Factories Act 1937
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1937 c. 67 |
Factories Act, 1937.
(1 Edw. 8 & 1 Geo. 6.) CHAPTER 67.
An Act to consolidate, with amendments, the Factory and Workshop Acts, 1901 to 1929, and other enactments relating to factories; and for purposes connected with the purposes aforesaid.
[30th July 1937]
B E it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I.
Health (General Provisions).
1 Cleanliness.
Every factory shall be kept in a clean state, and free from effluvia arising from any drain, sanitary convenience or nuisance, and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision—
(i) where they have a smooth impervious surface, at least once in every period of fourteen months be washed with hot water and soap or other suitable detergent or cleaned by such other method as may be approved by the inspector for the district;
(ii) where they are kept painted with oil paint or varnished, be repainted or revarnished at least once in every period of seven years, and at least once in every period of fourteen months be washed with hot water and soap or other suitable detergent or cleaned by such other method as may be approved by the inspector for the district;
(iii) in other cases be kept whitewashed or colourwashed, and the whitewashing or colourwashing shall be repeated at least once in every period of fourteen months:
Provided that—
(ii) where it appears to the Secretary of State that in any class or description of factory or parts thereof any of the foregoing provisions of this section are not required for the purpose of keeping the factory in a clean state, or are by reason of special circumstances inappropriate or inadequate for such purpose, he may, if he thinks fit, by order direct that those provisions shall not apply to factories, or parts of factories, of that class or description or shall apply as varied by the order.
2 Overcrowding.
(1) A factory shall not, while work is carried on, be so overcrowded as to cause risk of injury to the health of the persons employed therein.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, a factory shall be deemed to be so overcrowded as aforesaid, if the number of persons employed at a time in any workroom is such that the amount of cubic space allowed for every person employed in the room is less than four hundred cubic feet:
Provided that, if the chief inspector is satisfied that owing to the special conditions under which the work is carried on in any workroom in which explosive materials are manufactured or handled, the application of the provisions of this subsection to that workroom would be inappropriate or unnecessary, he may by certificate except the workroom from those provisions subject to any conditions specified in the certificate.
(3) As respects any room used as a workroom at the date of the passing of this Act, the last foregoing subsection shall, for the period of five years after that date and, if before the expiration of that period effective and suitable mechanical ventilation has been provided in the room, for a further period of five years, have effect as if for the reference therein to four hundred cubic feet there were substituted a reference to two hundred and fifty cubic feet:
Provided that this subsection shall cease to apply to the room—
( a ) if the room passes into the occupation of any person other than the person who was the occupier thereof at the passing of this Act, or his successor in the same business; or
( b ) if, during the first of the said periods, the inspector for the district requires the provision of effective and suitable mechanical ventilation in the room and default is made in complying with the requirement; or
( c ) if, during the second of the said periods or in a case where it has been provided in pursuance of the inspector's requirement during either of those periods, the effective and suitable mechanical ventilation provided in the room ceases to be maintained.
(4) The Secretary of State may make regulations, as respects any class or description of factory or parts thereof or any process, increasing the number of cubic feet which must under this section be allowed for every person employed in a workroom.
(5) In calculating, for the purposes of this section, the amount of cubic space in any room, no space more than fourteen feet from the floor shall be taken into account, and, where a room contains a gallery, the gallery shall be treated for the purposes of this section as if it were partitioned off from the remainder of the room and formed a separate room.
(6) Unless the inspector for the district otherwise allows, there shall be posted in the workroom a notice specifying the number of persons who, having regard to the provisions of this section, may be employed in that room.
3 Temperature.
(1) Effective provision shall be made for securing and maintaining a reasonable temperature in each workroom, but no method shall be employed which results in the escape into the air of any workroom of any fume of such a character and to such extent as to be likely to be injurious or offensive to persons employed therein.
(2) In every workroom in which a substantial proportion of the work is done sitting and does not involve serious physical effort, a temperature of less than sixty degrees shall not be deemed, after the first hour, to be a reasonable temperature while work is going on, and at least one thermometer shall be provided and maintained in a suitable position in every such workroom.
(3) The Secretary of State may, by regulations, for factories or for any class or description of factory or parts thereof, prescribe a standard of reasonable temperature (which may vary the standard prescribed by the last foregoing subsection for sedentary work) and prohibit the use of any methods of maintaining a reasonable temperature which, in his opinion, are likely to be injurious to the persons employed, and direct that thermometers shall be provided and maintained in such places and positions as may be specified.
4 Ventilation.
(1) Effective and suitable provision shall be made for securing and maintaining by the circulation of fresh air in each workroom the adequate ventilation of the room, and for rendering harmless, so far as practicable, all fumes, dust and other impurities that may be injurious to health generated in the course of any process or work carried on in the factory.
(2) The Secretary of State may, by regulations prescribe a standard of adequate ventilation for factories or for any class or description of factory or parts thereof.
5 Lighting.
(1) Effective provision shall be made for securing and maintaining sufficient and suitable lighting, whether natural or artificial, in every part of a factory in which persons are working or passing.
(2) The Secretary of State may, by regulations, prescribe a standard of sufficient and suitable lighting for factories or for any class or description of factory or parts thereof, or for any process.
(3) Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section or in any regulations made thereunder shall be construed as enabling directions to be prescribed or otherwise given as to whether any artificial lighting is to be produced by any particular illuminant.
(4) All glazed windows and skylights used for the lighting of workrooms shall, so far as practicable, be kept clean on both the inner and outer surfaces and free from obstruction:
Provided that this subsection shall not affect the whitewashing or shading of windows and skylights for the purpose of mitigating heat or glare.
6 Drainage of floors.
Where any process is carried on which renders the floor liable to be wet to such an extent that the wet is capable of being removed by drainage, effective means shall be provided and maintained for draining off the wet.
7 Sanitary conveniences.
(1) Sufficient and suitable sanitary conveniences for the persons employed in the factory shall be provided, maintained and kept clean, and effective provision shall be made for lighting the conveniences and, where persons of both sexes are or are intended to be employed (except in the case of factories where the only persons employed are members of the same family dwelling there), such conveniences shall afford proper separate accommodation for persons of each sex.
(2) The Secretary of State may make regulations determining for factories or for any class or description of factory what is sufficient and suitable provision for the purposes of this section.
8 Enforcement by district councils of certain provisions of Part I.
(1) The foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act relating to sanitary...
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