Section 81 of the Factories Act 1948 - Payment in Advance in Certain Cases
Section 81 required advance payment of leave wages to qualifying workers before their leave began. The provision is important for historical claims and proceedings, but the Factories Act, 1948 has now been repealed following commencement of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.
Updated: 26 September 2026
Text of former Section 81
Section 81 - Payment in advance in certain cases. A worker who has been allowed leave for not less than four days, in the case of an adult, and five days, in the case of a child, shall, before his leave begins be paid the wages due for the period of the leave allowed.
Meaning of Section 81
The purpose of Section 81 was straightforward: where a worker was granted a sufficiently long period of paid leave, the worker did not have to wait until the normal wage-payment date to receive the wages attributable to that leave period.
- For an adult worker, the rule applied where the leave allowed was for at least four days.
- For a child worker under the former Act, the rule applied where the leave allowed was for at least five days.
- The wages due for the allowed leave period had to be paid before the leave began.
- The provision formed part of Chapter VIII of the Factories Act, 1948 dealing with annual leave with wages.
How Section 81 fitted with Sections 79 and 80
Former Section 79 dealt with entitlement to annual leave with wages. Former Section 80 dealt with the rate of wages payable during the leave period. Section 81 dealt with the timing of payment in specified cases by requiring the leave wages to be paid before commencement of qualifying leave.
| Former provision | Subject |
|---|---|
| Section 79 | Annual leave with wages |
| Section 80 | Wages during leave period |
| Section 81 | Advance payment of wages before qualifying leave began |
| Section 82 | Mode of recovery of unpaid wages |
Current law after 21 November 2025
The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 is now the principal Central legislation consolidating occupational safety, health and working-condition laws covered by it. Section 32 of that Code provides the current statutory framework for annual leave with wages, including eligibility, accrual, carry-forward and encashment rules.
The former Factories Act rule in Section 81 should not be presented as a presently operative standalone requirement. For a current claim, the applicable provisions of the OSH Code, the rules made under it, any relevant State rules, and the repeal and savings provisions should be checked on the facts of the case.
Repeal and savings
Section 143 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 repeals the Factories Act, 1948 and contains savings provisions. In substance, actions taken under the repealed enactments may continue to have effect to the extent provided by the Code, and the General Clauses Act, 1897 applies to the repeal. This is relevant where a dispute, liability, proceeding or action relates to a period before repeal.
Official legal sources
For authoritative reading, refer to the Factories Act, 1948 on India Code, the Factories Act, 1948 PDF published by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 on India Code.
Historical note: Chapter VIII of the Factories Act was substituted by Act 25 of 1954, section 20, with effect from 7 May 1954. This page preserves Section 81 for legal history and reference while identifying the post-repeal position.