Section 66 of the Factories Act 1948: Employment of Women and Current Law

Section 66 of the Factories Act, 1948 imposed additional restrictions on the working hours and shifts of women in factories. The legal position has now changed substantially because the Factories Act, 1948 was repealed when the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025.

What Section 66 of the Factories Act provided

Before repeal of the Factories Act, Section 66 supplemented the general rules on adult working hours with special restrictions applicable to women working in factories. Its principal rules were as follows:

• No exemption from Section 54, which dealt with daily hours of work for adults, could be granted in respect of a woman.
• As a general central rule, a woman could not be required or allowed to work in a factory except between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
• The State Government could vary those limits by notification, but the central provision did not permit such variation to authorise work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
• A change of shifts for women was restricted to a change after a weekly holiday or another holiday.
• The State Government could make limited rules for women employed in fish-curing or fish-canning factories where extended work was necessary to prevent deterioration of raw material. Such rules could remain in force for no more than three years at a time.

Historical text of Section 66

Meaning of the provisions referred to in Section 66

Section 54 - Daily hours

Section 54 of the repealed Factories Act regulated the maximum daily working hours of adult workers. Section 66(1)(a) prevented an exemption from that provision from being granted in respect of a woman.

State Government power under Section 66

The former Section 66 recognised a State Government power to vary the ordinary time limits and to frame a narrow exemption for specified fish-curing or fish-canning work. State amendments also altered the operation of Section 66 in particular jurisdictions. Those amendments remain relevant when examining employment or proceedings relating to the period during which the Factories Act was in force.

State amendments appearing in the former Section 66 framework

Maharashtra

Maharashtra substituted the proviso to Section 66(1)(b) to permit women workers to be required or allowed to work between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. in a factory where prescribed safety, security measures and safeguards were provided. The amendment was made by Maharashtra Act 40 of 2015, Section 4.

Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh

Adaptation orders for the Union Territories provided that women were entitled to employment in all establishments for all types of work and could, with their consent, be employed before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m., subject to prescribed conditions concerning safety, holidays, working hours and other employer obligations.

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh substituted the proviso to Section 66(1)(b), enabling the State Government, by Gazette notification, to vary the time limits and authorise employment of women between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. while specifying provisions for their safety and facilities. The amendment was made by Uttar Pradesh Act 13 of 2018, Section 5.

Current law from 21 November 2025

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 was brought into force on 21 November 2025. Section 143 of that Code repealed the Factories Act, 1948, subject to the statutory savings provisions. The former Section 66 therefore remains useful for historical periods and saved matters, but it is no longer the central provision governing current employment of women.

Section 43 of the OSH Code - Employment of women

Section 43 establishes the current general rule that women are entitled to be employed in all establishments for all types of work under the Code. Women may also be employed, with their consent, before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m., subject to conditions prescribed by the appropriate Government relating to safety, holidays, working hours and any other required employer safeguards.

Section 44 - Dangerous operations

Section 44 deals with work that the appropriate Government considers dangerous to the health and safety of women. For an establishment, class of establishments, or a hazardous or dangerous process, the Government may require the employer to provide adequate safeguards before women are employed in that operation.

Practical effect for employers and workers

The former blanket-style time restriction in Section 66 should not be carried forward as if it were the present central law. Current compliance turns on the OSH Code, the consent requirement for work before 6 a.m. or beyond 7 p.m., and the conditions prescribed by the appropriate Central or State Government. Employers should therefore check the rules and notifications applicable to the establishment and jurisdiction before fixing night-shift arrangements.

Official legal sources

For current statutory text and commencement information, use the official India Code and Ministry of Labour and Employment materials. Because rules and State-specific conditions may change, the applicable Government notification should be checked before relying on any night-shift arrangement.

Reference note: This page preserves the former Section 66 material for historical and research use while identifying the law that replaced it. For a matter involving an earlier period, pending proceeding, State amendment, saved rule or notification, the relevant date and jurisdiction should be checked separately.