The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act: formula sheet

Key formulas

Extent

Section 1(2): extends to the whole of India

No State or territory is left out.

Commencement

Whole Act except Part III: at once. Part III: on the date notified by the Central Government.

Different dates may be fixed for different States and classes of establishments.

Adolescent

Completed 14 years AND not completed 18 years

Section 2(i), inserted w.e.f. 1-9-2016.

Child

Not completed 14 years, or the age under the RTE Act, 2009, whichever is more

Section 2(ii), substituted w.e.f. 1-9-2016.

Appropriate Government

Central Government: establishment under Central control, railway administration, major port, mine, oilfield. State Government: all other cases.

Remember the list as: Centre, railway, major port, mine, oilfield.

Workshop

Premises where an industrial process is carried on, excluding premises to which section 67 of the Factories Act, 1948 applies

The exclusion avoids overlap with the Factories Act.

General prohibition (Section 3(1))

No child shall be employed or permitted to work in any occupation or process

Applies to every occupation or process. Not limited to hazardous work.

Child (Section 2(ii))

Child = person who has not completed 14 years, or the age under the RTE Act, 2009, whichever is more

A person who has completed 14 but not 18 years is an adolescent under Section 2(i), covered by Section 3A, not Section 3.

Family-help exception (Section 3(2)(a))

Family or family enterprise + not a hazardous occupation or process in the Schedule + after school hours or during vacations

All three conditions must be met together.

Artist exception (Section 3(2)(b))

Artist in audio-visual entertainment or sports activity + not the circus + prescribed conditions and safety measures + no effect on school education

Covers advertisements, films, television serials and similar entertainment or sports activities.

Family (Section 3 Explanation)

Mother, father, brother, sister, father's sister and brother, mother's sister and brother

This list is specific to Section 3. Section 2(v) defines family differently, in relation to an occupier.

Family enterprise (Section 3 Explanation)

Any work, profession, manufacture or business performed by family members with the engagement of other persons

Defined for Section 3 purposes.

Penalty for employing a child (Section 14(1))

Imprisonment 6 months to 2 years, or fine ₹20,000 to ₹50,000, or both

Repeat offence: imprisonment of 1 to 3 years under Section 14(2).

Section 3A prohibition

No adolescent shall be employed or permitted to work in any hazardous occupation or process set forth in the Schedule

Applies to the Schedule list only. Both employing and permitting to work are covered.

Proviso to Section 3A

Central Government may, by notification, specify the nature of non-hazardous work to which an adolescent may be permitted to work

The only exception is through notification. It is for non-hazardous work.

Section 4: amending the Schedule

Central Government + not less than 3 months' notice in Official Gazette → add to, or omit from, the Schedule any hazardous occupation or process

After the notification, the Schedule is deemed amended. Note that Section 4 covers both adding and omitting.

Section 5: Technical Advisory Committee

Chairman + members not exceeding 10, appointed by the Central Government

It advises the Central Government on adding occupations and processes to the Schedule.

Section 6: application of Part III

Part III applies to an establishment where none of the Section 3A occupations or processes is carried on

Links the prohibition to the regulation of working conditions.

Section 20: other laws

The Act is in addition to, and not in derogation of, the Factories Act, 1948, the Plantations Labour Act, 1951 and the Mines Act, 1952

Subject to Section 15. Other protective laws continue to apply.

Section 3A insertion

Inserted by Act 35 of 2016, in force from 1-9-2017

Useful if a question asks when adolescent protection in hazardous work began.

Section 7(2): work period and rest

No period of work > 3 hours; no work for > 3 hours before a rest interval of at least 1 hour

Each stretch of work is limited to three hours. A rest of at least one hour must follow.

Section 7(3): spread-over

Work period + rest interval + waiting time ≤ 6 hours in a day

The six hours include the rest interval and time spent waiting for work.

Section 7(4) and 7(5): night work and overtime

No work between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m.; no overtime

Both are flat prohibitions for an adolescent.

Section 7(1): total hours

Hours as prescribed for the establishment or class of establishments

The number of hours is left to the rules. Section 18(2)(c) lists this as a rule-making matter.

Section 7(6): two establishments

No work in an establishment on a day when already working in another

One establishment per day.

Section 8: weekly holiday

1 whole day per week; day specified in a notice kept permanently in a conspicuous place; change at most once in 3 months

The occupier specifies the day and cannot alter it more than once in three months.

Section 9: notice to Inspector

Written notice within 30 days: (a) name and situation, (b) person in actual management, (c) address for communications, (d) nature of occupation or process

For existing employment, 30 days from commencement. For later employment, 30 days from the date of employment.

Section 11: register

Register shows (a) name and date of birth, (b) hours and periods of work and intervals of rest, (c) nature of work, (d) other prescribed particulars

Kept by the occupier. Available for inspection by an Inspector at all times during working hours or when work is being carried on.

Section 13: health and safety

Appropriate Government may make rules by notification in the Official Gazette

Matters include cleanliness, ventilation, lighting, drinking water, fencing of machinery, dangerous machines, excessive weights, fire precautions and safety of buildings.

Section 10: dispute on age

Inspector refers the question to the prescribed medical authority, if no age certificate from that authority exists

The medical authority decides the age.

Employing a child (section 14(1))

Imprisonment 6 months to 2 years, or fine ₹20,000 to ₹50,000, or both

For contravention of section 3. Minimums apply to both imprisonment and fine.

Employing an adolescent in hazardous work (section 14(1A))

Imprisonment 6 months to 2 years, or fine ₹20,000 to ₹50,000, or both

For contravention of section 3A. The quantum is the same as for a child.

Repeat offence (section 14(2))

Imprisonment 1 year to 3 years

Applies on conviction under section 3 or 3A followed by a like offence.

Parent or guardian

First offence: not liable. Repeat offence: fine up to ₹10,000

Section 14(1B) and 14(2A). The provisos in 14(1) and 14(1A) also limit parental liability.

Other contraventions (section 14(3)(d))

Simple imprisonment up to 1 month, or fine up to ₹10,000, or both

Covers any other provision of the Act or rules, such as section 7.

Cognizable offences (section 14A)

Employer offences under sections 3 and 3A are cognizable

Applies notwithstanding the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Compounding (section 14D)

District Magistrate may compound a first offence under section 14(3) or an offence by a parent or guardian

Not available for an employer's offence under section 14(1) or (1A).

Rehabilitation Fund (section 14B)

Fine from employer + ₹15,000 from Government per child or adolescent

Paid to the child or adolescent with interest, as prescribed.

Court (section 16(3))

Not below Metropolitan Magistrate or Magistrate of the first class

Lower courts cannot try offences under the Act.

Constitution of the Fund (Section 14B(1))

Fund in every district, or for 2 or more districts; credit = fine realised from the employer within that jurisdiction

The appropriate Government must constitute the Fund. Fines from employers of children and adolescents are credited to it.

Government contribution (Section 14B(2))

₹15,000 × number of children or adolescents for whom the fine has been credited

The amount is ₹15,000 per child or adolescent. It is paid by the appropriate Government, not the employer.

Handling of the money (Section 14B(3))

Deposit in banks or invest, as the appropriate Government decides

The Act leaves the mode of deposit or investment to the Government.

Payment to the child (Section 14B(4))

Amount deposited or invested + accrued interest = paid to the child or adolescent in whose favour it is credited

The manner of payment is prescribed by rules under Section 18(2)(f).

Rehabilitation of rescued child (Section 14C)

Rescued child or adolescent employed in contravention of the Act = rehabilitated under the laws for the time being in force

Applies to those employed against the Act and rescued.

Appropriate Government (Section 2(ia) and Explanation to Section 14B)

Central Government for Central establishments, railways, major ports, mines, oilfields; State Government otherwise; Central includes Administrator or Lieutenant Governor of a UT under article 239A

Needed to say who sets up the Fund.

Quick revision

• Child: has not completed 14 years, or the higher age specified in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
• Adolescent: has completed 14 years but not 18 years.
• Section 3(1): no child may be employed or permitted to work in any occupation or process.
• Section 3(2) exceptions: helping family or family enterprise (not hazardous Schedule work) after school hours or in vacations, and working as an artist in audio-visual entertainment or sports, except the circus.
• The artist exception is subject to prescribed conditions and safety measures, and the work must not affect the child's school education.
• Section 3A: no adolescent in hazardous occupations or processes in the Schedule; the Central Government may notify non-hazardous work an adolescent may do.
• Section 9: the occupier sends a written notice to the Inspector within 30 days of employing an adolescent; Section 9(3) exempts family-aided establishments and Government-assisted or recognised schools.
• Section 14(1) and (1A): the penalty for the employer's initial offence is imprisonment of 6 months to 2 years, or fine of ₹20,000 to ₹50,000, or both.
• Section 14(2): a person already convicted under Section 3 or 3A who commits a like offence afterwards is punishable with imprisonment of 1 to 3 years.
• Parents or guardians are not liable for punishment for a first offence (Section 14(1B)). If a parent is convicted and commits a like offence afterwards, the fine may extend to ₹10,000 (Section 14(2A)).
• Parents' provisos: for a child, parents are not punished unless they permit the child to work for commercial purposes in contravention of Section 3; for an adolescent, unless they permit work in contravention of Section 3A.
• Section 14(3)(d): other contraventions mean simple imprisonment up to 1 month, or fine up to ₹10,000, or both.
• Section 14B: district fund; the Government credits ₹15,000 for each child or adolescent for whom the fine is credited.
• Section 14C: a rescued child or adolescent is rehabilitated under the laws in force; Section 17B requires periodic inspection and monitoring.

Common mistakes

• Treating a person who is in the 14th year as an adolescent. Fix: A person who has not completed 14 years is a child, even in the 14th year. Adolescence starts only on completion of 14 years.
• Writing that a child is simply a person below 14. Fix: Add that the age is 14 or the age specified in the RTE Act, 2009, whichever is more.
• Saying the ban applies only to hazardous work. Fix: Remember Section 3 covers any occupation or process for children. Hazardous work matters only inside the family exception and in Section 3A.
• Allowing a child to help in the family business at any time of day. Fix: Always add: after school hours or during vacations, and the enterprise must not be a hazardous one listed in the Schedule.
• Saying Section 3A bans all work by adolescents. Fix: Remember: children, Section 3, almost all work. Adolescents, Section 3A, only Schedule hazardous work.
• Writing that only formal employment is prohibited. Fix: Quote both phrases. An employer who allows an adolescent to work in a hazardous process is also covered.
• Writing that the section 7 limit is a fixed number of hours a day set by the Act itself Fix: Section 7(1) leaves total hours to the prescribed rules. The Act itself fixes the 3-hour period, the 1-hour rest and the 6-hour spread-over.
• Saying rest must come after 6 hours of work Fix: No one may work more than 3 hours before a rest of at least 1 hour. The 6 hours is the total spread including rest and waiting time.
• Saying a parent is always punished along with the employer. Fix: State that parents are not liable on a first offence. On a repeat offence, only a fine up to ₹10,000 applies.
• Giving the repeat-offence punishment as 6 months to 2 years. Fix: Repeat offence is 1 to 3 years. Link it to 'convicted before, like offence again'.

Exam tips

• Learn the two age definitions word for word. Examiners test the words "completed" and "whichever is more".
• For short notes on commencement, always mention that Part III alone depends on notification.
• Use the current title of the Act in every answer and avoid the old one.
• List the appropriate Government categories in a compact line so you do not miss any.
• Cite the section and clause, for example section 2(i), before stating the conclusion.
• Learn the two exceptions as short checklists and write each condition as a separate line. Examiners reward conditions that you apply to the facts.
• Always begin by confirming the age. A wrong status (child or adolescent) sends the whole answer to the wrong section.
• Quote the exact carve-outs: not hazardous (Schedule), after school hours or vacations, except the circus, no effect on school education.