Chhattisgarh enforces new law allowing shops to operate 24/7, letting women work at night

'Women employees are allowed to work at night with safety measures. Employers will have to maintain an e-record of their employees and will have to give an annual report on this on the online portal by February 15 annually,' an official said.

Raipur: A new law that allows shops to operate 24/7 by giving employees a weekly-off and lets women work at night with mandated safety measures has come into force across Chhattisgarh and will apply to all establishments with more than 10 employees, an official said on Saturday.

The State Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017 and Rules 2021 also entail registration fees ranging from Rs 1000 to Rs 10000 depending on the number of employees, a hike from Rs 100 to Rs 250 earlier, he said.

"Shops and establishments can run 24x7 by providing their employees a weekly-off. Earlier it was compulsory to close shops and establishments once a week. Also, women employees are allowed to work at night with safety measures. Employers will have to maintain an e-record of their employees and will have to give an annual report on this on the online portal by February 15 annually," he said.

"All shops and establishments need to get registered within six months of the implementation of the new Act. Existing registered shops must obtain a Labour Identification Number (LIN) within six months at no extra cost. The registration of shops and establishments will be done by the Labour Department. Earlier, it was done by civic bodies," he added.

The new Act will bring about ease of business for the sector and provide special benefits to small traders since flexibility in shop operations will accelerate business activities, the official asserted.

The new rules and regulations will not apply to liquor shops, he added.