Special Provisions — Women and Young Persons — Labour Law II Notes

Special Provisions — Women and Young Persons

A 13-year-old, Somu, is put to work through the night in a factory, more than six hours at a stretch, with no weekly day off. Every one of those facts breaks a protective rule — and the very first one is fatal to the employer: a child that age cannot lawfully be employed at all.

Protection of women, and of children/adolescents

Employment of women (Sections 43–44). Women are entitled to be employed in all establishments for all types of work (Section 43), including night work and hazardous work — but only with the employer providing the adequate safeguards (consent, safety, transport, protection from harassment) prescribed under Section 44 of the Code. The old blanket ban on women’s night work is replaced by equality with safeguards.

Children and adolescents.

A child (under 14) cannot be employed in any establishment — an absolute prohibition (the Code adopts the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act’s meaning of “adolescent” and reinforces the ban on child labour; Article 24 forbids a child under 14 in a factory/mine/hazardous work).
An adolescent (14–18) may be employed only subject to conditions — a certificate of fitness, restricted hours, no night work (broadly between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m.), a weekly holiday, and no work on dangerous machines unless trained and supervised.

Special provisions also cover contract labour, audio-visual workers and factories (dealt with in Unit V and above).

Section 43, OSH Code 2020: “Women shall be entitled to be employed in all establishments for all types of work under this Code and they may also be employed, with their consent … before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m. subject to such conditions relating to safety, holidays and working hours … as may be prescribed.”

In Simple Terms: Women may do any work, including nights, with safeguards. A child under 14 cannot be employed at all. An adolescent (14–18) may work only with a fitness certificate, limited hours, no night work, a weekly holiday and no dangerous machines.

🧩 WORKED EXAMPLE — Somu, aged 13

Facts. Somu, aged 13, is worked more than six hours without intervals, between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., and denied a weekly holiday.

Rule. A child under 14 cannot be employed at all; even for an adolescent, night work, excessive hours without intervals, and denial of a weekly holiday are prohibited.

Apply. Somu is 13 — his employment is itself illegal. Independently, the night hours (8 p.m.–6 a.m.), the >6-hour stretch without rest and the denied weekly holiday each breach the protective conditions.

Conclusion. The employer is liable — first and foremost for employing a child under 14, and additionally for the hours/night-work/holiday breaches; he is open to penalty.

flowchart TD
    ROOT["Special protection"]:::root
    ROOT --> WOMEN["Women (ss.43-44): all work incl. night, WITH safeguards"]:::leaf
    ROOT --> CHILD["Child <14: employment PROHIBITED (Art 24)"]:::no
    ROOT --> ADO["Adolescent 14-18: fitness cert, limited hours, no night, weekly holiday, no dangerous machines"]:::leaf
    classDef root fill:#FFF8DC,stroke:#000,stroke-width:1px,color:#000;
    classDef leaf fill:#E6F3FF,stroke:#1E3A8A,color:#000;
    classDef no fill:#FBE3E3,stroke:#a11,color:#000;
    linkStyle default stroke:#888,stroke-width:1px;

Case Laws

M.C. Mehta v State of Tamil Nadu (1996) — strong directions against child labour; children below 14 must not work in hazardous employment, with rehabilitation and a welfare fund.
People’s Union for Democratic Rights v Union of India (1982) — employing children in construction violates Article 24.

📄 Full notes + Question Bank (₹199) — every topic in depth, model answers to all past KSLU questions, in one printable PDF. Get the bundle · 10 Solved Problems · All Labour Law II topics