The Factories Act 1961 (9 & 10 Eliz. 2. c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. At the time of its passage, the Act consolidated much legislation on workplace health, safety and welfare in Great Britain. Though as of 2008^[update] some of it remains in force, it has largely been superseded by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and regulations made under it.

However, the Act continues to have a legal importance as cases of chronic workplace exposure to hazards such as industrial noise, as in the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire deafness litigation,^[3] or carcinogens^[4] often extend back in time beyond the current legislation.

Breach of the residual provisions is still a crime punishable on summary conviction in a magistrates' court by a fine of up to £20,000 or, on indictment in the Crown Court, imprisonment for up to two years and an unlimited fine.^[5][6]

In the event of damage arising from a breach of the Act, there may be civil liability for breach of statutory duty. Though no such liability is stipulated by the Act itself, none is excluded and the facts could be such as to give rise to a cause of action in that tort.^[7] A breach not actionable in itself may be evidential towards a claim for common law negligence. In particular, a criminal conviction may be given in evidence.^[8]

The Act was the final consolidation of a line of legislation under Factory Acts that began in 1802. In particular, it consolidated the 1937 and 1959 Acts. The Acts were widely regarded as ineffective in practice. Section 14 of the 1961 Act required the guarding of all dangerous parts of machinery but a sequence of judicial decisions under the earlier Acts had restricted the scope of what was "dangerous" only to include hazards that were reasonable foreseeable.^[9][10]

Section 175 of the Act defines "factory" as premises in which persons are employed in manual labour in any process for or incidental to:

• Making any article or part of any article;
• Altering, repairing, ornamenting, finishing, cleaning, or washing, or breaking up or demolition of any article;
• Adapting any article for sale;
• Slaughtering of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, asses or mules; or
• In some circumstances, confinement of such animals awaiting slaughter at other premises.

The Act also defines certain other specific premises as "factories" such as laundries and printing works (s. 175(2)).

Sections 1 to 7 define general broad requirements for healthy factory working conditions:

1. Cleanliness;
2. Overcrowding;
3. Temperature;
4. Ventilation;
5. Lighting;
6. Drainage of floors; and
7. Sanitary conveniences.

These provisions were repealed and superseded, as far as they applied to "workplaces", by the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992^[11] with effect from 1 January 1993 for new workplaces and 1 January 1996 for established workplaces.^[12] There is still a potential residual scope of application to "factories" that are not "workplaces" as the definition of "workplace" is in some ways limited.^[13][14]

Section 10A was added by the Employment Medical Advisory Service Act 1972^[15] and gives powers to the Employment Medical Advisory Service to order medical examination and supervision of employees.

Section 11 gave the Minister of State, as of 2008 the minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, the power to order medical supervision though these powers have been largely superseded by powers granted to the Health and Safety Executive and other powers of the Minister to make orders by statutory instrument.^[16]

Sections 12 to 39 defined specific requirements for machinery safety but many have been repealed and superseded.

Sections 57 to 60 define general broad requirements for factory welfare:

57. Supply of drinking water;
58. Washing facilities;
59. Accommodation for clothing; and
60. Sitting facilities.

These provisions were repealed and superseded, as far as they applied to "workplaces", by the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992^[11] with effect from 1 January 1993 for new workplaces and 1 January 1996 for established workplaces.^[12] There is still a potential residual scope of application to "factories" that are not "workplaces".

Section 61, first aid, has been repealed,^[23] as has section 62, power of minister to make regulations.^[16]

Sections 63 to 79 defined many specific regulations such as forbidding eating in places where lead or arsenic was processed (s. 64), and forbidding women and young people from working at foundries with lead or zinc, or "mixing or pasting in connection with the manufacture or repair of electric accumulators" (s. 74). As of 2008, these have all been repealed and superseded by subsequent regulations save for section 69 where there is a residual power for an inspector from the Health and Safety Executive to restrict working in underground rooms in "factories" that are not "workplaces".

Sections 80 to 85 specified reauirements for the statutory reporting of deaths, injuries and diseases that took place at work. As of 2008, these sections have all been repealed and superseded, especially by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995.

Sections 86 to 116 restricted the working hours of women and young people in factories. Some exceptions were allowed such as for women in management positions (s. 95). All these sections have been repealed, either by:

• Sex Discrimination Act 1986, which makes restrictions on women's work unlawful; or
• Employment Act 1989, which defines a new regime for the training and employment of young people.

Enforcement originally lay with district councils (ss. 8–10, 53–56) but, as of 1974, general responsibility falls to the Health and Safety Executive though they are often able to delegate this to local authorities.^[24]

The Factories Act 1961 did not extend to Northern Ireland, but the Parliament of Northern Ireland enacted similar provisions in its Factories Act (Northern Ireland) 1965, which consolidated earlier acts there. As with the British act, as of 2008 most of the provisions have been repealed and superseded by more modern legislation under the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 (SI 1978/1039) (NI 9) such as the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993.^[25]