40 Power of court of summary jurisdiction to make orders as to dangerous factory.
A court of summary jurisdiction may, on complaint by an inspector, and on being satisfied that any factory or part of a factory is in such a condition that any process or work carried on therein cannot be so carried on without risk of bodily injury, by order prohibit the use thereof for the purpose of that process or work, until such works have been executed as are in the opinion of the court necessary to remove the danger.
(1) There shall be provided and maintained at suitable points conveniently accessible to all persons employed an adequate supply of wholesome drinking water from a public main or from some other source approved in writing by the district council, such approval not to be withheld except on the ground of the un-wholesomeness of the water.
(2) A supply of drinking water which is not laid on shall be contained in suitable vessels, and shall be renewed at least daily, and all practicable steps shall be taken to preserve the water and vessels from contamination; and a drinking water supply (whether laid on or not) shall, in such cases as the inspector for the district may direct, be clearly marked " Drinking Water."
(3) Except where the water is delivered in an upward jet from which the employed persons can conveniently drink, one or more suitable cups or drinking vessels shall be provided at each point of supply with facilities for rinsing them in drinking water.
(1) There shall be provided and maintained for the use of employed persons adequate and suitable facilities for washing which shall include soap and clean towels or other suitable means of cleaning or drying, and the facilities shall be conveniently accessible and shall be kept in a clean and orderly condition.
(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations prescribe, either generally or as respects any class or description of factory or as respects the persons employed in any process, a standard of adequate and suitable washing facilities.
(3) The Secretary of State may by regulations provide for the exemption of factories from any of the requirements of this section in cases where by reason of the difficulty of obtaining an adequate supply of water, or the fact that accommodation is restricted and adequate and suitable washing facilities are otherwise conveniently available, or such other special circumstances as may be specified in the regulations, the application of the requirement would in his opinion be unreasonable.
(4) This section shall come into operation on the first day of July, nineteen hundred and thirty-nine :
Provided that, as respects persons employed in any process in which lead, arsenic or any other poisonous substance is used, or any process prescribed by the Secretary of State, being a process liable to cause dermatitis or any other affection of the skin, this section shall come into operation at the commencement of this Act.
(1) There shall be provided and maintained for the use of employed persons adequate and suitable accommodation for clothing not worn during working hours; and such arrangements as are reasonably practicable or, when a standard is prescribed, such arrangements as are laid down thereby shall be made for drying such clothing.
(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations prescribe, either generally or as respects any class or description of factory, a standard of suitable accommodation for such clothing and of arrangements for drying such clothing.
(3) The Secretary of State may by regulations provide for the exemption of factories from any of the requirements of this section in cases where by reason of such special circumstances as may be specified in the regulations the application of the requirement would in his opinion be unreasonable.
There shall be provided and maintained, for the use of all female workers whose work is done standing, suitable facilities for sitting sufficient to enable them to take advantage of any opportunities for resting which may occur in the course of their employment.
(1) There shall be provided and maintained so as to be readily accessible a first-aid box or cupboard of the prescribed standard, and where more than one hundred and fifty persons are employed an additional box or cupboard for every additional one hundred and fifty persons.
For the purposes of this provision the number of persons employed in a factory shall be taken to be the largest number of persons employed therein at any one time, and any fraction of one hundred and fifty shall be reckoned as one hundred and fifty. Where the persons employed are employed in shifts, the calculation of the number employed shall be according to the largest number at work at any one time.
(2) Nothing except appliances or requisites for first-aid shall be kept in a first-aid box or cupboard.
(3) Each first-aid box or cupboard shall be placed under the charge of a responsible person who shall, in the case of a factory where more than fifty persons are employed, be trained in first-aid treatment, and the person in charge shall always be readily available during working hours. A notice shall be affixed in every workroom stating the name of the person in charge of the first-aid box or cupboard provided, in respect of that room.
(4) If an ambulance room is provided at the factory and such arrangements are made as to ensure the immediate treatment there of all injuries occurring in the factory, the chief inspector may by certificate exempt the factory from the requirements of this section to such extent and. subject to such conditions as he may specify in the certificate.
(1) Where it appears to the Secretary of State that owing to the conditions and circumstances of employment or the nature of the processes carried on, provision requires to be made in relation to any of the matters to which this section applies for securing the welfare of the persons employed or any class of them, he may make special regulations requiring such reasonable steps to be taken in connection therewith as may be specified in the regulations, either in addition to, or in substitution for, or by way of extension or variation of, any of the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act.
(2) This section applies to the matters dealt with in the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act; to arrangements for preparing or heating, and taking, meals ; to the supply of protective clothing; to ambulance and first-aid arrangements; to the supply and use of seats in workrooms; to rest rooms; and to arrangements for the supervision of persons employed.
(3) This section shall not apply to factories in which the only persons employed are members of the same family dwelling there.
(4) Special regulations under this section are in this Act referred to as “welfare regulations ” and any such regulations may—
(a) be made for a particular factory or for factories of any class or description;
(b) be made contingent in respect of particular requirements upon application being made by a specified number or proportion of the employed persons concerned, and prescribe the manner in which the views of the persons employed are to be ascertained;
(c) provide for the employed persons concerned being associated in the management of the arrangements, accommodation or other facilities for which provision is made, in any case where a portion of the cost is contributed by the persons employed; but no contribution shall be required from the persons employed in any factory, except for the purpose of providing additional or special benefits which, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, could not reasonably be required to be provided by the employer alone, and unless two-thirds at least of the employed persons affected in that factory, on their views being ascertained in the prescribed manner, assent.
(5) Welfare regulations may impose duties on owners and, so far as relates to the use of any facilities provided, on employed persons.
(6) The Secretary of State may by regulations extend the matters to which this section applies so as to include other matters affecting the welfare of employed persons or any class of them.
(1) In every factory in which, in connection with any process carried on, there is given off any dust or fume or other impurity of such a character and to such extent as to be likely to be injurious or offensive to the persons employed, or any substantial quantity of dust of any kind, all practicable measures shall be taken to protect the persons employed against inhalation of the dust or fume or other impurity and to prevent its accumulating in any workroom, and in particular, where the nature of the process makes it practicable, exhaust appliances shall be provided and maintained, as near as possible to the point of origin of the dust or fume or other impurity, so as to prevent it entering the air of any workroom.
(2) No stationary internal combustion engine shall be used unless—
(a) provision is made for conducting the exhaust gases from the engine into the open air; and
(b) the engine (except when used for the purpose of being tested) is so partitioned off from any workroom or part of a workroom, in which persons are employed other than persons attending to the engine, as to prevent any injurious fumes from the engine entering the air of the room or part of the room.
(1) Where in any room lead, arsenic or other poisonous substance is so used as to give rise to any dust or fume, a person shall not be permitted to partake of food or drink in that room or to remain in that room during the intervals allowed to him for meals or rest other than intervals allowed in the course of a spell of continuous employment.
(2) Where in any room a process prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State is carried on being a process which gives rise to siliceous dust or asbestos dust, a person shall not be permitted to remain in that room during the intervals allowed to him for meals or rest other than intervals allowed in the course of a spell of continuous employment.
(3) Suitable provision shall be made for enabling the persons employed in any such room as is mentioned in the last two foregoing subsections to take their meals elsewhere in the factory.
(4) Where it appears to the Secretary of State that, by reason of the nature of any process, it is injurious to health or otherwise undesirable to take meals in rooms where that process is carried on or to remain therein during the intervals allowed for meals or rest, he may, if he thinks fit, by regulations extend all or any of the provisions of subsections (1) and (3) of this section to rooms where that process is carried on.
In the case of any such process as may be specified by regulations of the Secretary of State, being a process which involves a special risk of injury to the eyes from particles or fragments thrown off in the course of the process, suitable goggles or effective screens shall, in accordance with any directions given by the regulations, be provided to protect the eyes of the persons employed in the process.
The Secretary of State may make such special regulations as appear to him to be reasonably practicable for extending the provision and use in factories, in which the weaving of cotton or other cloth is carried on, of shuttles which are not capable of being threaded or readily threaded by suction of the mouth, and any such regulations may impose duties on persons employed as well as on occupiers.
51 Prohibition of use of white phosphorus in manufacture of matches.
(1) No person shall use white phosphorus in the manufacture of matches.
(2) For the purposes of this Part of this Act the expression “white phosphorus” means the substance usually known as white or yellow phosphorus.
(1) The occupier of every humid factory shall, on or before the first occasion on which artificial humidity is produced at that factory, give notice thereof in writing to the inspector for the district.
(2) In every humid factory in which regulations made under this Act or under the enactments thereby repealed, with respect to humidity, are not for the time being in force, the provisions of this subsection shall have effect:—
(a) subject to the provisions of this section, there shall be provided and maintained in every room in which artificial humidity is produced, two hygrometers, conforming to such conditions, as regards construction and maintenance, as may be prescribed, and the following requirements with respect thereto shall be complied with :—
(i) one hygrometer shall be fixed in the centre and one at the side of each room, or in such other position as may be directed or sanctioned by an inspector, so as to be plainly visible to the persons employed;
(ii) a copy of the table of humidity set out in the First Schedule to this Act, or such other table as may be substituted therefor by regulations of the Secretary of State, shall be kept hung up near to each hygrometer;
(iii) the occupier or other person authorised for the purpose shall read the hygrometers twice daily, namely, between ten and eleven o'clock in the morning and between three and four o'clock in the afternoon on every day on which any persons are employed in the room in the morning or afternoon as the case may be, and when persons are employed before six o'clock in the morning or after eight o'clock in the evening, at such other times as may be directed by the inspector for the district, and shall enter the readings on a record which shall be provided for each hygrometer in the prescribed form;
(iv) the forms on which the readings of each hygrometer are recorded shall be kept hung up near the hygrometer, and when filled up shall be preserved at the factory for reference. The entries recorded in the form shall be prima facie evidence of the humidity of the atmosphere and temperature in the factory :
(b) there shall be no artificial humidification in any room at any time when the reading of the wet bulb thermometer exceeds seventy-two and a half degrees, or, in the case of a room in which the spinning of cotton or in which the spinning of merino or cashmere by the French or dry process or the spinning or combing of wool by that process is carried on, eighty degrees :
(c) there shall be no artificial humidification in any room at any time when the difference between the readings of the dry and wet bulb thermometers is less than that indicated in the table of humidity :
(d) no water which is liable to cause injury to the health of the persons employed, or to yield effluvia, shall be used for artificial humidification, and for the purpose of this provision any water which absorbs from acid solution of permanganate of potash in four hours at sixty degrees more than half a grain of oxygen per gallon of water, shall be deemed to be liable to cause injury to the health of the persons employed.
(3) The chief inspector may direct in writing, in the case of any factory or any room in a factory, that the provision and maintenance of one hygrometer shall be sufficient instead of two, the hygrometer to be fixed in such position as may be directed by an inspector, and the last foregoing subsection shall have effect accordingly.
(4) Where as respects any room notice has been given in the prescribed manner to the inspector for the district that it is intended that the humidity of the atmosphere should never be greater than will maintain a difference of at least four degrees between the readings of the dry and wet bulb thermometers, the provisions of sub-paragraphs (iii) and (iv) of paragraph (a) of this section shall not apply as respects that room so long as at least that difference is maintained and a copy of the said notice is kept posted in the room.
(1) No work shall be carried on in any underground room (not being an underground room used only for the purpose of storage or for some purpose excepted by order of the Secretary of State) which is certified by the inspector for the district to be unsuitable for the purpose as regards construction, height, light or ventilation, or on any hygienic ground, or on the ground that adequate means of escape in case of fire are not provided:
Provided that, where the inspector certifies as unsuitable any room which is in actual use, he shall suspend the operation of the certificate for such period as he considers reasonable with a view to enabling the occupier to render the room suitable or to obtain other premises.
(2) In the case of any underground room which at the commencement of this Act does not form part of a factory or is not used as a workroom in a factory or is used only for the purpose of storage or for some purpose excepted as aforesaid—
(a) the occupier shall, before the room is used for work for which it may be certified as unsuitable under this section, give notice in the prescribed form and containing the prescribed particulars to the inspector for the district; and
(b) shall not use the room for any such process as may be prescribed, being a process of a hot, wet, or dusty nature, or which is liable to give off any fume, without the consent in writing of the inspector for the district.
(3) If the occupier is aggrieved by any decision of an inspector under this section, he may, within twenty-one days of the date of issue of the certificate or the refusal of the consent, as the case may be, appeal by way of complaint to a court of summary jurisdiction, and, pending the final determination of an appeal against a decision under subsection (1) of this section in the case of a room in actual use, no offence shall be deemed to be committed under that subsection in respect of the room to which the appeal relates, and the decision of the court shall in all cases be binding on the occupier and the inspector.
(4) In this section the expression “underground room ” means any room which or any part of which is so situate that half or more than half the whole height thereof, measured from the floor to the ceiling, is below the surface of the footway of the adjoining street or of the ground adjoining or nearest to the room.
(5) Any certificate issued under this section may be withdrawn by the inspector for the district if such alterations are made as in his opinion to render the room suitable.
(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of the last foregoing section, a basement bakehouse shall not be used as a bakehouse unless it was so used at the date of the passing of this Act and a certificate of suitability had been issued by the district council under an enactment repealed by this Act in respect thereof, and any basement bakehouse which, for a period exceeding twelve months, is not used as a bakehouse shall not be so used again.
(2) It shall be the duty of every district council to carry out, in the year beginning at the date of the commencement of this Act and in every fifth succeeding year after that year, an examination of every basement bakehouse in respect of which a certificate of suitability has been issued and—
(a) if as the result of the examination the council are not satisfied that the bakehouse is suitable for use as such as regards construction, height, light, ventilation, and any hygienic respect, they shall give notice in writing that the certificate shall cease to have effect after the expiration of such period, being not less than one month, as may be specified in the notice, and the basement bakehouse shall not be used as a bakehouse after the expiration of that period; or
(b) if the council are satisfied that the bakehouse is suitable as regards the matters aforesaid, they shall give notice in writing that the certificate shall continue to operate so long as the bakehouse may otherwise lawfully be used, but without prejudice to the power of the council to revoke the certificate as the result of a subsequent examination under this subsection.
(3) Where the district council give notice that a certificate of a basement bakehouse is to cease to have effect, the occupier may, within twenty-one days of the notice, appeal by way of complaint to a court of summary jurisdiction, and the court may, if it is satisfied that the bakehouse is suitable as regards the matters aforesaid, by order direct that the certificate shall continue to operate as if a notice had been given under paragraph (b) of the last foregoing subsection or may by order extend the period at the expiration of which the certificate is to cease to have effect, and pending the final determination of the appeal the certificate shall continue to operate.
(4) For the purpose of this section “basement bakehouse ” means a bakehouse any baking room of which is so situate that the surface of the floor is more than three feet below the surface of the footway of the adjoining street, or of the ground adjoining or nearest to the room; and “baking room” means any room used for baking, or for any process incidental thereto.
(5) The prohibition of the use of basement bakehouses under this section shall be enforced by the district council, and the provisions of Part I of this Act as to the power to act in default of a district council shall apply in the case of any default of the district council under this section.
In every laundry—
(a) effective steps shall he taken by means of a fan or otherwise to regulate the temperature in every ironing room, and to carry away the steam in every washhouse;
(b) all stoves for heating irons shall be so separated from any ironing room or ironing table as to protect the workers from the heat thereof;
(c) no gas iron emitting any noxious fumes shall be used.
(1) A young person shall not be employed to lift, carry or move any load so heavy as to be likely to cause injury to him.
(2) The Secretary of State may make special regulations prescribing the maximum weights which may be lifted, carried or moved by persons employed in factories; and any such regulations may prescribe different weights in different circumstances and may relate either to persons generally or to any class of persons or to persons employed in any class or description of factory or in any process.
57 Prohibition of employment of female young persons where certain processes are carried on.
(1) Where in any part of a factory—
(a) the process of melting, or of blowing glass other than lamp blown glass; or
(b) the process of annealing glass other than plate or sheet glass; or
(c) the evaporating of brine in open pans, or the stoving of salt,
is carried on, a female young person shall not be employed in that part of the factory.
(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations extend this section to any process in which, on account of the special circumstances, it appears to him undesirable that female young persons should be employed, and, if he is satisfied that owing to a change in the circumstances in which any process specified in subsection (1) of this section is carried on the provisions of this section ought not to apply or ought to be relaxed with respect to that process, he may by regulations direct that this section shall, to such extent and subject to such conditions as may be specified in the regulations, cease to apply to that process.
58 Prohibition of employment of women and young persons in certain processes connected with lead manufacture.
A woman or young person shall not be employed in any factory in any of the following operations :—
(a) work at a furnace where the reduction or treatment of zinc or lead ores is carried on :
(b) the manipulation, treatment or reduction of ashes containing lead, the desilverising of lead, or the melting of scrap lead or zinc :
(c) the manufacture of solder or alloys containing more than ten per cent. of lead :
(d) the manufacture of any oxide, carbonate, sulphate, chromate, acetate, nitrate, or silicate of lead:
(e) mixing or pasting in connection with the manufacture or repair of electric accumulators :
(f) the cleaning of workrooms where any of the processes aforesaid are carried on.
59 Provisions as to employment of women and young persons in processes involving use of lead compounds.
(1) A woman or young person shall not be employed in any factory in any process involving the use of lead compounds if the process is such that dust or fume from a lead compound is produced therein, or the persons employed therein are liable to be splashed with any lead compound in the course of their employment, unless the folio whig provisions are complied with as respects all women and young persons employed :—
(a) where dust or fume from a lead compound is produced in the process, provision shall be made for drawing the dust or fume away from the persons employed by means of an efficient exhaust draught so contrived as to operate on the dust or fume as nearly as may be at its point of origin:
(b) the persons employed shall undergo the prescribed medical examination at the prescribed intervals, and the prescribed record shall be kept with respect to their health:
(c) no food, drink or tobacco shall be brought into or consumed in any room in which the process is carried on, and no person shall be allowed to remain in any such room during meal times :
(d) suitable protective clothing in a clean condition shall be provided by the occupier and worn by the persons employed:
(e) such suitable cloak-room, mess-room, and washing accommodation as may be prescribed shall be provided for the use of the persons employed :
(f) the rooms in which the persons are employed, and all tools and apparatus used by them, shall be kept in a clean state.
(2) It shall not be lawful to employ in any process involving the use of lead compounds any woman or young person who has been suspended after medical examination from employment in any such process on the ground that continuance therein would involve special danger to health.
(3) The method of ascertaining whether any compound or mixture is a lead compound within the meaning of this section shall be such as may be prescribed.
(4) In this section “prescribed ” means prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State, and the expression “lead compound ” means any soluble compound of lead which is declared by regulations of the Secretary of State to be a lead compound for the purposes of this section, and includes a mixture containing any such compound, but does not include an alloy containing lead.
60 Power to make special regulations for safety and health.
(1) Where the Secretary of State is satisfied that any manufacture, machinery, plant, process, or description of manual labour, used in factories is of such a nature as to cause risk of bodily injury to persons employed in connection therewith, or any class of those persons, he may, subject to the provisions of this Act, make such special regulations as appear to him to be reasonably practicable and to meet the necessity of the case.
(2) Special regulations so made may, among other things,—
(a) prohibit the employment of, or modify or limit the hours of employment of, all persons or any class of persons in connection with any manufacture, machinery, plant, process, or description of manual labour; or
(b) prohibit, limit, or control the use of any material, or process; or
(c) modify or extend with respect to any class or description of factory any provisions of Part I, Part II or this Part of this Act, being provisions imposing requirements as to health or safety;
and may impose duties on owners, employed persons and other persons, as well as on occupiers.
(3) Special regulations so made may apply to all factories in which the manufacture, machinery, plant, process, or description of manual labour is used or to any specified class or description of such factories, and may provide for the exemption of any specified class or description of factory either absolutely or subject to conditions.
61 Prohibition of importation and sale of articles made with prohibited materials.
(1) It shall not be lawful to import into the United Kingdom matches made with white phosphorus.
(2) Where by any regulations made under this Act the use of any material or process is prohibited, His Majesty may by Order in Council prohibit the importation into the United Kingdom of any articles in the manufacture of which the material or process has been employed, and any such Order in Council may be varied or revoked by a subsequent Order in Council.
(3) Any article the importation of which is prohibited by or under this section shall be deemed to be included amongst the goods enumerated and described in the table of prohibitions and restrictions contained in section forty-two of the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876.
(4) Any person who sells or offers or exposes for sale, or has in his possession for purposes of sale, any article the importation of which is prohibited by or under this section, shall be guilty of an offence and shall, in addition to his liability in respect of the offence, forfeit any such article in his possession, and any article so forfeited shall be destroyed or otherwise dealt with as the court may think fit.
(1) An inspector may at any time after informing the occupier or, if the occupier is not readily available, a foreman or other responsible person in the factory, take for analysis sufficient samples of any material in use or mixed for use in the manufacture of matches or of any substance used or intended to be used in a factory being a substance in respect of which he suspects a contravention of any regulation made under this Part of this Act, or which in his opinion is likely to cause bodily injury to the persons employed.
(2) The occupier or the foreman or other responsible person aforesaid may, at the time when a sample is taken under this section, and on providing the necessary appliances, require the inspector to divide the sample into three parts, to mark and seal or fasten up each part in such manner as its nature permits, and—
(a) to deliver one part to the occupier, or the fore man or other responsible person aforesaid;
(b) to retain one part for future comparison ;
(c) to submit one part to the analyst;
and any analysis under this section shall, if so required, be carried out by a Government department.
(3) A certificate purporting to be a certificate by the Government Chemist as to the result of an analysis of a sample under this section shall in any proceedings under this Act be admissible as evidence of the matters stated therein, but either party may require the person by whom the analysis was made to be called as a witness.
(4) It shall not be lawful for any person, except in so far as is necessary for the purposes of a prosecution for an offence under this Act, to publish or disclose to any person the results of an analysis made under this section, and if any person acts in contravention of this subsection, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.
63 Certificates required before approval of building plans relating to cotton cloth factories.
No plans or sections relating to the erection or conversion of a building proposed to be used as a cotton cloth factory shall be approved by any local authority to whom they have been submitted in pursuance of any Act or of any byelaw made under any Act unless they are accompanied by a certificate in writing, issued by the superintending inspector of factories for the division in which the building is proposed to be erected or converted, certifying that the building to which the plans and sections relate would not, if erected or converted in accordance therewith, contravene or fail to comply with the regulations made under the Factory and Workshop (Cotton Cloth Factories) Act, 1929.
(1) Where any accident occurs in a factory which either—
(a) causes loss of life to a person employed in that factory; or
(b) disables any such person for more than three days from earning full wages at the work at which he was employed;
written notice of the accident, in the prescribed form and accompanied by the prescribed particulars, shall forthwith be sent to the inspector for the district:
Provided that a notice of any accident of which notice is sent in accordance with the requirements of the Explosives Act, 1875, or the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act, 1928, need not be sent in accordance with the requirements of this section.
(2) Where any accident causing disablement is notified under this section, and after notification thereof results in the death of the person disabled, notice in writing of the death shall be sent to the inspector for the district by the occupier of the factory as soon as the death comes to his knowledge.
(3) Where any accident to which this section applies occurs to a person employed and the occupier of the factory is not the actual employer of the person killed or injured, the actual employer shall, if he fails to report the accident to the occupier immediately, be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds.
65 Power to extend to dangerous occurrences provisions as to notice of accidents.
(1) If the Secretary of State considers that, by reason of the risk of serious bodily injury to persons employed, it is expedient that notice should be given under the foregoing section of this Act in every case of any special class of explosion, fire, collapse of buildings, accidents to machinery or plant, or other occurrences in a factory, he may by regulations extend the provisions of that section to any such class of occurrences, whether death or disablement is caused or not.
(2) The Secretary of State may by any such regulations allow the required notice of any occurrence to which the regulations relate, instead of being sent forthwith, to be sent within the time limited by the regulations.
(1) Every medical practitioner attending on or called in to visit a patient whom he believes to be suffering from lead, phosphorus, arsenical or mercurial poisoning, or anthrax, contracted in any factory, shall (unless such a notice has been previously sent) forthwith send addressed to “The Chief Inspector of Factories, Home Office, London,” a notice stating the name and full postal address of the patient and the disease from which, in the opinion of the medical practitioner, the patient is suffering, and the name and address of the factory in which he is or was last employed, and shall be entitled in respect of every notice sent in pursuance of this section to a fee of two shillings and sixpence, to be paid as part of the expenses incurred by the Secretary of State in the execution of this Act.
(2) If, in contravention of the provisions of this section, any medical practitioner fails to send any notice' in accordance with the requirements thereof, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding forty shillings.
(3) Written notice of every case of lead, phosphorus, or arsenical or mercurial poisoning, or anthrax, occurring in a factory shall forthwith be sent by the occupier in the prescribed form and accompanied by the prescribed particulars to the inspector for the district and to the examining surgeon; and. the provisions of this Act with respect to the notification of accidents shall apply to any such case in like manner as to any such accident as is mentioned in those provisions.
(4) The Secretary of State may, as respects all factories or any class or description of factory, by regulations apply the provisions of this section to any disease other than those mentioned in this section.
67 Inquest in case of death by accident or industrial disease.
(1) Where a coroner holds an inquest on the body of any person whose death may have been caused by any accident or disease of which notice is required by this Act to be given, the coroner shall adjourn the inquest unless an inspector or some person on behalf of the Secretary of State is present to watch the proceedings, and shall, at least four days before holding the adjourned inquest, send to the inspector for the district notice in writing of the time and place of holding the adjourned inquest:
Provided that—
(a) the coroner, before the adjournment, may take evidence to identify the body, and may order the interment thereof; and
(b) if the inquest relates to the death of not more than one person, and the coroner has sent to the inspector notice of the time and place of holding the inquest at such time as to reach the inspector not less than twenty-four hours before the time of holding the inquest, it shall not be imperative on him to adjourn the inquest in pursuance of this section if the majority of the jury think it unnecessary so to adjourn.
(2) The following provisions shall have effect with respect to any such inquest as aforesaid :—
(a) no person having a personal interest in or employed in or about or in the management of the factory in or about which the accident or disease occurred or was contracted shall be qualified to serve on the jury empanelled on the inquest; it shall be the duty of the constable or other officer not to summon any person disqualified under this provision, and it shall be the duty of the coroner not to allow any such person to be sworn or to sit on the jury:
(b) the following persons shall, subject to the power of the coroner to disallow any question which in his opinion is not relevant or is otherwise not a proper question, be entitled to examine any witness either in person or by counsel, solicitor or agent, that is to say, an inspector, any relation of the person in respect of whose death the inquest is being held, the occupier of the factory in which the accident or disease occurred or was contracted, any person appointed by the order in writing of the majority of the persons employed in the factory, and any person appointed in writing by any trade union, friendly society or other association of persons to which the deceased at the time of his death belonged or to which any person employed in the factory belongs, or by any association of employers of which the occupier is a member.
(3) Where evidence is given at any such inquest at which an inspector is not present of any neglect as having caused or contributed to the accident or disease, or of any defect in or about the factory appearing to the coroner or jury to require a remedy, the coroner shall send to the inspector for the district notice in writing of the neglect or defect.
68 Power to direct formal investigation of accidents and cases of disease.
(1) The Secretary of State may, where he considers it expedient so to do, direct a formal investigation to be held into any accident occurring or case of disease contracted or suspected to have been contracted in a factory and of its causes and circumstances, and with respect to any such investigation the following provisions shall have effect:—
(a) the Secretary of State may appoint a competent person to hold the investigation, and may appoint any person possessing legal or special knowledge to act as assessor in holding the investigation :
(b) the person or persons so appointed (hereinafter in this section referred to as “the court”) shall hold the investigation in open court in such manner and under such conditions as the court may think most effectual for ascertaining the causes and circumstances of the accident or case of disease, and for enabling the court to make the report in this section mentioned :
(c) the court shall have for the purposes of the investigation all the powers of a court of summary jurisdiction when acting as a court in hearing informations for offences under this Act, and all the powers of an inspector under this Act, and, in addition, power—
(i) to enter and inspect any place or building the entry or inspection whereof appears to the court requisite for the said purposes;
(ii) by summons signed by the court to require the attendance of all such persons as it thinks fit to call before it and examine for the said purposes, and to require answers or returns to such inquiries as it thinks fit to make;
(iii) to require the production of all books, papers, and documents which it considers important for the said purposes;
(iv) to administer an oath and require any person examined to make and sign a declaration of the truth of the statements made by him in his examination :
(d) persons attending as witnesses before the court shall be allowed such expenses as would be allowed to witnesses attending before a court of record; and in case of dispute as to the amount to be allowed, the dispute shall be referred by the court to a master of the Supreme Court, who, on request, signed by the court, shall ascertain and certify the proper amount of the expenses :
(e) the court shall make a report to the Secretary of State stating the causes and circumstances of the accident or case of disease and its circumstances, and adding any observations which the court thinks right to make :
(f) the court may require the expenses incurred in and about an investigation under this section (including the remuneration of any persons appointed to act as assessors) to be paid in whole or part by any person summoned before it who appears to the court to be, by reason of any act or default on his part or on the part of any servant or agent of his, responsible in any degree for the occurrence of the accident or case of disease, but any such expenses not required to be so paid shall be deemed to be part of the expenses of the Secretary of State in the execution of this Act :
(g) any person who without reasonable excuse (proof whereof shall He on him) either fails, after having had the expenses (if any) to which he is entitled tendered to him, to comply with any summons or requisition of the court, or prevents or impedes the court in the execution of its duty, shall be guilty of an offence, and liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds, and, in the case of a failure to comply with a requisition for making any return or producing any document, if the failure in respect of which a person was so convicted is continued after the conviction, he shall (subject to the provisions of section one hundred and thirty-two of this Act) be guilty of a further offence and liable in respect thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds for every day on which the failure was so continued.
(2) The Secretary of State may cause the report of the court to be made public at such time and in such manner as he thinks fit.
69 Duty of examining surgeon to investigate and report in certain cases.
(1) It shall be the duty of the examining surgeon to investigate and report—
(a) upon cases of death or injury caused by exposure in a factory to fumes or other noxious substances, or due to any other special cause specified in instructions of the Secretary of State as requiring investigation; and
(b) upon any case of death or injury which the inspector for the district in pursuance of any general or special instructions of the Secretary of State may refer to him for that purpose; and
(c) upon any case of disease of which he receives notice under this Act.
(2) The examining surgeon, for the purpose of an investigation under this section, shall have the like powers as an inspector, including power to enter any room in a building to which the person killed, injured, or affected has been removed.
70 General conditions as to hours of employment of women and young persons.
Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, the hours worked, the period of employment, and the intervals for meals and rest, for every woman or young person employed in a factory shall conform to the following conditions, namely :—
(a) the total hours worked, exclusive of intervals allowed for meals and rest, shall neither exceed nine in any day nor exceed forty-eight in any week;
(b) the period of employment shall not exceed eleven hours in any day and shall neither begin earlier than seven o'clock in the morning nor end later than six o'clock in the evening in the case of young persons who have not attained the age of sixteen, or in other cases eight o'clock in the evening, or, on Saturday, one o'clock in the afternoon;
(c) a woman or young person shall not be employed continuously for a spell of more than four and a half hours without an interval of at least half an hour for a meal or rest, so, however, that where an interval of not less than ten minutes is allowed in the course of a spell, the spell may be increased to five hours ;
(d) the period of employment and intervals allowed for meals and rest in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section shall be the same for all women and young persons employed in the factory, except that the period of employment may end at an earlier hour for young persons who have not attained the age of sixteen;
(e) no woman or young person shall be employed during any such interval allowed for meals or rest.
71 Reduction of weekly hours of work of young persons under sixteen.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, as from the expiration of a period of one year after the commencement of this Act, the foregoing provision of this Part of this Act limiting the hours worked in any week, exclusive of intervals allowed for meals and rest, shall have effect, in the case of young persons who have not attained the age of sixteen, as if for the reference to forty-eight hours there were substituted a reference to forty-four hours.
(2) If representations are made to the Secretary of State with respect to any class or description of factory—
(a) that the industry carried on in that class or description of factory is, either generally or as respects a particular process, so dependent on the employment of such young persons and so organised that the carrying on of the industry would be seriously prejudiced unless the number of hours worked in a week by such young persons employed in that industry or in that process were permitted to exceed forty-four;
(b) that such increased hours would not be likely to be injurious to the health of the young persons; and
(c) that the work in which the young persons would be employed in that industry or process is particularly suitable for young persons, and that their employment would familiarise them with, and help to train them for employment in, processes in which older persons are employed in the industry, and be likely to lead to their permanent employment in the industry;
the Secretary of State may direct an inquiry to be held, and if, as a result of the inquiry, he is satisfied with respect to all the matters aforesaid, he may make regulations increasing the total hours, exclusive of intervals allowed for meals and rest, that may be worked by such young persons in any week in that class or description of factory, or, as the case may be, in a particular process carried on therein, to such figure, not exceeding forty-eight, as may be specified in the regulations.
Paragraph 5 of the Second Schedule to this Act shall apply, with such adaptations as may be prescribed, to any inquiry held under this subsection.
(3) If, at the expiration of a period of one year after the commencement of this Act, an inquiry under the last foregoing subsection has been directed but has not been held, or the decision of the Secretary of State after any such inquiry has not been given, this section shall not have effect as respects any class or description of factory or any process to which the inquiry relates until such date as may be appointed by order of the Secretary of State and the date shall, in a case where regulations are made as a result of the inquiry, be the date of the coming into operation of those regulations.
(4) The Secretary of State may, as respects factories, or any class or description of factory, in which the number of hours permitted to be worked in any week by young persons who have not attained the age of sixteen is less than forty-eight, by regulations make such modifications of this Part of this Act, and make such provision as to the period of employment of such young persons and the intervals allowed to them for meals and rest, as appear or appears to him to be necessary or expedient for regulating the arrangement of the hours to be worked by such young persons.
(1) The occupier shall fix within the limits allowed by the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act and shall specify in a notice in the prescribed form which shall be posted in the factory—
(a) the period of employment for each day of the week for the women and young persons employed in the factory;
(b) the intervals allowed for meals or rest to such women and young persons;
and, subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act with respect to overtime and to the special exceptions allowed under this Part of this Act, no woman or young person shall be employed otherwise than in accordance with the notice.
(2) Different periods of employment and different intervals may be fixed for different days of the week.
(3) A change in the said periods or intervals shall not be made until the occupier has served on the inspector for the district, and posted in the factory, notice of his intention to make the change, and shall not be made oftener than once in three months, unless for special cause allowed in writing by the inspector.
(4) Where an inspector, by notice in writing, names a public clock, or some other clock open to public view, for the purpose, the period of employment and the intervals allowed for meals or rest in that factory shall be regulated by that clock.
73 Overtime employment of women and young persons over sixteen.
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Part of this Act relating to hours worked and periods of employment, pressure of work in any factory may be dealt with by the overtime employment of women and young persons who have attained the age of sixteen :
Provided that the overtime for the factory shall not exceed in the aggregate one hundred hours in any calendar year or six hours in any week and shall not take place in the factory in more than twenty-five weeks in any calendar year.
(2) The overtime employment of a woman or young person shall be subject to the following conditions :—
(a) the total hours worked by the woman or young person, exclusive of intervals allowed for meals and rest, shall not exceed ten on any day;
(b) the period of employment for the woman or young person shall not exceed twelve hours in any day and shall not extend outside the hours specified in this Part of this Act for the beginning and end of the period of employment, except that in the case of women it may extend to nine o'clock in the evening on weekdays other than Saturday.
(3) Where the occupier of a factory allows to any women or young persons who are to be employed overtime on any day an interval for a meal or rest in addition to any interval fixed for the day by a notice under this Part of this Act, he may employ during that interval any women or young persons who are not to be employed overtime on that day, but save as aforesaid the provisions of this Part of this Act relating to continuous employment and intervals for meals or rest shall apply to overtime employment in like manner as they apply to other employment.
(4) If the Secretary of State is satisfied that overtime employment of young persons, in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section, in any process will prejudicially affect the health of the young persons, or any class of them, he may by regulations either prohibit the overtime employment in that process of those young persons, or that class of them, or make such further restrictions as to the amount of such overtime employment or otherwise as he thinks fit.
(5) If representations are made to the Secretary of State with respect to any class or description of factory that, having regard to the particular circumstances and conditions affecting the industry carried on therein, the overtime employment allowed under this section can be reduced without serious detriment to that industry, the Secretary of State may, after consultation with any such association of occupiers or employed persons and any such joint industrial council, trade board, or similar body as appears to him to be affected, direct an inquiry to be held, and if he is satisfied, as the result of the inquiry, that the overtime employment can be reduced without serious detriment to the industry, he may by regulations make such modifications in the provisions of this section, in their application to the class or description of factory aforesaid, as will secure the reduction of the amount of overtime employment of women and young persons, or of young persons, employed therein.
Paragraph 5 of the Second Schedule to this Act shall apply, with such adaptations as may be prescribed, to any inquiry held under this subsection.
(6) Where the Secretary of State is satisfied that work in any class or description of factory is subject to seasonal or other special pressure, he may by regulations as respects that class or description of factory—
(a) increase for women, or for women employed in any specified process, during any period of such pressure, the hours of work and the period of employment allowed in a day under this section, so, however, that the increase shall only take place in such number of weeks, not exceeding eight in any year, as may be specified in the regulations;
(b) increase the hours of overtime employment allowed for a factory under this section in a calendar year to an aggregate not exceeding one hundred and fifty hours, subject to the condition that young persons shall not be employed during more than one hundred of the hours of overtime employment allowed for the factory.
(7) The Secretary of State may increase the aggregate number of hours of overtime employment allowed for a factory under this section in any week or the number of weeks in any calendar year in which overtime employment can take place—
(a) by regulations as respects any class or description of factory, if he is satisfied that owing to the exigencies of the trade carried on the increase is necessary;
(b) by order as respects any factory, if he is satisfied that the increase is necessary by reason of unforeseen pressure of work due to sudden orders, or by reason of a breakdown of machinery or plant or other unforeseen emergency.
(8) For the purposes of this section, the employment of persons in different parts of a factory or the employment of different sets of persons in different processes may, subject to such conditions as the Secretary of State may by regulations prescribe, be treated, for the purpose of reckoning hours of overtime employment or the number of weeks in which overtime employment can take place, as if it were employment in different factories.
(9) If the Secretary of State is satisfied that the nature of the business carried on in any class or description of factory involves the overtime employment of different persons on different occasions to such an extent that the provisions of this section limiting overtime employment by reference to the factory would, as respects a substantial number of factories of that class or description, be unreasonable or inappropriate, he may by regulations provide that any factory of that class or description may, in lieu of complying with the said provisions, comply with such provisions limiting overtime employment by reference to the individual as may be specified in the regulations, and such provisions shall secure—
(a) that no woman shall be employed overtime in the factory for more than seventy-five hours, and no young person for more than fifty hours, in any calendar year; and
(b) that no woman or young person shall, except as otherwise provided in regulations, be employed overtime in the factory for more than six hours in any week or in more than twenty-five weeks in any calendar year.
(10) For the purposes of this Part of this Act—
(a) the expression “overtime employment” means, in relation to any woman or young person, any period during which that woman or young person is at work in the factory outside the period of employment fixed for the day for that woman or young person by a notice under this Part of this Act;
(b) in calculating hours of overtime employment any fraction of an hour less than half an hour shall be treated as half an hour and any fraction of an hour greater than half an hour shall be treated as an hour; and
(c) in reckoning for any factory, part of a factory, or set of persons, the aggregate hours of overtime employment or the number of weeks in which overtime employment can take place, account shall be taken of every period during which any woman or young person is employed overtime in that factory, part or set.
(1) Before employing any woman or young person in overtime on any day, the occupier of the factory shall send in writing to the inspector for the district and enter in the prescribed register such particulars of the overtime employment as may be prescribed including particulars of any interval for a meal or rest to be allowed under subsection (3) of the last foregoing section.
(2) The occupier of any factory in which women or young persons are employed overtime shall cause a notice containing the prescribed particulars to be kept posted in the factory during such time as may be prescribed.
75 Restriction of employment inside and outside factory on same day.
(1) A woman or young person shall not, during any interval allowed to that woman or young person for a meal or rest, or any time not included in the period of employment fixed by a notice under this Part of this Act, be employed outside the factory, in the business of the factory or in any other business carried on by the occupier, on any day during which the woman or young person is employed in the factory :
Provided that a woman or young person who has attained the age of sixteen may be so employed in a shop outside the period of employment, but any such employment shall be treated for the purposes of this Part of this Act (including the provisions relating to overtime employment) as employment in the factory.
(2) For the purposes of this section, a woman or young person to or for whom any work is given out or who takes out any work to be done by her or him outside the factory, shall be deemed to be employed outside the factory on the day on which the work is so given or taken out.
Subject to the special exceptions allowed under this Part of this Act, a woman or young person shall not during any part of the intervals allowed to that woman or young person for meals or rest be allowed to remain in a room in which a process is then being carried on.
Subject to the special exceptions allowed under this Part of this Act, a woman or young person shall not be employed on Sunday in a factory nor shall a woman or young person employed in any factory on any other day of the week, be employed on Sunday about the business of the factory or in any other business carried on by the occupier.
(1) Subject to the special exceptions allowed under this Part of this Act, the occupier of a factory shall allow in each year to every woman and young person employed in the factory the following whole holidays :—
In England—
the whole of Christmas Day, Good Friday, and every bank holiday, unless the occupier throughout not less than three weeks before any one of those days posts in the factory a notice that he intends to substitute for that day some other weekday specified in the notice as a whole holiday;
In Scotland—
six weekdays which shall, subject as hereinafter provided, be fixed by the occupier and notified by means of a notice posted in the factory throughout not less than three weeks before the holiday:
Provided that in burghs two of the said weekdays, which shall not be less than three months apart, shall be fixed by the town council.
(2) At least half of the said whole holidays shall be allowed, between the fifteenth day of March and the first day of October in every year.
(3) If default is made in complying with the requirements of this section as to the notice to be given of any day substituted or fixed by the occupier as a whole holiday, a whole holiday allowed on that day shall not be deemed to be a whole holiday allowed in compliance with this section.
(4) Subject to the special exceptions allowed under this Part of this Act, a woman or young person shall not be employed in a factory on a whole holiday fixed by or in pursuance of this section for that factory, and a woman or young person employed in any factory shall not be employed on such a whole holiday about the business of the factory or in any other business carried on by the occupier.
79 Exception as to women holding positions of management.
The foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act shall not apply to women holding responsible positions of management who are not ordinarily engaged in manual work.