Gandhinagar: State govt is set to bring a slew of changes to the Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2019, including allowing women to work night shifts across the state and doubling the employee threshold for licence requirement for shops and establishments, top sources in state govt said.The proposed amendments are part of Omnibus Act, which is scheduled to be introduced in the state assembly session next month as part of Gujarat’s broader push to improve ease of doing business.Officials said the changes are being undertaken in line with guidelines issued by the Centre as part of its Compliance Reduction and Deregulation Exercise, aimed at simplifying regulatory requirements across departments.“Keeping in mind the guidelines that have been issued by the Union government to bring about reforms across multiple departments, the shops and establishments act is also being amended to strengthen the state government’s stated objective of increasing ease of doing business,” an official said.Under existing provisions of the shops and establishments act, women are permitted to work night shifts only in areas falling within municipal corporation limits. The proposed amendment will remove this restriction, allowing women to work night shifts across Gujarat, subject to applicable safety and other conditions.Another significant change is likely to raise the employee limit for mandatory licence of shops and establishments. At present, establishments with up to 10 employees are exempt from the licensing requirement. Govt is proposing to double the threshold to 20 employees, reducing the compliance burden on smaller establishments.The state is also considering introducing 12-hour shifts under the shops and establishments legislation, similar to the provision recently incorporated into the factories act. The provision would allow employees to work longer shifts while completing the existing statutory ceiling of 48 working hours a week, sources said.Officials said the reforms are aimed at reducing procedural and regulatory burdens on businesses while retaining safeguards relating to working conditions. “While safeguards for employees will be retained, the proposed changes will substantially reduce compliance burdens,” said an official.The proposed changes to the shops and establishments law are among a range of reforms expected to be bundled into Omnibus Act. Instead of making separate amendments to multiple laws, govt plans to incorporate changes across departments into single legislation.
