The Factories Act, 1948 regulated working conditions, safety and working hours specifically in factories, manufacturing premises meeting defined worker-count or power-use thresholds, not offices or shops.

What it covered, and its status today

For over 75 years it set the baseline for factory working hours, safety and welfare standards, overtime rules, and conditions for women and young workers. It has now been consolidated into the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, which took central effect 21 November 2025 and lowered the daily overtime threshold from 9 hours to 8. The transition isn’t a single national flip, though: through savings-clause provisions, existing factory licences and each state’s own Factories Rules continue operating until that specific state notifies its own OSH Code rules, so the Act remains the practical day-to-day compliance reference in states still completing that transition through 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Factories Act still legally in force anywhere?

In practice, yes, in states that haven’t yet notified their own OSH Code rules, existing factory compliance continues under the old framework during the transition.

Does this Act apply to offices?

No, it only ever applied to manufacturing premises. Offices and shops fall under the state Shops and Establishments Act instead.

What’s the single biggest change under the OSH Code?

The daily overtime threshold moving from 9 hours to 8, along with a new 144-hour quarterly overtime cap for central-sphere establishments.

See the OSH Code that’s absorbing this Act, and overtime pay for the current threshold in detail.