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State of Karnataka Amends Law Allowing Women to Work Night Shift in Commercial Establishments

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: Ajay Singh Solanki, Leader and Archita Mohapatra, Associate - Nishith Desai Associates

On October 19, 2020, the Karnataka government amended the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961 (KSCEA) through the Karnataka Shops and Establishments (Amendment) Act, 2020 to include provisions relating to allowing women to work night shift. The amendment replaces the erstwhile provision of the KSCEA that generally prohibited employment of women in the night in commercial establishments, except in cases where a specific approval was sought from the state government.

The amendment allows employment of women in night shift by all commercial establishments without the requirement of seeking specific approval from the state government, subject to certain conditions including, among others, (a) written consent of the woman employee, (b) provision of transport facilities, (c) deployment of adequate number of security guards in the establishment and in the transport vehicle during night shift, and (d) bearing cost of crèche facility, etc.

Draft Central Rules to the Newly Enacted Labor Codes Released for Public Comments

Proposed Bill or Initiative

Authors: Ajay Singh Solanki, Leader and Archita Mohapatra, Associate - Nishith Desai Associates

After the enactment of the labor codes, the Ministry of Labor and Employment has released draft rules to the codes for public comments, namely, the Industrial Relation (Central) Rules, 2020, the Code on Social Security (Central) Rules, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2020 on October 29, 2020, November 13, 2020, and November 19, 2020, respectively. The government had earlier released the draft rules to the Code on Wages, 2019, namely the Code on Wages (Central) Rules 2020 on July 7, 2020.

Rules are typically issued under an enactment to provide for procedural aspects relating to the law. Although the government intends to implement all four labor codes by April 2021, each of the codes will need to have corresponding rules finalized and notified after comments are received from the stakeholders. Additionally, labor being a subject of concurrent list of the Indian constitution, state governments are also likely to notify separate rules for implementation of the codes. Recently, one of the states, Madhya Pradesh, became the first state in India to frame and introduce its state-specific rules to the Code on Wages.

Draft Model Standing Orders for Manufacturing and Service Sector Establishments Released for Public Comments

Proposed Bill or Initiative

Authors: Ajay Singh Solanki, Leader and Archita Mohapatra, Associate - Nishith Desai Associates

On December 31, 2020, the Ministry of Labor and Employment released draft Model Standing Orders for manufacturing and service sector establishments for public comments. These have been issued under the powers conferred to the central government by the provisions of Industrial Relations Code, 2020. Standing orders typically contain rules that govern terms and conditions of employment, including work hours, leave and holidays, wage period etc. As per the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the provisions of Chapter IV relating to standing orders are applicable to every industrial establishment that employs at least 300 workers on any day in the preceding 12 months. The draft Model Standing Orders have introduced some new provisions including those relating to work from home and flexibility in shift working.