Mundella was also greatly concerned at the employment of children of very young ages, and how their presence at work would make compulsory elementary education impossible. In 1871 he put forward a measure to control the employment of children in the manufacture of bricks and tiles. His move was welcomed so readily that it was incorporated into the government's Factory and Workshop Act of 1871. As a result, the employment of girls under sixteen and boys under ten in brick and tile yards was prohibited.