The Factory Act of 1833

What was it? Did it work?What was it? Did it work?

The Factory Act of 1833 was passed by the British government to improve working conditions for children. Here is what it said:

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No workers under nine years of age will be allowed to work in factories.

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Employers must have an age certificate for their child workers.

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Children 13 to 18 years old are not to work more than 12 hours a day.

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Children are not allowed to work at night, from 8 PM to 5 AM.

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Children had to be schooled at least two hours a day.

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Four factory inspectors were appointed for each factory to enforce the laws of the Factory Act.

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The Factory Act was intended to help children working in factories. It didn’t have its planned effect, though, because some factory owners broke the law by continuing to mistreat child workers.