Haryana Government notifies conditions for employing women during night shifts (7:00 pm to 6:00 am) in any IT, ITeS, logistics and warehousing establishments etc. registered under the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958
With a view to safeguard the interest of the women workers, Government of Haryana has notified conditions for employing women in night shifts (7:00 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 (7:00 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 commencement of the period in respect of which exemption is sought.
Note: The above-mentioned exemption, once granted, will be valid for one year.
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 as per the provisions of the 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 ensure the following (appropriate) steps to prevent sexual harassment:
• 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 physic verbal or non-verbal contact of sexual nature;
• The management of the shop or establishment are required to frame 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 “POSH ACT”.
• 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 preferably be headed by a woman and not less than half of its members should be women besides a non-governmental organization’s representation in the committee. Such person should be familiar with the issues of sexual harassment as is prescribed under the “Act”.
6. The female employees should be allowed to raise issues of sexual harassment to workers in the Workers’ meeting and other 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. Obtain declaration / consent from each of the women workers including security guard, supervisors, shift- in-charge or any other women staff to work during night shift i.e. (between 7:00 pm and 6.00 am) and forward a copy of such declaration/ consent to the Labour Commissioner of Haryana.
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. Ensure that the women workers are employed in a batch of not less than ten and the total number of women workers employed in a night shift is not less than 2/3rd of the total strength.
12. Sufficient women security needs to be provided during the night shift at the entry as well as exit point.
13. Provide sufficient number of work sheds for the female workers to arrive in advance and also leave after the working hours.
14. Provide separate canteen facility for the female employees, if number of female employees are more than 50.
15. provide transportation facility to the women workers from their residence and back (for the night shift) and security guards (including female security guard) and ensure that each transportation vehicle is also equipped with CCTV cameras.
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, a separate vehicle 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 shall be kept exclusively for the women under the control of women wardens or supervisors.
18. Send a half yearly report to the Labour Commissioner of Haryana about the details of employees engaged during night shifts and in the event some untoward incident, send immediate report of the same to the Labour Commissioner and local Police Station.
19. In other respects, the provisions of the Haryana 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.
Source: Government of Haryana
