TN shops & business establishments allowed to operate 24x7

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government issued an order permitting shops and commercial establishments to remain open 24x7 on all days of the year.

In an order issued on June 2, state labour and skill development department secretary R Kirlosh Kumar said that all shops and establishments employing 10 or more persons are exempted from the provisions of sub section (1) of section 7 and sub section (1) of section 1 of the Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, 1947 and permitted to keep open for 24x7 on all days of the year for a period of three years with effect from June 5, 2022.

Every employee shall be given one day of holiday a week on a rotation basis, and the details of every employee shall be exhibited by the employer in a conspicuous place in the establishments.

As per the GO, “an employer shall not require or allow any person to work for more than eight hours in a day and forty-eight hours in any week, and the period of work including overtime shall not exceed ten and a half hours in any day and fifty-seven hours in a week.”

The new GO stipulates that women employees shall not be required to work beyond 8 pm on any day in normal circumstances.

The employer shall allow women employees to work between 8 pm and 6 am after obtaining the written consent of the women employees, subject to providing adequate protection of their dignity, honour, and safety.

The government order also stipulates that transport arrangements should be provided to women employees who work in shifts.

The order also insists that employees should be provided with restrooms, washrooms, safety lockers, and other basic amenities. Every employer employing women employees should constitute an internal complaints committee against sexual harassment of women under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013 and the committee should be operative, the GO added.

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