code 2020 and India Code - Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.

Key points

Former Section 32 dealt with safe floors, stairs, passages, gangways and access to places of work.
It required removal of obstructions and slip hazards and the use of substantial handrails where necessary.
It required reasonably practicable safeguards against falls when a person worked at height.
The Factories Act, 1948 is no longer the operative central statute after commencement of the OSHWC Code, 2020 on 21 November 2025.
Current compliance should be checked under the OSHWC Code, applicable rules, standards, State provisions and official notifications.

Related provisions

For adjacent safety provisions under the former Factories Act, see Section 31 - Pressure plant, Section 33 - Pits, sumps and openings in floors, and Section 34 - Excessive weights.