Business Laws and Ethics · Factories Act, 1948

Employment of Women, Young Persons and Annual Leave

Updated 10 October 2026 · Fact-checked

This topic covers who may work in a factory and how much paid leave a worker earns. Under the Factories Act, 1948, a worker with 240 days earns one day's leave per 20 days (adult) or 15 days (child). Under the OSH Code, 2020, the threshold is 180 days. Apply the rate, then round fractions.

Understand Employment of Women, Young Persons and Annual Leave

This topic has two parts. The first is protection of vulnerable groups: women, children and young persons in factories. The second is annual leave with wages, which gives a worker paid rest earned through days of work.

Under the Factories Act, 1948, Section 67 says no child who has not completed his fourteenth year can be required or allowed to work in any factory. Section 27 bars any woman or child from working in any part of a factory for pressing cotton where a cotton-opener is at work. The proviso allows them on the side of a partition where the feed-end is situated, if the feed-end room is separated from the delivery end by a partition reaching the roof (or the height the Inspector specifies in writing).

Annual leave works on an earn-then-take basis in the 1948 Act. You must work 240 days or more in a calendar year. You then get leave in the next calendar year, at one day per 20 days worked for an adult and one day per 15 days for a child. Certain days count towards the 240 days but do not earn leave: lay-off days, maternity leave up to 12 weeks, and leave earned in the previous year.

The OSH Code, 2020 (Section 32) changes the model. A worker is entitled to leave in a calendar year if he has worked 180 days or more in that year. The rate is one day per 20 days of work; one day per 15 days for an adolescent worker and for a worker employed below ground in a mine. Leave is encashable on demand at the end of the year. Always check which law the question names.

Key rules to remember

Qualifying days: Factories Act, 1948 (Section 79): Worked 240 days or more in a calendar year → leave in the next calendar year; Lay-off days (by agreement, contract or standing orders), maternity leave up to 12 weeks and leave earned in the prior year count towards 240 days but earn no leave.
Leave rate: Factories Act, 1948: Adult: days worked ÷ 20. Child: days worked ÷ 15; Fraction of half a day or more counts as one full day; less than half a day is dropped.
Part-year joiner: Factories Act, 1948: Entitled if worked two-thirds of the total days in the remainder of the calendar year; Applies to a worker whose service starts other than on 1 January.
Carry-forward: Factories Act, 1948: Maximum 30 days (adult) or 40 days (child); Leave refused despite a valid application can be carried forward without limit.
Qualifying days: OSH Code, 2020 (Section 32): Worked 180 days or more in the calendar year → leave in that year; Lay-off, maternity leave and annual leave availed count towards 180 days but earn no leave.
Leave rate: OSH Code, 2020: Ordinary worker: days worked ÷ 20. Adolescent worker: ÷ 15. Below-ground mine worker: ÷ 15; The text of Section 32 gives no half-day rounding rule, so do not import the 1948 Act rounding rule.
Part-year joiner: OSH Code, 2020: Entitled if worked one-fourth of the total days in the remainder of the calendar year; Compare with two-thirds in the 1948 Act.
Carry-forward and encashment: OSH Code, 2020: Carry forward up to 30 days; encash leave exceeding 30 days; encash on demand at year end; Leave refused on application is carried forward without limit.
Application for leave: Factories Act, 1948: Written notice at least 15 days before (30 days for public utility service); leave taken at most 3 times a year; Illness leave need not meet the notice period.

How to solve Employment of Women, Young Persons and Annual Leave questions

Use this method for any question on women, children, young persons or annual leave.

1Identify which law the question uses: Factories Act, 1948 or OSH Code, 2020. The numbers differ.
2Classify the worker: adult, child or adolescent, or a part-year joiner, or a worker who has left service.
3Check the qualifying condition: 240 days (1948 Act) or 180 days (OSH Code). Add lay-off and maternity days where the law counts them.
4Apply the rate on days actually worked, excluding days that count but earn no leave.
5Apply rounding (half a day or more becomes one day under the 1948 Act).
6Apply the carry-forward cap and any encashment right, then state holidays are excluded from leave.
7Write the conclusion with the rule and section in one line.

Quickest way: Three-check shortcut for leave questions

When to use it: Use for MCQs and short numerical leave questions where time is tight.

Check the law: 240 days means Factories Act; 180 days means OSH Code.
Divide days worked by 20 (or 15 for child or adolescent).
Round half a day or more up (1948 Act) and compare with the 30-day cap (40 for a child).

Common mistakes in Employment of Women, Young Persons and Annual Leave

Using 240 days for OSH Code questions, or 180 for the Factories Act.
Both laws are studied together and the numbers blur.
Fix: Tie each number to its law: 240 with 1948 Act, 180 with OSH Code.
Counting lay-off or maternity days as days that earn leave.
Students read that they count towards the qualifying days and assume they also earn leave.
Fix: They count only towards the threshold. Compute leave on days actually worked.
Saying leave under the 1948 Act is taken in the same year it is earned.
The OSH Code gives leave in the same year, so students mix the two.
Fix: Under Section 79 leave is allowed in the subsequent calendar year.
Mixing the part-year joiner test: two-thirds versus one-fourth.
Both are fractions of the remaining days.
Fix: Two-thirds is the 1948 Act; one-fourth is the OSH Code.
Saying the carry-forward cap applies even to refused leave.
Students remember the 30-day limit and forget the proviso.
Fix: Leave refused despite a valid application carries forward without any limit.
Stating that children aged 14 or above cannot work in a factory.
Confusion over the age line.
Fix: Section 67 bars only a child who has not completed fourteen years.

Worked examples

Example 1

Ramesh, an adult worker in a factory governed by the Factories Act, 1948, worked 250 days in 2026. How many days of leave with wages can he claim in 2027?

Show the solution

He worked 250 days, which is 240 or more, so he qualifies under Section 79(1).
He is an adult, so the rate is one day per 20 days worked.
250 ÷ 20 = 12.5 days.
A fraction of half a day or more is treated as a full day, so 12.5 becomes 13.
The leave is allowed in the subsequent calendar year, 2027.

Answer: Ramesh is entitled to 13 days of leave with wages in 2027.

Example 2

Meena, a worker in an establishment covered by the OSH Code, 2020, worked 200 days in a calendar year and took 10 days of annual leave earned earlier, which are within the year. She has 35 days of unused leave at year end. State her leave earned on 200 days and what she may do with the 35 days.

Show the solution

She worked 200 days, which is 180 or more, so she qualifies under Section 32(1)(i).
Ordinary worker rate: one day per 20 days of work.
200 ÷ 20 = 10 days earned.
Annual leave she availed counts towards the 180 days but earns no leave, so it does not add to the 10 days.
Carry-forward cannot exceed 30 days.
She may carry forward 30 days and encash the 5 days exceeding 30, under clause (ix).

Answer: She earns 10 days of leave; of her 35 unused days she can carry forward 30 and encash the excess 5.

Exam tips

Write both laws' thresholds side by side in a small comparison list in the written answer; examiners reward the contrast.
State the section number only when sure: Section 79 and Section 67 and Section 27 of the 1948 Act; Section 32 of the OSH Code.
In MCQs, watch the age cue: 14 years, child versus adolescent, and the rate 20 versus 15.
In numerical answers, show days worked, rate, rounding and cap as separate lines so step marks are secured.
Read whether the question asks about leave earned or leave allowed, and in which year.

Practice questions from Factories Act, 1948

Employment of Women, Young Persons and Annual Leave: frequently asked questions

How many days must a worker work to get annual leave under the OSH Code, 2020?

Section 32 requires 180 days or more in the calendar year. Leave is then earned at one day per 20 days worked, or one day per 15 days for an adolescent worker and a below-ground mine worker.

What is the minimum age for working in a factory under the Factories Act, 1948?

Section 67 says no child who has not completed his fourteenth year can be required or allowed to work in a factory. A person who has completed fourteen years is outside this bar.

Can annual leave be carried forward?

Yes. Under the 1948 Act, up to 30 days for an adult and 40 for a child can be carried forward. Under the OSH Code the limit is 30 days, and the excess can be encashed. Leave refused on a valid application carries forward without limit in both.

What happens to leave when a worker quits or dies in service?

The worker or his heir or nominee gets wages in lieu of the leave due, even without the full qualifying period. Payment is due before the second working day after discharge, dismissal or quitting, and within two months for superannuation or death.