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Section 74 of the Factories Act 1948: Hours of Work to Correspond with Notice and Register

Section 74 formed part of Chapter VII of the Factories Act, 1948 dealing with employment of young persons. It required the actual employment of a child in a factory to conform to the displayed notice of periods of work under Section 72 and the entries made in the register of child workers under Section 73.

Current legal status: The Factories Act, 1948 was repealed when the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025. Section 74 is therefore reproduced and explained on this page for historical, reference, legacy-compliance and older-dispute purposes. Current matters should be checked under the OSHWC Code, 2020, the applicable rules, and the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.

Text of Section 74 of the Factories Act 1948

74. Hours of work to correspond with notice under section 72 and register under section 73. - No child shall be employed in any factory otherwise than in accordance with the notice of periods of work of children displayed in the factory and the entries made beforehand against his name in the register of child workers of the factory.

Meaning and purpose of Section 74

Section 74 was a compliance provision. It connected the actual working hours of a child worker with two records required under the same Chapter: the notice of periods of work for children under Section 72 and the register of child workers under Section 73. In practical terms, the factory could not lawfully employ a child at hours inconsistent with those recorded arrangements.

The provision should be read in its historical statutory setting. Under the Factories Act, the term child was defined in Section 2(c) as a person who had not completed the fifteenth year of age. That historical definition should not be confused with the current definition and prohibitions under the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.

Relationship with Sections 72 and 73

Provision Historical function under the Factories Act 1948
Section 72 Required a notice showing the periods during which children could be required or allowed to work.
Section 73 Required the prescribed register of child workers and particulars concerning their work.
Section 74 Required actual employment to correspond with the Section 72 notice and the entries made beforehand in the Section 73 register.

Current law after repeal of the Factories Act 1948

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 was brought into force with effect from 21 November 2025 by Central Government Notification S.O. 5321(E). Section 143 of that Code provides for repeal of the Factories Act, 1948, subject to the statutory savings contained in the Code.

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 were subsequently notified by the Ministry of Labour and Employment through G.S.R. 345(E), dated 8 May 2026. Their application depends on the appropriate government and the establishment concerned, so employers should also check the applicable State rules and notifications where relevant.

Child and adolescent labour: current statutory context

The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 is separately important. Under that Act, a child means a person who has not completed fourteen years of age, or the age specified in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, whichever is more. An adolescent means a person who has completed fourteen years but has not completed eighteen years.

Section 3 of the 1986 Act prohibits employment of children in occupations and processes, subject to the exceptions stated in that section. Section 3A prohibits employment of adolescents in hazardous occupations and processes specified by law. These current provisions should be considered instead of relying on the former Factories Act definition or Section 74 in isolation.

Why Section 74 still matters for legal research

  • It may remain relevant when examining facts, records, inspections, liabilities or proceedings relating to a period when the Factories Act, 1948 was in force.
  • It explains the historical link between displayed work schedules and the statutory register of child workers.
  • Repeal does not mean that earlier acts, liabilities or proceedings should automatically be ignored; the repeal-and-savings provisions and the facts of the particular matter must be examined.
  • For present-day compliance, the OSHWC Code, applicable rules and current child and adolescent labour law should be checked.

Official legal resources

For the authoritative text and current legal position, see the official Government sources below:

Note: This page is an informational legal reference. For a current compliance question, verify the latest Central and applicable State notifications and rules for the establishment concerned.