Haryana Government notifies conditions for engaging women employees during night shifts (8:00 pm to 6:00 am) in any IT, ITeS, logistics and warehousing establishments etc. registered under the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1
With a view to ensure security, safety and safeguard the interest of the women workers, Government of Haryana has notified revised conditions for engaging women workers during night shifts (8:00 pm to 6:00 am) in any IT, ITeS, banking establishments, three star or above hotels, hundred per cent export-oriented establishments and logistics and warehousing establishments which are registered under the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958.
Key Highlights:
1. An application for grant of exemption to engage women employees at night (8:00 pm to 6:00 am) is required to be sent to the Labour Commissioner or Chief Inspectors of Shops of Haryana, one month prior to the date of commencement of the period in respect of which exemption is sought;
Note: The above-mentioned exemption, once granted, will be valid for one year from the date of order of exemption unless there is any change of security, transportation agreements and other details of occupier/director/manager.
2. Exemption from prohibition on engaging women employees during night shifts will be granted subject to ensuring compliance with the following conditions:
a. Employer or other responsible persons (at the workplace or institutions) are required to prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment and provide the procedures for resolution; statement of victim or prosecution of acts of sexual harassment by taking all steps required under the provisions of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“POSH ACT”). The employer / occupier is required to submit a copy of Annual Return which is to be submitted to the District Authority under the POSH ACT and to the Labour Commissioner of Haryana.
b. All employers or persons in charge of workplace or factory should take appropriate steps to prevent sexual harassment including:
• Express prohibition of sexual harassment in any form such as unwelcome sexually determined behaviour either directly or by implication or advances or contact to gain contact or demand sexually favours or make sexually coloured remarks or showing pornography or any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal contact of sexual nature;
• Ensure that the management of the shop or establishment frames the Rules or Regulations relating to conduct and discipline prohibiting sexual harassment and provide for appropriate penalties in such rules against the offenders and amend the same wherever necessary and as prescribed in the Standing Orders;
• Provide appropriate working conditions in respect of work, leisure, health and hygiene with a view to ensure that there is no hostile environment towards women at workplaces and no woman employee should have reasonable grounds to believe that she is disadvantaged in connection with her employment;
3. In the event of any criminal case, the employer is required to initiate immediate and appropriate action in accordance with the penal law and ensure that victims or witnesses are not victimised or discriminated against while dealing with complaints of sexual harassment and wherever necessary, at the request of the affected worker, shift or transfer the perpetrator, if circumstances so warrant. The employer will be required to take appropriate disciplinary action if such conduct amounts to misconduct in employment;
4. Employer is required to maintain a complaint redressal mechanism in the shop / establishment itself and the said mechanism should ensure time-bound treatment of complaints. Such mechanism should be to provide, when necessary, a Complaint Committee, a special counsellor or other support services including the maintenance of confidentiality;
5. The Complaint Committee should be as prescribed in the Act;
6. The female employees should be allowed to raise issues of sexual harassment in appropriate forums, written or in electronic form or through a complaint box;
7. Ensure to prominently display the guidelines on the subject to ensure that the female employees are made aware of their rights;
8. In the event of harassment at the instance of a third party, either by an act or omission, the employer and person in charge of the shop / establishment is required to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to reasonably assist the affected person in terms of support and preventive action;
9. Submit declaration that you have obtained consent from each of the women employees who are engaged for work during night shift i.e. (between 8:00 pm and 6.00 am);
10. Provide proper lighting both inside the shop / establishment and the surrounding of the shop / establishment and all places where the female workers may move out of necessity in the course of such shift;
11. Provide sufficient security guards during the night shift;
12. Provide sufficient number of work sheds for the female workers to arrive in advance and also leave after the working hours;
13. Provide separate canteen facility for the female employees, if number of female employees are more than 50 (except in IT, ITeS);
14. Provide transportation facility to the women workers from their residence and back (for the night shift) and in case of buses, the vehicles shall also be equipped with CCTV cameras;
15. For logistics and warehousing establishments, during night shift, not less than 1/3rd of total strength, including the supervisor or shift in-charge and other employees, shall be women;
16. The establishment must provide appropriate medical facilities and also make available at any time of urgency by providing necessary telephone arrangement and where more than hundred women workers are employed in a shift, an arrangement of vehicle/tie-ups be kept ready to meet the emergent situation such as hospitalization, whenever there is a case of injury or incidental acts of harassment etc.
17. In the event establishment / management provides boarding and lodging arrangements for the women workers, ensure that the same is kept exclusively for the women under the control of women wardens or supervisors;
18. Ensure there is not less than twelve consecutive hours of rest or gap between the last shifts and the night shift wherever a women employee is changed from day shift to night shift and so also from night shift to day shift;
19. The female employees who work in night shifts and regular shifts shall have a meeting through their representative with principal employer once in eight weeks as grievance day and the employer shall try to comply all just and reasonable grievances;
20. The employer shall include in the annual report to be sent to the Labour Commissioner Haryana the details of employees engaged during night shifts.
21. The Management will ensure that the Security In-charge/Management have maintained the Boarding Register/Digitally signed computerized record consisting the Date, Name of the Model & Manufacturing of the Vehicle, Vehicle Registration No. Name of the Driver, Address of the Driver, Phone/Contract No. of the Driver and Time Pick up of the women employees from the establishment destination.
22. In other respects, the provisions of the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958 and the rules of other statutory provisions with respect to the hours of work and the payment of Equal Remuneration Act and all other Labour Legislations is required to be complied with by the employer.
A copy of the Notification is linked below for reference.
Source: Government of Haryana
