Norms prescribed for establishments include granting staff a weekly holiday

Shops and establishments in the State will be allowed to stay open 24x7 on all days of the year, for a period of three years. A notification in this connection will be published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette soon.

In 2016, the Centre had finalised a model legislation called the Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment ad Conditions of Service) Bill, which allowed cinema halls, restaurants, shops, banks and other such workplaces to stay open 24x7. The Centre said that the Bill was a suggestive piece of legislation and States could either adopt the said Bill or modify it as per local requirements.

In 2018, Maharashtra became the first State to allow shops, hotels and restaurants to remain open 24x7. Earlier, Tamil Nadu had allowed shops and establishments to stay open all year round for a period of one year up to March 22, 2017, which it extended for a further three years.

The Tamil Nadu government has now accepted the proposal by Principal Secretary/Commissioner of Labour and decided to permit all shops and establishments to stay open 24x7 on all days of the year, provided they follow certain conditions, which include ensuring the safety of women employees.

Every employee shall be given one day holiday in a week on a rotation basis and the details of every employee should be provided in the prescribed form and shall be exhibited by the employer in a conspicuous place in the establishment, the proposal says.

An employer shall not require or allow any person to work for more than eight hours in any day or 48 hours in any week and the period of work including overtime shall not exceed 10.5 hours in any day and 57 hours in a week, it adds.

Women need not work beyond 8 p.m. on any day under normal circumstances. The employer, after obtaining her written consent, can allow a woman to work between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. subject to providing her adequate protection, the proposed notification states.