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What did the Health and Morals of Apprentices Act of 1802 require employers to provide?
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The Health and Morals of Apprentices Act of 1802 was the first piece of legislation in the United Kingdom aimed at regulating the employment of pauper children in cotton mills.1
Under this act, employers were required to provide the following for their apprentices:
- Decent accommodations: Apprentices, who were often orphans living within the factories, were to be provided with suitable living conditions.1
- Access to education: Employers were mandated to provide apprentices with access to schooling.1
Additionally, the law limited the working day for these apprentices to 12 hours. While this act served as a landmark in the development of labour law, it ultimately proved ineffective because it lacked necessary enforcement mechanisms.12