Karnataka - Women working at night across all sectors
The Karnataka Government has amended the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961 (“Act”) to allow women employees to work at night subject to certain conditions. Earlier, the Act prohibited the employment of women and young persons during night, with an exemption granted to the Information Technology and Information Technology enabled Service sectors with due permission from the labour authorities. By way of this amendment, women employees in all sectors can work at night with effect from October 19, 2020.
There are specific conditions that apply to women employees working at night, including:
· Written consent of the women employees needs to be obtained for working at night.
· The Act compliances in relation to daily and weekly hours, overtime wages, rest periods, spread-over and weekly holidays will continue to apply to women employee working during a night shift.
· The women employees will need to be employed on a rotation basis during the night shift.
· An employer needs to comply with specific safety and security conditions in relation to women employees working at night. These include provision of paid transport facilities with adequate security, GPS and monitoring facility; posting of security guards during the night shift and in transportation; background screening of transportation drivers; route selection such that a woman employee is not picked up or dropped last, etc.
· Provisions in relation to the health and welfare of the women employees have been stipulated. These include the provision of sufficient rest rooms, electricity, bathroom lockers, dispensary facility and washing facilities separately for women employees so as to ensure privacy; payment of crèche facilities obtained by the women employees from private vendors; etc.
· The State Government may also prescribe other conditions in relation to such working at night.
Penalties for non-compliance by an employer with the above conditions are stringent, with a prescribed cancellation of the registration certificate of the establishment. This is with a view to ensure that safety, health and security conditions are effectively handled by employers.
The amendment is a welcome move to opening up the job space to more women employees, thereby boosting their earning capacity, with the corresponding impetus to Karnataka’s economic growth.