Page "Labour law" Paragraph 8

Before the Industrial Revolution, the workday varied between 11 and 14 hours.

With the growth of industrialism and the introduction of machinery, longer hours became far more common, with 14 – 15 hours being the norm, and 16 not at all uncommon.

Use of child labour was commonplace, often in factories.

In England and Scotland in 1788, about two-thirds of persons working in the new water-powered textile factories were children.

The eight-hour movement's struggle finally led to the first law on the length of a working day, passed in 1833 in England, limiting miners to 12 hours, and children to 8 hours.

The 10-hour day was established in 1848, and shorter hours with the same pay were gradually accepted thereafter.

The 1802 Factory Act was the first labour law in the UK.