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Maharashtra's Business Boost: How New Labor Reforms Cut Red Tape for Small Shops

The Maharashtra government has introduced a bill to amend the Shops and Establishments Act. It aims to reduce the compliance burden for smaller businesses by raising the registration threshold. The changes also provide more operational flexibility with adjusted working hours and increased overtime limits. At the same time, the bill strengthens safety provisions for women working night shifts.

Key Points: Maharashtra Amends Shops Act to Ease Compliance for Small Businesses

  • Registration now mandatory only for establishments with 20+ workers, easing burden for smaller shops
  • Maximum daily work hours extended to 10, with weekly cap remaining at 48 hours
  • Quarterly overtime limit increased to 144 hours to help manage exceptional work pressure
  • Enhanced safety rules for women on night shifts, including transport and CCTV surveillance
2 min read

Maha govt tables bill to amend Shops and Establishments Act to reduce compliance burden

Maharashtra govt tables bill to amend Shops Act, raising registration threshold to 20 workers and increasing overtime limits to reduce compliance burden for small businesses.

"To align with the reform of regulations... it was considered necessary to reduce the compliance burden on smaller establishments. - The Bill"

Nagpur, Dec 8

The state government on Monday tabled a bill to amend the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017 to reduce the compliance burden for small businesses and providing greater operational flexibility while maintaining worker protection.

The bill has proposed mandatory registration for establishments with 20 or more workers instead of present 10 or more workers, establishments with less than 20 workers will now only need to submit a business intimation and not full registration required.

The maximum daily working hours will be 10 hours including rest intervals subject to a maximum of 48 hours per week instead of 9 hours per day (including rest intervals).

Quarterly overtime limit has been increased to 144 hours from 125 hours so that establishments will be allowed to engage workers in overtime for an increased period per quarter to address exceptional work pressure.

This is expected to increase workers’ earning potential and formalise overtime practices, ensuring that all additional hours are properly recorded and compensated which will help in preventing exploitation of workers.

However, the overtime working will not be mandatory for the workers. The daily spread over of work has been extended to a maximum of 12 hours per day from maximum 10.5 hours per day (span from start to end of duty including breaks.

In the case of women employees in night shift, the conditions for safety and security have been strengthened by subsequent Draft Rules, including mandatory pick-up/drop-off, well-lit workplaces, minimum two women workers on duty, and CCTV surveillance.

According to the bill, Maharashtra is India's most economically dynamic state which accommodates enormous industrial and service sectors employing large number of workers. It is an endeavour of the state to reduce compliance burden for small businesses for their economic growth while ensuring continued protection of workers under various laws.

The regulatory reforms in operational flexibility and reductions in compliance burden. Will eventually lead to economic growth of the state, said the bill.

"To align with the reform if regulations and procedures related to Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living, it was considered necessary to reduce the compliance burden on smaller establishments. It was also considered necessary to provide operational flexibility of working hours without changing the fixed limit of weekly 48 hours of work," said the bill.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

S
Sarah B
While easing business compliance is good, extending the daily spread to 12 hours is concerning. A 10-hour workday is already long. We must ensure this flexibility isn't misused to pressure employees into longer hours without proper breaks. The safeguards for women's night shifts are commendable, though.
A
Arjun K
Good step for 'Ease of Doing Business'. Maharashtra leading the way again. The increased overtime limit (144 hours) will help factories during peak seasons like Diwali or export deadlines. As long as overtime pay is mandatory and recorded, it's a win-win for worker earnings and business needs.
P
Priyanka N
I appreciate the focus on formalising overtime. In many small shops, extra hours are just expected without extra pay. Making it mandatory to record and compensate will protect workers. Hope the labour department has the resources to enforce this properly on the ground.
K
Karthik V
Reducing compliance for establishments with <20 workers makes sense. They are the backbone of our local economy but spend too much time on red tape instead of business. The weekly 48-hour cap is still there, so worker protection remains. Balance achha hai.
M
Meera T
The safety conditions for women at night—CCTV, pick-up/drop—are very important and a welcome step. However, simply having "minimum two women workers" feels like a bare minimum. We need strong implementation and a reliable grievance system. Trust, but verify.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

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