PUNJAB RESTRICTION ON EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN ACT 2016

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THE PUNJAB RESTRICTION ON EMPLOYMENT OF 
CHILDREN ACT 2016 
(L of 2016) 
CONTENTS 
1. Short title, extent and commencement 
2. Definitions 
3. Prohibition on employment 
4. Provincial Committee on Child Labour 
5. Duration of work, etc. 
6. Weekly holidays 
7. Notice to Inspector 
8. Dispute as to age 
9. Maintenance of register 
10. Display of notice 
11. Penalties 
12. Abetment to an offence 
13. Presumption of work 
14. Sealing of establishment 
15. Appellate authority 
16. Trial of offences 
17. Cognizance of offences 
18. Penalties under some other laws 
19. Appointment of Inspectors 
20. Amendment of Schedule 
21. Rules 
22. Application of other laws  
23. Power to remove difficulties 
24. Repeal and savings 
25. Repeal 
SCHEDULE 
 
TEXT 
THE PUNJAB RESTRICTION ON EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN ACT 2016 
(L of 2016) 
[29th October, 2016] 
An 
Act 
to prohibit the employment of children and to restrict the employment of adolescents 
in certain occupations and processes. 
It is necessary to prohibit the employment of children and to restrict the 
employment of adolescents in certain occupations ; and, to deal with ancillary 
matters. 
Be it enacted by the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as follows: 
1. Short title, extent and commencement.– (1) This Act may be c ited as the 
Punjab Restriction on Employment of Children Act 2016. 
(2) It extends to whole of the Punjab. 
(3) It shall come into force at once. 
2. Definitions.– In this Act: 
(a) "adolescent" means a person who has attained the age of fifteen years 
but has not attained the age of eighteen years; 
(b) “appellate authority” means an authority appointed under the Act; 
(c) "child" means a person who has not attained the age of fifteen years; 
(d) “Committee” means the Provinc ial Committee  on Child Labour 
constituted under the Act; 
(e) "day" means a period of twenty-four hours beginning at midnight; 
(f) "establishment" means any industrial, commercial or agricultural 
establishment, factory, mine, workshop, business, trade, unde rtaking, 
and place where any economic activity  including moulding and 
manufacturing process  is carried on; and , includes charitable and 
welfare organizations, whether run for profit or otherwise and any other 
establishment, class of establishments or workp lace notified by the 
Government in the official Gazette; 
(g) "family", in relation to an occupier, means the spouse, son, daughter or 
sibling; 
(h) “Government" means Government of the Punjab; 
(i) “hazardous work” means the work which, by its nature or the 
circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, 
safety or morals of adolescents and is mentioned in the Schedule; 
(j) "Inspector" means an official appointed as an Inspector under the Act; 
(k) “occupier" means the person who , direct ly or indirectly,  employs a 
worker in an establishment and includes: 
(i) in case of an individual, his heir, successor, administrator or assign; 
and 
(ii) a person who has the ultimate control over the affairs of the 
establishment; 
(l) "prescribed" means prescribed by the rules made under the Act;  
(m) “Schedule” means the Schedule appended to this Act; and 
(n) "week" means a period of seven days beginning at the midnight on 
Saturday or at such other midnight as the Government may , by 
notification, specify for a particular area. 
3. Prohibition on employment .– (1) An occupier shall not employ or permit a 
child to work in the establishment.  
(2) An occupier shall not employ or permit an adolescent  to perform any 
hazardous work in the establishment. 
4. Provincial C ommittee on Child Labour.– (1) The Government shall, by 
notification, constitute a Committee to be called the Provincial Committee on Child 
Labour to advise the Government for appropriate legislative, administrative and other 
measures for the eradication of child labour and , subject to Article 11 of the 
Constitution, to propose the minimum age for purposes of employment in the 
Province. 
(2) The Committee shall consist of a chairperson and not more than eight 
members representing the Government, employers, workers and civil society. 
5. Duration of work, etc.– (1) Subject to subsection (2) and subsection ( 3), the 
occupier shall fix the  period of work not exceeding three hours in a day; and, if the 
adolescent is required to work for more than three hours in a day, the occupier shall, 
after the initial period of three hours, provide a mandatory interval of at least one 
hour to the adolescent. 
(2) The total period of work of an adolescent in a day, including the 
mandatory interval for rest, shall, in no case, exceed seven hours. 
(3) The occupier shall: 
(a) arrange the hours of work of an adolescent in such manner that the 
working hours are not in conflict with the timings of the educational or 
vocational institution where the adolescent is enrolled; 
(b) not require or permit an adolescent to work between 7.00 pm and 8.00 
am.  
(c) not require or permit an adolescent to work in the establishment on any 
day on which the adolescent has worked in any other establishment. 
6. Weekly holidays.– (1) An occupier shall allow an adolescent employed in the 
establishment a holiday of at least one whole day in a week. 
(2) The occupier shall specify the holiday  through a notice permanently 
displayed at a conspicuous place in the establishment and the occupier shall not  
alter the day of holiday more than once in three months. 
7. Notice to Inspector .– (1) Every occupier of the  establishment in which an 
adolescent is employed or permitted to work shall, within a period of thirty days from 
the commencement of this Act or employment of  the adolescent , send to the 
Inspector, within whose local limits the establishment is situated, a written notice 
containing the following particulars: 
(a) the name, location and address of the establishment; 
(b) the name of the person who is actually resp onsible for the 
management of the establishment; 
(c) complete address of the establishment for purposes of communication;  
(d) the name, address , wages  and other prescribed particulars of the 
adolescent; and 
(e) the nature of the occupation or process carried on in the establishment. 
(2) Nothing in sections 6, 7 and 8 shall apply to an establishment wherein 
any process is carried on by the occupier with the aid of the members of his family or 
to any educational or training institution  established, assisted or recognized by the 
Government, the Federal Government or any agency, body or authority established, 
owned or controlled by any such Government. 
8. Dispute as to age .– Any dispute about the age of the child or adolescent 
employed or is permitted to work i n an establishment shall be decided on the basis 
of the  registration certificate (Form-B) issued by  the National Database and 
Registration Authority or the birth certificate issued by the competent authority, but, 
in the absence of such a document, the In spector shall refer the matter to the 
prescribed medical authority  for determination of the age and the decision of such 
authority shall be conclusive proof of the age of the child or adolescent. 
9. Maintenance of register.– An occupier shall maintain a register in respect of 
adolescents employed or permitted to work in the establishment and shall make the 
register available for inspection to an Inspector at all times during working hours of 
the establishment showing: 
(a) the name and date of birth of every   adolescent employed or permitted 
to work; 
(b) hours and periods of work of any such  adolescent and the intervals of 
rest to which he is entitled; 
(c) the nature of work of the adolescent; and 
(d) such other particulars as may be prescribed. 
10. Display o f notice.– Every occupier shall display at a conspicuous p lace in 
the establishment a notice in Urdu and in  English containing an abstract of section 3 
and section 11.  
11. Penalties.– (1) An occupier, who employs or permits a child to work in an 
establishment, shall be liable to punishment with imprisonment for a term which may 
extend to six months, but which shall not be less than seven days  and with a fine 
which may extend to fifty thousand rupees , but which shall not be less than ten 
thousand rupees. 
(2) An occupier, who  employs or permits any adolescent to work in 
contravention of the provisions of section 3, shall be liable to punishment with 
imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, but which shall not be less 
than seven days and with a fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees, but 
which shall not be less than ten thousand rupees. 
(3) A person, who employs a child or an adolescent in: 
(a) any form of slavery or practices similar to slavery , such as the sale and 
trafficking of children o r adolescents, debt bondage and serfdom and 
forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory 
recruitment of children or adolescents for use in armed conflicts;  
(b) the use, procuring or offering of a child or adolescent for prostitution, 
for the pr oduction of pornography or   for pornographic performances; 
and 
(c) the use, procuring or offering of a child or adolescent for illicit activities, 
in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, 
shall be liable to punishment with imprisonment for a term wh ich may extend to 
seven years but which shall not be less than three years and with fine which may 
extend to one million rupees but which shall not be  less than two hundred thousand 
rupees. 
(4) An occupier  who has been  convicted of an offence under subsection 
(1) and subsection (2) , again commits the same offence or an offence of  similar 
nature, shall be punish able with imprisonment which may extend to five years but 
which shall not be less than three months in addition to the fine prescribed for the  
offence.  
(5) If an occupier fails to: 
(a) give notice as required by section 7; or 
(b) maintain a register as required by section 9 or makes any false entry in 
any such register; or 
(c) produce record for inspection; or 
(d) display any notice under the Act; or 
(e) comply with or contravenes any provision of this Act or the rules,  
he shall be liable to punishment with simple imprisonment which may extend to one 
month or with a fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees or with both. 
12. Abetment to an o ffence.– (1) A person, who abets an offence punishable 
under this Act, shall, whether or not the offence abetted is committed, be punish able 
with the same punishment as is provided for the offence he abetted. 
(2) An occupier, who  employs or permits to work  a child or an adolescent  
to work in contravention of the provisions of section 3, and the child or an adolescent 
is found working in the establishment  in the immediate presence of a parent or 
guardian, the parent or guardian shall be equally liable for th e offence along with the 
employer.  
(3) For purposes of this section, “abetment” has the same meaning as is 
assigned to it in the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 (XLV of 1860). 
13. Presumption of work .– (1) Subject to subsection (2), if a child or an 
adolescent is found present within the working premises of an establishment, it shall 
be presumed that the child or the adolescent is employed or is permitted to work in 
the establishment.  
(2) Nothing in this section shall apply to the students visiting an 
establishment for educational purposes  under the direction or supervision of an 
educational institution.  
14. Sealing of establishment.– (1) If it appears to an Inspector that a child or an 
adolescent has been employed or permitted to work in an establishment in 
contravention of section 3, the Inspector may, in the prescribed manner, seal the 
establishment for a period not exceeding seven days. 
(2) The occupier aggrieved by an order under subsection (1) , may, within 
three days of the sealing of the establishment, pr efer an appeal before the appellate 
authority. 
(3) The appellate authority may confirm, modify or reverse the order made 
under subsection (1).  
15. Appellate authority.–  The Government shall appoint an appellate authority 
in each District to hear and deci de the appeal s preferred under subsection (2) of 
section 14. 
16. Trial of offences.– (1) An offence under subsections (1) and (2) of section 1 1 
shall be tried summarily in accordance  with the provisions of Chapter XXII of the 
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898). 
(2) No court inferior to that of the Magistrate having powers under section 
30 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898) shall try an offence under 
subsections (3) and (4) of section 11 of this Act.  
17. Cognizance of offences .– An offence under this Act shall be cognizable by 
the police on the complaint in writing made by the Inspector and shall be non -
bailable. 
18. Penalties under some other laws .– Any person, who is  found guilty of the 
contravention of any provisions of the Mines Act, 1923 (IV of 1923), the Factories 
Act, 1934 (XXV of 1934) and the Punjab Shops and Establishments Ordinance, 1969 
(VIII of 1969) regarding children or ad olescents, shall be liable to the penalties 
provided in section 11 of this Act and not under the said laws.  
19. Appointment of Inspectors .– (1) The Government may appo int Inspectors 
for purposes of securing compliance with the provisions of this Act. 
(2) The Inspector shall be deemed to be a public servant within the 
meaning of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 (XLV of 1860). 
20. Amendment of Schedule .– (1) The Government may, by notification in the 
official Gazette, amend the Schedule. 
(2) An amendment in the Schedule under subsection (1) shall come into 
force on the expiry of thirty days from the date o f publication of the notification in the 
official Gazette. 
21. Rules.– The Government may, by notification , and subject to the condition of 
previous publication, make rules for carrying into effect the provisions of this Act, 
including the rules for health  and safety of adolescents employed or permitted to 
work in an establishment. 
22. Application of other laws.– Subject to the provisions contained in section s 
11 and 18, the provisions of this  Act and the rules shall be in addition to, and not in 
derogation of, the provisions of any other law.  
23. Power to remove difficulties .– (1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to 
the provisions of this Act, the Government may , by order published in the official 
Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent wit h the provisions of this Act as 
appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removal of the difficulty. 
(2) An order under subsection (1) shall not be made after the expiry of a 
period of two years from the date of commencement of this Act. 
(3) Every order made under this section shall, as soon as may be after it is 
made, be laid before Provincial Assembly of the Punjab. 
24. Repeal and savings.– (1) The Employment of Children Act, 1991 (V of 1991) 
is hereby repealed. 
(2) Notwithstanding the repeal of the Employment of Children Act, 1991 (V 
of 1991), anything done or any action taken or purported to have been done or taken 
under that Act shall, in so far as it is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, 
be deemed to have been done or taken under the  corresponding provisions of this 
Act. 
25. Repeal.– The Punjab Restriction on Employment of Children Ordinance, 2016 
(XIII of 2016) is hereby repealed. 
SCHEDULE 
[see section 2(i)] 
HAZARDOUS WORKS 
Any occupation or work connected with– 
(1) transport of passengers, goods or mail; 
(2) catering establishment at a railway station, involving the movement of a 
vendor or any other employee of the establishment from one platform 
to another or into or out of a moving train;  
(3) construction of a railway station or with any other work where such 
work is done in close proximity to or between the railway lines; 
(4) a port authority within the limits of any port; 
(5) underground mines and on ground quarries including blasting; 
(6) power driven cutting machinery like saw s, shears, guillotines , 
agricultural machines, thrashers, fodder cutting machines; 
(7) live electrical wires over 50 volts; 
(8) all operations related to leather tanning process es such as  soaking, 
dehairing, liming, chrome tanning, deliming, pickli ng, defl eshing, ink 
application; 
(9) mixing and manufacture of pesticides and insecticides and fumigation; 
(10) sandblasting and other such work involving exposure to free silica; 
(11) exposure to all toxic, explosive and carcinogenic chemicals e.g., 
asbestos, benzene, ammonia, chlorine, manganese, cadmium, sulphur 
dioxide, phosphorus, benzidenedyes, isocyanates, carbon 
tetrachloride, carbon disulphide, epoxy resins, formaldehyde, metal 
fumes, heavy metals like nickel, mercury chromium, lead arsenic, 
beryllium, fiber glass; 
(12) exposure to cement dust in cement industry; 
(13) exposure to coal dust; 
(14) manufacturing and sale of fireworks and explosives; 
(15) the sites where liquid petroleum gas (LPG) or compressed natural gas 
(CNG) is filled in cylinders; 
(16) glass and metal furnaces and glass bangles manufacturing; 
(17) cloth weaving, printing, dyeing and fishing sections; 
(18) sewer pipelines, pits and storage tanks; 
(19) stone crushing; 
(20) lifting and carrying of heavy weight (15kg and above) specially in 
transport industry; 
(21) carpet weaving; 
(22) the height of two meters or more above the floor; 
(23) all scavenging including hospital waste; 
(24) tobacco processing and manufacturing i ncluding niswar and biri 
making; 
(25) deep-sea fishing, commercial fishing  and processing of fish and sea -
food; 
(26) sheep casing and wool industry; 
(27) ship breaking; 
(28) surgical instruments and manufacturing specially in vendors’ 
workshops; 
(29) spice grinding; 
(30) boiler house; 
(31) cinemas, mini cinemas and cyber clubs; 
(32) mica-cutting and splitting; 
(33) shells manufacturing; 
(34) soap manufacturing; 
(35) wool cleaning; 
(36) building and construction industry; 
(37) manufacturing of slate pencils including packing; and 
(38) manufacture of products from agate.