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Apprentices Act, 1961

Section 14: Health, safety and welfare of apprentices

Section 14 of the Apprentices Act, 1961 explained with current 2025-26 amendments, employer controls, evidence and connected Rules.

Law Hub L8Data reviewed on 17 July 2026India-first compliance

What section 14 does

Imports health, safety and welfare protections into apprenticeship training.

Connected instrument: Rule 12; Schedule V/VI

Finin2min practical reading

  • Identify the apprentice category, trade, establishment jurisdiction and applicable portal before applying the provision.
  • Separate statutory apprenticeship from internships, probation, traineeships and ordinary employment.
  • Do not treat scheme reimbursement as a substitute for the employer’s underlying statutory obligations.
  • Preserve the contract, approvals, portal trail and training evidence as one auditable file.

Employer control and evidence pack

  • Executed/registered contract and portal acknowledgement
  • Training plan, attendance/work diary and supervisor records
  • Stipend bank/DBT evidence where relevant
  • Adviser approval, correspondence or order where the section requires it

Statutory text extract

Extracted from the bundled official/consolidated source. For sections amended in 2026, the current overlay above controls over older consolidated wording.

14. Health, safety and welfare of apprentices.—Where any apprentices are undergoing training in a
factory, the provisions of Chapters III, IV and V of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948), shall apply in
relation to the health, safety and welfare of the apprentices as if they were workers within the meaning of
that Act and when any apprentices are undergoing training in a mine, the provisions of Chapter V of the
Mines Act, 1952 (35 of 1952), shall apply in relation to the health and safety of the apprentices as if they
were persons employed in the mine.

                                                  STATE AMENDMENT

Rajasthan

    Amendment of section 14, Central Act No. 52 of 1961.— For the existing section 14 of the
principal Act, the following shall be substituted, namely:-

         “14. Health, safety and welfare of apprentices.- Where any apprentices are undergoing training in
     a factory, the provisions of Chapters III, IV and V of the Factories Act, 1948 (Central Act No. 63 of
     1948), shall apply in relation to the health, safety and welfare of the apprentices as if they were
     workers within the meaning of that Act and when any apprentices are undergoing training in a mine,
     the provisions of Chapter V of the Mines Act, 1952 (Central Act No. 35 of 1952), shall apply in
     relation to the health, safety and welfare of the apprentices as if they were persons employed in the
     mine and when any apprentices are undergoing training in a shop or commercial establishment, the
     provisions of the Rajasthan Shops and Commercial Establishments Act,1958 (Act No. 31 of 1958),
     shall apply in relation to the health, safety and welfare of the apprentices as if they were persons
     employed in the shop or establishment.”.

[Vide Rajasthan Act 2 of 2015, s. 7]

Compliance consequence

Failure should be tested against sections 30, 31 and 31A as in force from 22 June 2026, alongside contract termination/compensation consequences and any portal or scheme action.

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