Exemption Notification Issued under Section 65 of the Factories Act [Notification No.GLR.170/2019/Pt./4]

All factories registered under The Factories Act, 1948 in the state have been exempted from the provision of Section 51 (Weekly Hour), Section 54 (Daily Hour), Section 52 (Weekly Holidays), Section 56 (Spread Hours)
This exemption is subject to the condition that:

1. A Total number of the working hours in one day shall not exceed twelve hours.
2. The spread over, inclusive of intervals for rest shall not exceed thirteen hours in any one day.

Employers and Employees may mutually agree to an extension of working upto a maximum of the twelve-hour subject to payment of overtime wages to the employee and workers. Such mutual agreement between employer and employees and workers shall remain valid upto a maximum of three months from the date of issue or withdrawal of the notification.

Exemption Notification Issued Under Section 5 Of The Assam Shops And Establishments Act, 1971
Notification No.GLR.170/2019/Pt./4

All establishments registered under The Assam Shops And Establishments Act, 1971 have been exempted from the provisions of Section 6 (Daily and Weekly hours) with effect from 8th May 2020.
This is subject to the condition that:

1. A Total number of the working hour in one day shall not exceed twelve hours
2. The spread over, inclusive of intervals for rest shall not exceed thirteen hours in any one day.

Employers and Employee may mutually agree to an extension of working upto a maximum of the twelve-hour subject to payment of overtime wages to the employee and workers. Such mutual agreement between employer and employee and workers shall remain valid upto a maximum of three months from the date of issue or withdrawal of the notification.

The Bihar Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1947 has been amended to include “fixed-term employment workman” under Appendix A in paragraph 2 of the Model Standing orders with conditions that facilities such as hours of work, wages, allowances and other statutory benefits shall not be lesser than the facilities for the permanent workman.

The Amendment Notification also incorporates Rule 3(A) which provides that employer of an industrial establishment shall not convert the posts of the permanent workmen to fixed-term employment.

Finally, the notification also incorporates provisions in Standing Order Rules which states that no notice of termination of employment shall be necessary in the case of temporary workman whether monthly rated, weekly rated or piece rated and probationers or badli workmen. It also states that no workman employed on fixed term employment basis as a result of non-renewal of contract or employment or on the expiry of such contract period without it being renewed, shall be entitled to any notice or pay in lieu thereof, if his services are terminated.

The major change in the CLRA pertains to the number of contract labour required for the Act to apply to an establishment. As it stands, the CLRA applies to establishments and contractors who employ at least twenty workmen as contract labour. The Ordinance seeks to increase this number to fifty for establishments and contractors in Goa.

The increase in the threshold for application of CLRA is in line with changes made by several states in the last 6 years towards an increase in corresponding thresholds in other labour statutes. However, in a country with overwhelming preponderance of employment in micro, small and medium enterprises, a threshold of 50 would push most contract labour out of the coverage of CLRA.

Secondly, apart from raising the threshold for applicability of CLRA, this Ordinance also introduces a provision on the compounding of certain offences. Compounding of an offence is a process in which, the offender has the option to pay a monetary amount called the composition amount in lieu of his prosecution. The newly inserted Section 25-A states that offences under Section 22 of the CLRA on obstructing an inspector or refusal to produce any register or any document to the inspector as well as offences under Section 24 (a residual clause on punishment for other offences in the CLRA) may be compounded by any authority so empowered by the State Govt.

Compounding of relatively minor offences may certainly help in promoting ease of business and reducing the threat of incarceration for business owners. It is also noteworthy that offences under Section 23 of the CLRA, that deals with contravention of provisions prohibiting, restricting or regulating the use of contract labour, or contraventions of conditions of licence, have not been made compoundable. At the same time, the paltry amount set as composition amount in the Ordinance can negate any possible deterrent effect of the respective provisions of CLRA. Curiously, the composition amount is only ₹ 20,000 for establishments with 50 to 100 workers, ₹35,000 for establishments with 101 to 500 workers and ₹ 50000 for establishments with more than 500 workers.

The Goa Government has promulgated an Ordinance to amend the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 so as to reduce the statutory time-period for raising an individual dispute on termination of employment. The Industrial Disputes Act 1947 is ordinarily geared towards resolution of collective disputes raised by a trade union or a substantial number of workmen. Further, such disputes have to be referred to a Labour Court or the Industrial Tribunal by the Appropriate Government.

However, an exception has been provided for by Section 2-A of the Act which allows an individual workman to apply directly to a Labour Court or an Industrial Tribunal, even without any reference by the Appropriate Government or the support of any union or workmen. This exception applies to cases of a dispute arising out of any termination of employment. However, such an application has to be made to the Labour Court or Tribunal before the expiry of three years from the date of termination. This three-year window is being made subject to another qualifier by addition of a new clause by the Ordinance. This clause [Section 2A (4)] has added a new clause which requires that such a dispute must be raised before a conciliation officer within a period of one year from the date of such termination of service for it to be considered as an industrial dispute under Section 2-A of the Act. The imposition of a stricter limitation period for raising individual industrial disputes shall place a very heavy burden on individual workman at the receiving end of termination of their employment.

The Goa Government has exempted all the adult workers, (except those holding positions of supervision or management and/or not employed in a confidential position within the meaning of sub-section (1) of Section 64 of the Act) working in all of the factories situated in Goa, registered under the Factories Act, 1948 from the provision of Section 51 (Weekly Hour), Section 54 (Daily Hour), Section 52 (Weekly Holidays), Section 56 (Spread Hours), Section 59 (Extra wages for overtime) with effect from 8th May 2020 till 31st July, 2020.

This exemption is subject to the following conditions:

1. The total number of hours of work in any day shall not exceed twelve hours;
2. The spread over, inclusive of intervals for rest, shall not exceed thirteen hours in any one day;
3. The total number of hours of work in any week, including overtime, shall not exceed sixty;
4. No worker shall be allowed to work overtime, for more than seven days at a stretch and the total number of hours of overtime work in any quarter shall not exceed seventy five;
5. No worker shall work for more than five hours before he has had an interval for rest of atleast half an hour;
6. Where a worker works in a factory for more than forty-eight hours in any week he shall, in respect of overtime work, be entitled to wages at the rate of twice his ordinary rate of wages in accordance with the provisions prescribed under Section 59 of the said Act;
7. If a worker is required to work on weekly holiday(s), he shall be allowed to avail compensatory holiday(s) for having worked on weekly holiday(s), within the month in which the holidays were due to him or within the two months immediately following that month in accordance with the provisions prescribed under Section 53 of the said Act;
8. The instructions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India and the Government of Goa from time to time regarding COVID-19 pertaining to social distancing, sanitization, etc. shall be strictly followed.

This ‘Self Certification Scheme’ is applicable to all the Factories situated in Goa and registered except for the factories categorized as “major accident hazards (MAH) installations” under clause (ja) of rule 2 of the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989.

The scheme shall be valid for five calendar years. An Occupier may get enrolled for this scheme by submitting an application in Form – I. After enrolling under this scheme, an employer is exempted from maintenance of following registers (which shall be maintained in soft copy format only).

1. Record of lime washing, painting, etc. in Form No. 08;
2. Humidity Register in Form No. 9;
3. Register of Compensatory Holidays in Form No. 17;
4. Overtime muster roll for exempted workers in Form No. 18;
5. Register of adult workers in Form No. 20;
6. Register of child workers in Form No. 22;
7. Register of leaving with Wages in Form No. 23;
8. Leave Book in Form No. 24;
9. Nomination for Payment of Wages due for a period of leave with wages in the event of the death of a worker in Form No. 25;
10. Muster Roll in Form No. 36;
11. Register of accidents and dangerous occurrences in Form No. 37; and
12. Inspection Book in Form No. 38.

The Occupier/manager shall be required to submit compliance to the inspection report within one month from the date of receipt of Inspection Report. According to the scheme, once inspected, the same factory will not be inspected again during the remaining period of the validity of the scheme unless there is the occurrence of a fatal accident or accident causing serious bodily injury or dangerous occurrence takes place or any specific complaint/grievance is received regarding violation of the law during the said period.

All factories registered under the Factories Act, 1948 exempted from the provisions of the Act relating to weekly hours, daily hours, intervals for rest etc. from 20th April till 19th July, 2020 with following conditions:

a. No adult worker to be allowed to work more than 12 hours/day and 72 hours/ week.
b. Period of adult worker shall be fixed for not more than 6 hours in a day with interval of half hours at least.
c. No female worker will be allowed to work between 7:00 pm to 6:00 am.
d. Wages will be in proportion of the existing wages.

Enhancement of the Threshold for Applicability of the Contract Labour (Regulation and abolition) Act, 1970

The Government of Gujarat vide notification No.GHR/2020/59/CLA/152020/210/M-3 has raised the threshold for application of The Contract Labour (Regulation and abolition) Act, 1970 to the establishments and contractors in Gujarat ten or more workmen to twenty or more workmen.

Exemption under Section 65 [Notification No.2/17/2020-2lab]

All factories registered in the state of Haryana under The Factories Act, 1948 have been exempted from the provision of Section 51 (Weekly Hour), Section 54 (Daily Hour), Section 55 (Interval Of Rest), Section 56 (Spread Hours).
This exemption is subject to following conditions:

1. The total number of working hour in a day shall not exceed twelve subject to conditions stipulated under section 65(3) of the Factories Act 1948.
2. The exemption will not provide any immunity from any other section or rules of this Act or any other state/central government legislation.
3. This exemption will be valid till 30th June 2020.
4. The wages for the overtime period will be paid as per section 59 of the Factories Act, 1948.
5. The instruction issued by Government of India and Government of Haryana from time to time regarding COVID-19 including social distancing sanitisation shall be strictly followed.

The last day to deposit the contribution due to the Labour Welfare Fund pertaining to the year 2019, without any interest, has been extended from 31st March 2020 to 30th June 2020.

Exemption Under Section 65 [Notification no. Shram (A)4-3/2017]

All factories registered under the Factories Act, 1948 in the state of Himachal Pradesh have been exempted from the provision of Section 51 (Weekly Hour), Section 54 (Daily Hour), Section 55 (Interval Of Rest), Section 56 (Spread Hours) with effect from 21st April 2020 to 20th July 2020 subject to aforesaid conditions,

1. No Adult workers shall be allowed or required to work in the factory more than twelve hours in a day and seventy-two hours in a week.
2. The periods of work of adult workers in a factory each day shall be so fixed that no period shall exceed six hours and that no workers shall work for more than six hours before he has had an interval to rest for at least half an hour.
3. Wages in respect of increased working hour as a result of this exemption shall be in proportion to the existing Minimum Wage fixed by the Government of Himachal Pradesh under Minimum Wage Act 1948.
4. Provision of the Over Time under section 59 of the Act shall continue to apply without any change.

Amendment to Rule 21: Rule 21 has been amended to allow online application for a license on the Official Portal of the Labour Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh.

Amendment to Rule 27: The validity of the license period has been extended from a year to “the period of the contract for which the application is made” through an amendment to Rule 27. Until now, a licence granted or renewed expired on December 31 every year. Now, on the other hand, the term of the license shall be co-terminus with the term of the contract and shall not require an annual renewal.

The Madhya Pradesh Government has issued a notification under the Public Services Delivery Guarantee Act 2010 wherein the time frame for the issue of a license under the CLRA has been fixed as one day.

The M.P. Government has used the power vested by Section 36-B of Act to exempt establishments from all or any of the provisions of the Act. A notification issued on May 5, 2020 exempts new Industries registered in the state under Factories Act 1948 that start production in the next 1000 days in the state for next 1000 days from all the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 except a few select provisions. The provision that shall remain applicable are provisions of Chapter V-A and Section 25-N, Section 25-O, Section 25-P, Section 25 -Q and Section 25-R of Chapter V-B of the Act.

This exemption is however subject to the condition that adequate provisions are made by such industries for the investigation and settlement of industrial disputes of the workmen employed by them.

The M.P. Government has issued a notification in furtherance of Section 1 (4) of the MPIRA under which 11 categories of industries listed in the schedule have been exempted from the Act for an indefinite period of time.

The Madhya Pradesh Government has also recognised Third-Party Certification for Factories in the non-Hazardous Categories that employ up to 50 workers. This has been done through a notification issued in pursuance of powers vested by Section 8 and Section 112 of the Factories Act 1948. In addition, the Madhya Pradesh Factories Rules, 1962 has been amended to add Rule 18-B allowing inspection by a person or agency authorised by the Labour Commissioner.

The exemption notification further clarifies that factories which submit third-party certification report regarding compliances with Factories Act 1948 within January 31 of a year shall be exempted from routine inspection.

A notification has been issued, under Section 5 of the Factories Act, which exempts all factories registered under the Factories Act 1948 in the state of Madhya Pradesh from all provisions of the Factories Act 1948 and Madhya Pradesh Factories Rules 1962 for three months except for a few stipulated provisions. The provisions that shall remain applicable include sections 6 (approval, licensing and registration), 7 (Notice by Occupier), 8 (Inspectors) and section 21 to 41-H under Chapter-4 (provisions on safety), section 59 (extra wages for overtime), section 67 (prohibition on employment of young children), section 79 (annual leave with wages), section 88 (notice of certain accidents), section 112 (Rule-making power). The provisions that have been suspended include provisions on facilities for lighting, drinking water, canteens, creches, hours of work, weekly holidays, provisions on penalties.

The Madhya Pradesh Government has also promulgated the Madhya Pradesh Labour Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. One of the major changes introduced by this Ordinance is the increase of the threshold for applicability of the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Employment Standing Orders Act 1961 from 50 to 100 employees. This Act requires every employer to frame standing orders on key service conditions specified in the statute and get them certified by the appropriate authorities. The Ordinance means that a large number of establishments would now be exempted from the operation of this Act.

The Madhya Pradesh Labour Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 has vested the state government with the power to exempt any establishment or any category of establishments from any or all of the provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Shram Kalyan Nidhi Adhiniyam, 1982. This statute requires employers and employees to make contributions to the Labour Welfare Board constituted under it on a half-yearly basis. While the new Ordinance does not by itself provide any exemption, it has paved the path for grant of such exemption by the government.

Through an order issued in pursuance of section 9 of the MPSEA, shops and establishments in Madhya Pradesh have been now allowed to be kept open from 6 a.m. to 12 midnight. Until now, shops and establishments were allowed to be opened from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. So, there has been an increase of four hours in total hours of work for such an establishment. It must, however, be noted that there has been no extension of working hours for employees engaged in such establishments.

The deadline for employers who have registered for filing Self-Certification-cum-Consolidated Annual Returns under The Maharashtra Shops And Establishments (Regulation Of Employment And Conditions Of Service) Act, 2017 and various labour acts have been extended to 31st July 2020.

All the factories registered under the Factories Act, 1948 in the state of Odisha have been exempted from the provision of Section 51 (Weekly Hour), Section 54 (Daily Hour), Section 55 (Interval Of Rest), Section 56 (Spread Hours) with effect from 8th May 2020 for a period of three months subject to the following conditions:

1. No adult worker shall be allowed or required to work in a factory for more than twelve hours in any day and seventy-two hours in any week.
2. The periods of work of adult workers in a factory each day shall be so fixed that no period shall exceed six hours and that no worker shall work for more than six hours before he has had an interval to rest for at least half an hour.
3. The total spread over shall not exceed thirteen hours.
4. No female workers shall be allowed or required to work in a factory between 7.00 pm to 6.00 am unless specifically permitted by the Government.
5. Additional four hours of overtime wages per day shall be paid as prescribed under Section 59 of Factories Act subject to overtime limit of twenty-four-hour per week.

In exercise of powers conferred under Section 65 of the Factories Act 1948, the Government of Punjab has exempted all factories registered in the state for three months from the following provisions of the Act: –
The provision on regular working hours of Nine hours per day as per Section 54 of the Act [instead the notification allows the working of maximum twelve hours per day for all factories].
Provision on Spread over hours in a day not exceeding a maximum of ten and half hours as provided under Section 56 of the Act. [Instead, the notification allows a maximum spread over of thirteen hours in one day] These exemptions are subject to the following conditions:

a. The workers shall be provided wages at the rate of twice the ordinary rate of wages as provided for overtime under Section 59 of the Act.
b. All precautionary measures advised by the Government for sanitization and principles of social distancing and less contact shall be strictly adhered to.

The State Government issued an order withdrawing the Notification number No.ST/9408, published on 1st May 2020 which had revised minimum wages with effect from 1st March 2020.

Government of Rajasthan has exempted shops and establishments in the state from the provision on prohibition on employment of women during the night (Section 22) of the Rajasthan Shops and Establishment Act, 1958 for three years from the date of publication of notification subject to conditions that:

1. Only after obtaining the consent of the woman employee, the employer will be given permission to employ women workers at night.
2. The employer shall issue an appointment letter, and photo along with an identity card to all women employees.
3. In case of women employees working at night, the employer shall be responsible for their full safety and he shall provide safe transportation facilities from home to workplace and vice versa to them at night.
4. A separate restroom locker for keeping their belongings shall be provided to the women employee at their workplace.
5. No pregnant women shall be called for work at night from a period of three months prior to her expected delivery date till and three months after the delivery of the child.
6. The employer will ensure proper arrangements for the prohibition of acts and incidents of potential sexual harassments.
7. If any shop or commercial establishment violates any of the above terms then the relief granted shall terminate automatically and consequently, the employer shall be held liable under the acts and other laws according to the procedure established.

The duration of exemption is four years for shops or establishments in which the employer herself is a woman and which is also operated by a woman and which has only women employees.

All shops and establishments registered under the Rajasthan Shops and Establishment Act, 1958 have been exempted from the provision on weekly holiday under Section 12 of the Act for three years from the date of publication of notification subject to the condition that:

1. Employer shall give his employees a day of paid leave every week.
2. The working hour of the employee shall be 9 hours/per day and 48 hours per week. If employees work more than the prescribed time limit then a separate record shall be maintained.
3. If an employee is made to do overtime then his payment shall be made according to the provisions of the Act.
4. Every employee shall be given an appointment Letter by the employer and one copy shall be given to the Labor Inspector and the receipt shall be entered in the record.
5. This is only for the shops and commercial establishments, workers shall obtain benefits according to the sections of the Act.
6. These exemptions shall be subject to the above conditions being fulfilled by the employer and the orders issued in relation to this by the State Government from time to time.
7. If any shop or commercial establishment violates any of the above-stated terms then the given exemption shall end and as a result, the employer will be made liable according to the sections and such other Laws as applicable.

Exemption Notifications dated 11-04-2020 and order no. F.3 (15)/Legal/F&B/2020/226 dated 24-04-2020 have been withdrawn

(Withdrawn Later)

Notification no.No. 13 /2020/ 502 /XXXVI-03-2020- 30 (Sa.)/2020TC

Cancelled by Notification No. 15/2020/511/XXXVI-03-2020- 30 (Sa.)/2020TC

All factories registered under the Factories Act, 1948 in the state were been exempted from the provision of Section 51 (Weekly Hour), Section 54 (Daily Hour), Section 55 (Interval Of Rest), Section 56 (Spread Hours), Section 59 (Extra wages for overtime) with effect from 20th April 2020 till 19th July 2020 subject to aforesaid conditions.
The exemption has been withdrawn later by a fresh notification dated May 08, 2020.

(Ordinance requires presidential assent to come into force)

The Ordinance stipulates that all factories and establishments engaged in manufacturing process shall be exempted from the operation of all Labour Laws for a period of three years, subject to the the following conditions:

a. Name and details of all employed workers to be entered electronically on attendance register.
b. Workers shall not be paid less than minimum wages as prescribed by Government.
c. The wages to the workers shall be paid within the time limit prescribed under section- 5 of Payment of Wages Act, 1936 and only in their respective bank accounts.
e. The provisions of Factories Act, 1948 and Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 relating to safety and security of the workers, provisions of Bonded Labour System (Abolition)Act, 1976 and provisions of the various labour laws relating to the employment of children and women to remain applicable.
f. The workers shall not be allowed to work for more than eleven hours per day and the spread over of the work to not be more than twelve hours per day.
g. For any death or disability due to accident arising out of and in the course of employment compensation to be paid in accordance with Employees Compensation Act, 1923.

Exemption Notifications dated 11-04-2020 and order no. F.3 (15)/Legal/F&B/2020/226 dated 24-04-2020 have been withdrawn

Notification no.No./VII/20-91/2008-1

Notification No:VIII/20-91(Labour)/2008 T.C

All factories registered under the Factories Act, 1948 in the state have been exempted from the provision of Section 51 (Weekly Hour), Section 54 (Daily Hour), Section 55 (Interval Of Rest), Section 56 (Spread Hours) with effect from 21st April 2020 to 20th July 2020 subject to the following conditions:

1. The Factories may function in two shifts at 11 hours each with one hour break between the said two shifts. Thereby allowing 3 hours of overtime for which the overtime wages shall be paid accordingly.
2. The Workers engaged in the shifts as stated above shall not be engaged for more than 6 days in a week and the overtime shall be limited 18 hours per week.
3. The notification shall be applicable only to the industrial establishments which have been allowed by the State Government/District Administration to function during the lockdown.
4. The instruction issued by the State Government/District Administration regarding COVID-19 including social distancing, sanitisation, along with various safety provisions prescribed in the Factories Act shall be strictly followed.
5. The notification shall be valid for 3 months from the date of its publication.
6. Ministry of Home Affair (MHA) order no. 40-3/2020-DM-IA dated 15th April 2020 annexed with consolidated revised guidelines along with the National Directives for COVID-19 management and standard operating Procedures (SOP) for social distancing and hygiene measures to be followed by officer, workplace, factories and another establishment has to be adhered to.

For factories with continuous processes, a second notification has been issued which further states that:

1. In respect of production process every day working shifts will be divided in twelve to twelve hours where four hours will be overtime.
2. The workers working in two shifts shall work six days in a week and overtime will be limited till twenty-four hours.
3. Workers shall be provided thirty minutes rest after every six hours of work.

The government has increased the threshold limit for applicability to the Factories Act, 1948 through a notification issued under Section 5 of the Act accordingly:

a) From ten or more workers to twenty or more workers for factories operating with the aid of power and
b) From twenty or more workers to forty or more workers for factories operating without the aid of power for three months.

Notification No.F.2(345)-FB/EoDB(Vol-II)/2015(Part)/189-96

The Tripura Govt has has exempted all factories registered under The Factories Act, 1948 in the state from the provisions of Section 51 (Weekly Hour), Section 54 (Daily Hour), Section 55 (Interval of Rest), Section 56 (Spreadover Hours) with effect from 21st May 2020 for a period of three months.
This exemption is contingent on the following conditions:

1. No adult workers shall be allowed or required to work in a factory for more than twelve hours in any day and seventy two hours in a week.
2. The periods of work of adult workers in a factory each day shall be so fixed that no period shall exceed six hours and that no workers shall work for more than six hours before he has had an interval for rest of atleast half an hour.
3. No female workers shall be allowed or required to work in a factory between 7pm to 6am.
4. Salaries/wage shall be in proportion of the existing rate (e.g if wages for eight hour is Rs 160, then proportionate wage will be Rs 240 for twelve hours).

Notification No.F.16 (8)- LAB/ENF/CL/2008/2976-92

Has extended the applicability of The Contract Labour (Regulation and abolition) Act, 1970 to any establishment or class of establishments or any class of contractors from existing applicability of employing twenty or more workmen to fifty or more workmen.