Gujarat Labour Department Notifies Exemptions to IT-Enabled Services and Financial Services under Gujarat Shops and Establishments Act, 2019

Gujarat Labour Department issued a notification dated February 5, 2024, pertaining to the Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Services) Act, 2019. It declares that establishments engaged in IT-enabled services and financial services shall be exempted from the following sections for a period of 2 (two) years from the date of notification in the Official Gazette:

Section 12: Restricts the employment of any worker at any shop or establishment for a duration exceeding 9 (nine) hours in any single day or 48 (forty-eight) hours within a week. Furthermore, no worker shall be compelled to engage in continuous work for a period exceeding 5 (five) hours without a break of no less than 30 (thirty) minutes.

Section 14: The spread-over duration of a worker in any shop or establishment shall not surpass 10 (ten) and a half hour in any given day. However, in instances where a worker is assigned intermittent or urgent tasks, the spread-over period may extend to 12 (twelve) hours, subject to the prior approval of the Inspector. Further, working hours or weekly holiday(s) may be relaxed in cases of urgent work upon obtaining prior authorization from the Inspector.