Factories Act 1961 in Northern Ireland

If an employment medical adviser is of opinion that there ought, on grounds mentioned in subsection (2) below, to be a medical examination of a person or persons employed in a factory, he may serve on the occupier of the factory a written notice stating that he is of that opinion and requiring that the occupier shall permit a medical examination in accordance with this section of the person or persons in question, and the examination shall be permitted accordingly.

The grounds on which a medical examination of a person may be required by an employment medical adviser’s notice under subsection (1) above are that (in the adviser’s opinion) the person’s health has been or is being injured, or it is possible that it has been, is being or will be injured, by reason of the nature of the work he is or has been called upon to do or may (to the adviser’s knowledge) be called upon to do; and a notice under that subsection may be given with respect to one or more named persons or to persons of a class or description specified in the notice.

A notice under subsection (1) above shall name the place where the medical examination is to be conducted and, if it is a place other than the factory, the day on which and the time at which it is to be begun; and—

A medical examination conducted in pursuance of a notice under subsection (1) above shall be begun within seven days after the day on which the notice is served, and shall be conducted by, or in accordance with arrangements made by, an employment medical adviser, and take place at a reasonable time during working hours.

An employment medical adviser may, by written notice served on the occupier of a factory, cancel a notice served on the occupier under subsection (1) above; and a notice which relates to two or more named persons may be cancelled either in relation to them all or in relation to any one or more of them.

In this section, “medical examination” includes pathological, physiological and radiological tests and similar investigations.

Where it appears to the Minister—

he may make special regulations requiring such reasonable arrangements to be made for the medical supervision (not including medical treatment other than first-aid treatment and medical treatment of a preventive character) of the persons, or any class of the persons, employed at that factory or class or description of factory as may be specified in the regulations.

Where the Minister proposes to exercise his powers under this section in relation to a particular factory and for a limited period, he may exercise those powers by order instead of by special regulations, and any such order shall, subject to subsection (3) of this section, cease to have effect at the expiration of such period not exceeding six months from the date when it comes into operation as may be specified in the order.

The Minister may by subsequent order or orders extend the said period, but if the occupier of the factory by notice in writing to him objects to any such extension, the original order shall cease to have effect as from one month after the service of the notice, without prejudice to the making of special regulations in relation to the factory.

Where, in connection with any grinding, sieving, or other process giving rise to dust, there may escape dust of such a character and to such an extent as to be liable to explode on ignition, all practicable steps shall be taken to prevent such an explosion by enclosure of the plant used in the process, and by removal or prevention of accumulation of any dust that may escape in spite of the enclosure, and by exclusion or effective enclosure of possible sources of ignition.

Where there is present in any plant used in any such process as aforesaid dust of such a character and to such an extent as to be liable to explode on ignition, then, unless the plant is so constructed as to withstand the pressure likely to be produced by any such explosion, all practicable steps shall be taken to restrict the spread and effects of such an explosion by the provision, in connection with the plant, of chokes, baffles and vents, or other equally effective appliances.

Where any part of a plant contains any explosive or inflammable gas or vapour under pressure greater than atmospheric pressure, that part shall not be opened, except in accordance with the following provisions:—

and if any such fastening has been loosened or removed, no explosive or inflammable gas or vapour shall be allowed to enter the pipe or part of the plant until the fastening has been secured or, as the case may be, securely replaced; but nothing in this subsection applies to a plant installed in the open air.

No plant, tank or vessel which contains or has contained any explosive or inflammable substance shall be subjected—

until all practicable steps have been taken to remove the substance and any fumes arising from it, or to render them non-explosive or non-inflammable; and if any plant, tank or vessel has been subjected to any such operation, no explosive or inflammable substance shall be allowed to enter the plant, tank or vessel until the metal has cooled sufficiently to prevent any risk of igniting the substance.

The chief inspector may by certificate grant, subject to any conditions specified in the certificate, exemption from compliance with any of the requirements of subsections (3) and (4) of this section in any case where he is satisfied that compliance with the requirement is unnecessary or impracticable.

Subject to subsection (3) of this section, every steam boiler, whether separate or one of a range,—

The devices referred to in subsection (1) of this section are—

Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section shall not apply with respect to economisers, and paragraphs (c), (d) and (e) of that subsection and paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply with respect to either economisers or superheaters

For the purposes of the foregoing provisions of this section, a lever-valve shall not be deemed a suitable safety valve unless the weight is secured on the lever in the correct position.

Every part of every steam boiler shall be of good construction, sound material and adequate strength, and free from patent defect.

Every steam boiler and all its fittings and attachments shall be properly maintained.

A steam boiler shall not be used in any factory unless it has been examined, together with its fittings and attachments, in such manner as the Minister may by F2regulations prescribe and no greater period than may be so prescribed has elapsed since the examination, but the regulations may provide for extending in special circumstances the time during which a boiler which has been examined as required by the regulations may be used in a factory without being again so examined.

The Minister may by special regulations prescribe the manner in which a steam boiler, together with its fittings and attachments, is to be examined after any such repairs as may be specified in the regulations; and where such repairs are carried out to a steam boiler after it has been examined under subsection (2) of this section, then, notwithstanding that the period prescribed under that subsection has not expired, the steam boiler shall not be used in any factory until the examination prescribed under this subsection has been made.

A report of the result of every examination under this section in the prescribed form and containing the prescribed particulars (including the maximum permissible working pressure) shall as soon as practicable and in any case within twenty-eight days, or such other period as the Minister may by special regulations prescribe, after the completion of the examination, be entered in or attached to the general register, and the report shall be signed by the person making the examination, and if that person is an inspector of a boiler-inspecting company or association, countersigned by the chief engineer of the company or association or by such other responsible officer of the company or association as may be authorised in writing in that behalf by the chief engineer.

No new steam boiler shall be taken into use unless there has been obtained from the manufacturer of the boiler, or from a boiler-inspecting company or association, a certificate specifying its maximum permissible working pressure, and stating the nature of the tests to which the boiler and fittings have been submitted, and the certificate is kept available for inspection, and the boiler is so marked as to enable it to be identified as the boiler to which the certificate relates.

Where the report of any examination under this section specifies conditions for securing the safe working of a steam boiler, the boiler shall not be used except in accordance with those conditions.

The person making the report of an examination under this section or, in the case of a boiler-inspecting company or association, the chief engineer thereof, shall within twenty-eight days, or such other period as the Minister may by special regulations prescribe, after the completion of the examination send to the inspector for the district a copy of the report in every case where the maximum permissible working pressure is reduced, or the examination shows that the boiler cannot continue to be used with safety unless certain repairs are carried out immediately or within a specified time.

If the person employed to make any such examination fails to make a thorough examination as required by this section or makes a report which is false or deficient in any material particular, or if the chief engineer of any boiler-inspecting company or association permits any such report to be made, he shall be guilty of an offence . . . F3, and if any such person or chief engineer fails to send to the inspector for the district a copy of any report as required by subsection (7) of this section, he shall be guilty of an offence.

If the chief inspector is not satisfied as to the competency of the person employed to make the examination or as to the thoroughness of the examination, he may require the boiler to be re-examined by a person nominated by him, and the occupier shall give the necessary facilities for the re-examination.

If as a result of the re-examination it appears that the report of the examination was inadequate or inaccurate in any material particular, the cost of the re-examination shall be recoverable from the occupier, and the report of the re-examination purporting to be signed by the person making it shall be admissible in evidence of the facts stated therein.

Any sum recoverable under subsection (10) of this section shall, in England and Wales, be recoverable summarily as a civil debt.

The provisions of this Act shall apply to any premises in which persons are regularly employed in or in connection with the processes or operations of generating, transforming or converting, or of switching, controlling or otherwise regulating, electrical energy for supply by way of trade, or for supply for the purposes of any transport undertaking or other industrial or commercial undertaking or of any public building or public institution, or for supply to streets or other public places, as if the premises were a factory and the employer of any person employed in the premises in or in connection with any such process or operation were the occupier of a factory.

Where any such process or operation is carried on or performed for such a supply as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section but in other premises than those mentioned therein, then, if the premises are large enough to admit the entrance of a person after the machinery or plant therein is in position, the following provisions of this Act shall apply to the premises as if they were a factory and the employer of any person employed therein in or in connection with any such process or operation were the occupier of the factory, that is to say,—

The Minister may by F2regulations apply any of the provisions mentioned in subsection (2) of this section to any machinery or plant used—

as if the machinery or plant were machinery or plant in a factory, and the employer of any person employed in connection with any such use of the machinery or plant were the occupier of a factory.

Subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall not, except in so far as the Minister may by regulations direct, apply to any premises where the said processes or operations are only carried on or performed for the immediate purpose of working an electric motor or working any apparatus which consumes electrical energy for lighting, heating, transmitting or receiving messages or communications, or other purposes.

Where, in any premises forming part of an institution carried on for charitable or reformatory purposes, any manual labour is exercised in or incidental to the making, altering, repairing, ornamenting, finishing, washing, cleaning or adapting for sale, of articles not intended for the use of the institution, but the premises do not constitute a factory, the provisions of this Act shall nevertheless apply to the premises, . . . F1

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In the event of any contravention in or in connection with or in relation to a factory of the provisions of this Act, or of any regulation or order made thereunder, the occupier, or (if the contravention is one in respect of which the owner is by or under this Act made responsible) the owner, of the factory shall, subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Act, be guilty of an offence.

In the event . . . F1 of a contravention by any person of any regulation or order made under this Act which expressly imposes any duty upon him, that person shall be guilty of an offence and the occupier or owner, as the case may be, shall not be guilty of an offence, by reason only of . . . the contravention of the provision imposing the said duty, as the case may be, unless it is proved that he failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the contravention; but this subsection shall not be taken as affecting any liability of the occupier or owner in respect of the same matters by virtue of some provision other than the provisions or provision aforesaid.

If the occupier of a factory avails himself of any exception allowed by or under this Act and fails to comply with any of the conditions attached to the exception, he shall be deemed to have contravened the provisions of this Act.

If any persons are employed in a factory otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this Act or of any regulation or order made thereunder, there shall be deemed to be a separate contravention in respect of each person so employed.

Where an offence under this Act committed by a company is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to have been facilitated by any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, he, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

Subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Act, any person guilty of an offence under this Act for which no express penalty is provided by this Act shall be liable—

and if the contravention in respect of which he was convicted is continued after the conviction he shall (subject to the provisions of section one hundred and fifty-seven of this Act) be guilty of a further offence and liable in respect thereof to a fine not exceeding fifteen pounds for each day on which the contravention is so continued.

In relation to a contravention which was likely to cause the death of, or bodily injury to, any person, subsection (1) of this section shall have effect as if for the references in paragraphs (a) and (b) tofifteen pounds and sixty pounds there were respectively substituted references to level 3 on the standard scale and level 4 on the standard scale.

Where an act or default for which any person is liable under this Act is in fact the act or default of some other person, that other person shall be guilty of an offence and liable, subject to subsection (2) of this section, to the like fine as if he were the first-mentioned person.

The fine that may be imposed under subsection (1) of this section on an employed person where the offence is one for which no express penalty is provided by this Act shall be that specified in section one hundred and fifty-six of this Act in relation to employed persons, notwithstanding that the person primarily liable is not an employed person.

In England and Wales, a person charged with an offence under this Act shall be entitled, upon information duly laid by him and on giving to the prosecution not less than three day’s notice in writing of his intention, to have any other person whom he charges as the actual offender brought before the court at the time appointed for the hearing of the charge; and if, after the commission of the offence has been proved, the first-mentioned person proves to the satisfaction of the court—

that other person shall be summarily convicted of the offence, and the first-mentioned person shall not be guilty of the offence, and the person so convicted shall, in the discretion of the court, be also liable to pay any costs incidental to the proceedings.

The prosecution shall have the right in any such case to cross-examine the first-mentioned person if he gives evidence and any witnesses called by him in support of his charge, and to call rebutting evidence.

In Scotland, a person charged with an offence under this Act who proves to the satisfaction of the court that he has used all due diligence to enforce the execution of this Act and of any relevant order or regulation made thereunder and that the offence was due to the act or default of some other person who committed it without his consent, connivance or wilful default, shall be acquitted of the offence.

When it is made to appear to the satisfaction of an inspector at the time of discovering an offence—

the inspector shall proceed against the person whom he believes to be the actual offender without first proceeding against the first-mentioned person.

All offences under this Act shall be triable summarily.

In any proceedings under this Act it shall be sufficient in the information or, in Scotland, complaint to allege that the factory is a factory within the meaning of this Act and to state the name of the ostensible occupier of the factory, or, where the occupier is a firm, the title of the firm.

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Where any offence is committed under this Act by reason of a failure to make an examination, enter a report, or do any other thing, at or within a time specified by this Act or any regulation or order made thereunder, the offence shall be deemed to continue until the examination is made, or the report entered, or the other thing done, as the case may be.

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Where a proceeding is taken before a magistrates’ court or other court of summary jurisdiction with respect to an offence under this Act alleged to be committed in or with reference to a factory, no person shall be qualified to act as a member of the court who is the occupier or owner of the factory, or the husband, wife, parent, son, daughter, brother, or sister of the occupier or owner of the factory, or a person engaged in, or an officer of any association of persons engaged in, the same trade or occupation as any person charged with the offence.

If a person is found in a factory at any time at which work is going on or the machinery is in motion, except during the intervals for meals or rest, he shall, until the contrary is proved, be deemed for the purposes of this Act to have been then employed in the factory, unless the factory is one in which the only persons employed are members of the same family dwelling there.

Where in any proceedings under this Act with respect to a young person it appears to the court that that young person is apparently of or below the age alleged by the informant, or, in Scotland, by the prosecutor, it shall lie on the accused to prove that the young person is not of or below that age.

Where any entry is required by this Act or by any order or regulations made thereunder to be made in the general register or in any other register or record, the entry made by the occupier of a factory or on his behalf shall, as against him, be admissible as evidence of the facts therein stated, and the fact that any entry so required with respect to the observance of any provision of this Act or of any order or regulation made thereunder has not been made, shall be admissible as evidence that that provision has not been observed.

Any document (including any summons or order) required or authorised to be served under this Act may be served—

Any such document may be addressed for the purpose of the service thereof on the occupier of a factory, to “the occupier" at the proper postal address of the factory, without further name or description.

The foregoing provisions of this section shall apply with the necessary modifications to documents required or authorised under this Act to be sent to any person, firm, owner or occupier, and to the sending, addressing, and delivery of such documents.

This Act applies to factories belonging to or in the occupation of the Crown, to building operations and works of engineering construction undertaken by or on behalf of the Crown, and to the employment by or under the Crown of persons in painting buildings; but in case of any public emergency the Minister may, by order, to the extent and during the period named in the order exempt from this Act any factory belonging to the Crown or any building operations or works of engineering construction undertaken by or on behalf of the Crown, or any factory in respect of work which is being done on behalf of the Crown.

Any regulations, rules or orders made under this Act shall be made by statutory instrument, except an order applicable only to particular persons, premises, boilers, employment, operations or work or to persons employed at particular premises or on work supervised from particular premises.

Any statutory instrument containing regulations under this Act shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Any power conferred by this Act to make regulations, rules or orders shall include power to make different provisions in relation to different circumstances.

Any power conferred by this Act to make an order shall include power to revoke such an order by a subsequent order F1and the provisions of section 50 of the M1Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 shall apply to any such power which is exercisable by statutory instrument as they apply to a power to make regulations.

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Any power conferred by this Act to prescribe standards or impose requirements shall include power to do so by reference to the approval of the chief inspector F3or of the chief employment medical adviser or a deputy chief employment medical adviser.

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Any regulations or order made by the Minister under this Act may be made for a limited period or without limit of period and may be made subject to such conditions as he thinks fit, and may contain such supplemental and consequential provisions as he considers necessary for giving full effect to the regulations or order.

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This Act shall have effect subject to the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to this Act.

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This Act may be cited as the Factories Act 1961.

This Act shall come into force on the first day of April, nineteen hundred and sixty-two.

This Act, except subsections (1) and (2) of section seventy-seven F1. . ., does not extend to Northern Ireland.

The order may be made notwithstanding that the person suffering from an infectious disease may have been removed from the house, and the order shall be made either for a specified time or subject to the condition that the house or part thereof liable to be infected shall be disinfected to the satisfaction of the F1designated medical officer, or that other reasonable precautions shall be adopted.

In any case of urgency the powers conferred on the district council by this section may be exercised by any two or more members of the council acting on the advice of the designated medical officer.

If any occupier or contractor on whom an order under this section has been served contravenes the provisions of the order, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding F2level 1 on the standard scale.

The infectious diseases to which this section applies are the infectious diseases required to be notified under the law for the time being in force in relation to the notification of infectious diseases, and the work to which this section applies is the making, cleaning, washing, altering, ornamenting, finishing and repairing of wearing apparel and any work incidental thereto, and such other classes of work as may be specified by order of the Minister of Health or, as respects Scotland, the Secretary of State.

if it could have been made, given or done under the corresponding provision of this Act, shall have effect as if it had been so made, given or done;

if it is an order or regulation made under a power which, under the corresponding provision of this Act, is exercisable by a different class of instrument, shall have effect as if it were an instrument of that class made under that provision.

Subject to sub-paragraph (2) of this paragraph, a factory which has been furnished with a certificate in pursuance of subsection (1) of section fourteen of the M1Factory and Workshop Act 1901 and a factory in respect of which a notice issued in pursuance of subsection (2) of that section has been complied with, or in respect of which an award has been made under subsection (3) of that section and has been complied with, shall be entitled to receive a certificate under section forty of this Act and, pending the receipt of the certificate, no offence shall be deemed to be committed by reason of the use of the factory while no certificate under this section is in force with respect to it.

Sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph shall only apply to any factory if and so long as the means of escape provided therein are properly maintained, and shall not apply to any factory if, since the certificate was furnished or the notice or award was complied with in pursuance of the said section fourteen, any action has been taken of which notice would, if this Act had been in force and a certificate under section forty had been granted, have been required by section forty-one of this Act to be given to the fire authority.

neither the certificate nor a copy thereof was issued to the owner of the building in which the factory is comprised; or

neither the certificate nor a copy thereof or of the relevant part thereof was issued to the occupier of the factory;