Child labour: what the law bans and how to report it
No work for children under 14, no hazardous work for 14 to 18, the two narrow exceptions, employer penalties, and how to report: 1098, PENCIL, labour office.
In short
- No one may employ a child under 14 in any work, anywhere: shops, dhabas, homes, farms, factories Sec 3 CALPRA. Adolescents (14 to 18) may not do hazardous work such as mining, explosives or hazardous factory processes Sec 3A.
- The only exceptions: helping the family in a non-hazardous family business after school hours or in vacations, and child artists under strict conditions. Neither allows an outsider to hire a child.
- An employer faces 6 months to 2 years in jail and a fine of ₹20,000 to ₹50,000 Sec 14. The offence is cognizable. Parents are not punished for a first offence.
- To report: call 1098 (Childline), file on the PENCIL portal, or inform the district labour office or police. Do not try to rescue the child yourself.
You may see it every day: a boy washing plates at a dhaba, a girl working as a full-time maid in a neighbour's flat, children sorting scrap in a back room. Most of them should be in school. The Constitution forbids employing children under 14 in factories, mines or hazardous work Art 24, bans forced labour Art 23, and guarantees every child aged 6 to 14 free and compulsory education Art 21A. The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (CALPRA), rewritten in 2016, turns these promises into enforceable rules.
What the law prohibits
The Act uses two age groups:
- Child: anyone under 14. No child may be employed or permitted to work in any occupation or process Sec 3(1). There is no list of "allowed" jobs; domestic work, tea stalls, shops, brick kilns, farms, workshops and home-based piece work are all covered.
- Adolescent: anyone aged 14 to 18. Adolescents may work, but not in the hazardous occupations and processes listed in the Schedule: mines, work with inflammable substances or explosives, and the hazardous processes defined under the Factories Act Sec 3A. The Central Government can add to the list.
Where adolescents are lawfully employed, the Act limits their hours: no more than six hours a day including rest, no work between 7 pm and 8 am, no overtime, and a weekly holiday Sec 7, 8.
The two exceptions
Sec 3(2) allows a child under 14 to:
- help his or her family or family enterprise (one run by the family or close relatives), but only in non-hazardous work, only after school hours or during vacations, and without affecting schooling;
- work as an artist in films, television, advertising or sports (not circus), subject to safety conditions, time limits and continued schooling under the rules, with a permit from the District Magistrate.
These exceptions are narrower than they sound. A child cannot be hired by an outsider at all. A dhaba owner who calls a 12-year-old "my nephew" still commits an offence unless the child is genuinely family and works only outside school hours in non-hazardous work. The "family enterprise" exception has been criticised for making home-based child labour harder to detect; inspectors do check whether the child actually attends school.
Punishments
- Employing a child, or an adolescent in hazardous work: imprisonment from 6 months to 2 years, or a fine of ₹20,000 to ₹50,000, or both. A second offence: 1 to 3 years' imprisonment Sec 14.
- Parents and guardians: no punishment for a first offence; for a repeat offence of putting the child to work for commercial purposes, a fine up to ₹10,000 Sec 14.
Offences under Sec 3 and 3A are cognizable (police can register a case and investigate without a court's order) Sec 14A. The District Magistrate is responsible for enforcement in the district Sec 17B. Where a child is bonded, trafficked or beaten, heavier laws apply as well: the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976; the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, under which exploiting a child employee or keeping a child in bondage carries up to 5 years' rigorous imprisonment Sec 79 JJ Act; and the trafficking and forced-labour offences of the BNS Sec 143, 146 BNS.
Step by step: reporting
- Note what you saw: the address or landmark, the kind of work, the number and rough ages of the children, their hours, and the employer's name if known. Do not confront anyone.
- Call 1098, the free 24-hour Childline. It records the complaint, alerts the District Child Protection Unit and can send a team. In an emergency, or if a child is locked in or injured, call 112.
- File on the PENCIL portal (pencil.gov.in), the Ministry of Labour's platform, under "Complaint Corner". The complaint goes to the District Nodal Officer, who must get it verified and acted on. You can file anonymously and track the status.
- Write to the district labour office (Labour Commissioner or Inspector). Rescues are normally conducted jointly by the labour department, police and child protection officials.
- Give a statement if asked; it strengthens the prosecution. You can ask that your identity be kept confidential.
- Follow up after a few weeks using the Childline or PENCIL reference number: was the child produced before the Child Welfare Committee and enrolled in school?
Ramesh notices that the tea stall opposite his office in Lucknow is run almost entirely by a boy of about 11, who is there from 7 am to 9 pm and sleeps in the back. He notes the stall's location, the boy's hours and the owner's first name, and calls 1098 that evening. Childline passes the case to the District Child Protection Unit, which, with a labour inspector and two constables, visits two days later. The boy, from a village in Bahraich, is produced before the Child Welfare Committee, which traces his parents, arranges his admission to a residential school under the National Child Labour Project and orders follow-up visits. The labour inspector prosecutes the owner under Sec 3 and 14 CALPRA.
After the rescue
A rescued child must be produced before the Child Welfare Committee within 24 hours. The CWC decides on medical care, shelter, tracing the family and schooling. The 2016 amendment created a Child and Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund in each district, into which the employer's fine and a state contribution for each rescued child are credited for the child's benefit Sec 14B. Under the Right to Education Act the child must be admitted to an age-appropriate class, with special training to catch up. If the child was bonded, a release certificate and rehabilitation assistance follow under the 1976 Act.
Keep these ready
- Exact location or landmark of the workplace and the employer's name, if known.
- Number of children, approximate ages, the work they do and the hours you have observed.
- Any photo or video taken from a public place, with date and time.
- Your complaint reference numbers from 1098 or PENCIL, for follow-up.
Two myths keep child labour going. "He is better off working than starving" ignores that rescue comes with schooling, a rehabilitation fund and support for the family, and that a child's wages trap the family in poverty. And "a maid in my own home is not child labour" is simply wrong: domestic work was brought under the ban in 2006, and employing a child under 14 in your house is an offence under Sec 3, however kindly the child is treated.
Where to go
- Childline 1098 (free, 24 hours); 112 in an emergency.
- PENCIL portal: pencil.gov.in, Ministry of Labour and Employment; general labour grievances at samadhan.labour.gov.in.
- District labour office / Labour Inspector and the District Magistrate, who is responsible for enforcement; the Child Welfare Committee and District Child Protection Unit for the child's care.
- Police station for an FIR, especially where there is trafficking, bondage or violence.
- National Commission for Protection of Child Rights: ncpcr.gov.in. Free legal aid for the child or family: 15100 (nalsa.gov.in).
Common questions
Is it child labour if a 13-year-old helps in his parents' shop?
Not if it is genuinely the family's own business, the work is not hazardous, and it happens only after school hours or in vacations without affecting his schooling (Sec 3(2)). If the child has dropped out, works during school hours, or the "family" is really an employer, the exception does not apply and it is an offence. Inspectors check school attendance.
Can a 16-year-old work in a restaurant or shop?
Yes. Adolescents aged 14 to 18 may work in non-hazardous jobs, with limits: no more than six hours a day including rest, no work between 7 pm and 8 am, no overtime, and a weekly day off (Sec 7, 8). They cannot work in mines, with explosives or inflammable substances, or in hazardous factory processes (Sec 3A).
Will the child's parents be punished if I report?
Not for a first offence; the Act expressly exempts parents and guardians the first time, and even a repeat offence carries only a fine of up to ₹10,000 (Sec 14(2)). The target of prosecution is the employer. The family is usually linked to welfare schemes and the child to school or a National Child Labour Project centre.
What if the child is being held, beaten or was brought from another state?
Call 112 and 1098 immediately and mention bondage or trafficking. Beyond CALPRA, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, the Juvenile Justice Act (Sec 79, up to 5 years for exploiting a child employee) and the BNS trafficking offences apply, with much heavier punishment. The District Magistrate must issue a release certificate to a bonded child, and inter-state repatriation is arranged through the Child Welfare Committees of both states.
This article is general information for awareness, not legal advice. For your situation, consult an advocate or call free legal aid at 15100.
