What Are the Legal Guidelines for Hiring Workers Under 18 in Corporate Settings?

renusuman
Dear Seniors,

Could you please share with me the document or act that outlines the provisions for employing workers below the age of 18 years in a corporate company? What are the regulations that need to be followed when employing laborers below 18 years of age?

Kind regards,
Renu
umakanthan53
No blanket answer can be given to your question because a "Corporate Company" can be a composite organization; its administrative offices and direct sales emporia may come under the Shops and Establishments Act, while its manufacturing or processing units can be covered by the Factories Act, 1948. A person below the age of 18 years can be a child or a young person/adolescent. Regarding the definition of a child, there is no uniformity among the various legislations in force. For example, the Factories Act, 1948 defines a child as a person not having completed the age of 15 years, while the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 defines the same as a person not having completed the age of 14 years. [Due to my own doubt as to the present stage of the Amendment Bill 2012, I refrain from referring to it].

While the term adolescent is defined under section 2(b) of the Factories Act as a person who has completed 15 years of age but not 18 years, the term is not defined under the CLPR Act. However, the CLPR Act, 1986 prohibits the employment of a child in 18 occupations and 65 processes and regulates the conditions of working of children in other occupations/processes. So, my suggestion to you is to refer to the specific establishment-related Act applicable to the particular unit/branch of the Corporate Company and ascertain the restrictions, if any, about the employment of workers below 18 years, the maximum number of working hours per day, overtime work, etc.
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