facebook twitter linkedin

Alerts & Updates 20th Mar 2026

DELHI SHOPS AND ESTABLISHMENTS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2026: OVERVIEW OF KEY AMENDMENTS AND COMPLIANCE IMPLICATIONS

Authors

Retika YadavSenior Associate | Mumbai
Srivaisanavi ArumugamAssociate | Mumbai
Vivek DaswaneyPartner & Head – Employment and Labour | Mumbai

Latest Thought Leadership

Alerts & Updates 20th Mar 2026

Press Note 3 Clarified, With a Sting in the Tail

Read More
Alerts & Updates 20th Mar 2026

Supreme Court Strikes Down Age Restriction on Maternity Benefits for Adoptive Mothers

Read More
Alerts & Updates 19th Mar 2026

‘Voluntarily’ provided personal data: How far can you go?

Read More
Alerts & Updates 18th Mar 2026

New Marking Requirements for Handlooms: Key Features and Implications for Stakeholders

Read More

  • BACKGROUND

    On 11th March 2026, the Delhi Government notified the Delhi Shops and Establishments (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Amendment Act). The amendment was passed by the Legislative Assembly on 9 January 2026 and received Presidential assent on 23 February 2026.

    The amendment marks a significant update to the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954 (Act) by revising the working hours, expanding the applicability threshold, redefining employee protections, and introducing enhanced flexibility in employment conditions to modernise workplace regulations, support round-the-clock business operations and align state law with the broader direction of the Labour Codes.

  • KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR EMPLOYERS
    • Applicability: The Act will now apply only to shops and establishments employing twenty or more employees, as against the earlier position where it applied irrespective of the number of employees. This change expressly excludes smaller establishments from its purview and is in line with similar amendments introduced in Maharashtra.
    • Working Hours: The amendment revises the maximum permissible working hours by increasing the daily limit from 9 to 10 hours, inclusive of rest intervals and lunch breaks. The maximum weekly working hours have correspondingly been enhanced from 54 hours to 60 hours. Further, the overtime limit has been revised from the erstwhile ceiling of 150 hours per annum to a cap of 144 hours per quarter.
    • Continuous Working Hours and Spread over Working Hours: The maximum duration of continuous work without a rest or meal break has been increased from 5 hours to 6 hours. Further, the spread-over of working hours, inclusive of rest and meal intervals, has been standardised at 12 hours per day across all establishments, replacing the earlier differentiated limits of 10.5 hours for commercial establishments and 12 hours for shops.
    • Night Shifts for Women: The Act permits the employment of women during night shifts, subject to obtaining their prior written consent and ensuring compliance with prescribed safeguards. “Night shift” for this purpose has been defined as the period between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. during summer, and 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. during winter.

    Employers engaging women in night shifts are required to implement specified safety measures, including provision of secure transportation, CCTV surveillance, adequate security arrangements, and appropriate workplace infrastructure. These obligations extend to contract workers as well.

    Further, the amendment mandates the presence of at least two women employees during night shifts and requires compliance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

    • Employment of children and young people: The amendment revises the definition of “child” by increasing the minimum age for employment from twelve years to fourteen years, thereby aligning the Act with the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and strengthening safeguards against child labour. Further, the Act prohibits the employment of young persons during night hours.
  • SNAPSHOT: DELHI, MUMBAI AND BENGALURU – KEY WORK-TIME PARAMETERS
    PARAMETERS DELHI HARYANA (GURUGRAM) MAHARASHTRA (MUMBAI) KARNATAKA (BANGALORE)
    Core statute Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954 (as amended in 2026) The Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958 Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act, 2017 Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961 + notifications
    Applicability 20 or more employees 1 or more employee 20 or more workers 1 or more employee
    Maximum daily working hours Up to 10 hours/day (including break) Up to 9 hours/day (including break) Up to 10 hours/day (including break) Generally, 9 hours/day (including of breaks)
    Maximum weekly working hours (including overtime) Up to 60 hours/week Up to 48 hours/week. Up to 60 hours/week (48 + OT) 48 hours/week
    Overtime cap 144 hours/quarter 50 hours/quarter 144 hours /quarterly 125 hours/quarter (sector-based variations)
    Spread-over Up to 12 hours/day Up to 10 hours/day Up to 12 hours/day Up to 12 hours/day
    Women in night shifts 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. (summer) / 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. (winter) subject to written consent, safe transport, CCTV, security, welfare amenities and robust POSH compliance Women’s night work is permitted for specified establishments and sectors, subject to detailed conditions around consent, transport and security Women may work night shifts across sectors subject to consent, safe and verified transport, security arrangements, CCTV coverage and other safeguards under the 2017 Act and rules. Women’s night work is permitted for specified establishments and sectors, subject to detailed conditions around consent, transport, security, group deployment of women and POSH compliance; the default statute remains more restrictive.
  • ELP Comments
    • The 2026 amendment to the Act reflects a clear policy shift towards improving ease of doing business, while also updating workplace rules to suit a modern, services-driven economy. However, while the changes seem to be industry friendly, it does create disparity between the different State laws and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code).
      Employers should review workforce planning and redesign shift structures to align with the revised working hour limits and the quarterly overtime cap. Where women are engaged in night shifts, companies must implement robust safety measures, including obtaining documented consent, providing secure transport and ensuring adequate on-ground security, along with strengthening POSH compliance in practice. Employers should also update their internal policies, employee handbooks and employment contracts to reflect the amended framework, align operational practices with the new requirements, and adopt a proactive approach towards compliance and internal governance. This process will become more challenging for establishments having offices in different states, in which case they will need to have separate supplements for different states if the same provisions cannot be aligned for all state offices.

     

    We hope you have found this information useful. For any queries/clarifications, please write to us at insights@elp-in.com  or write to our authors:

     

    Vivek Daswaney, Partner – Email – VivekDaswaney@elp-in.com

    Retika Yadav, Senior Associate – Email – RetikaYadav@elp-in.com

    Srivaisanavi Arumugam, Associate – Email – SrivaisanaviArumugam@elp-in.com

Privacy Policy

As per the rules of the Bar Council of India, lawyers and law firms are not permitted to solicit work or advertise. By clicking on the "I Agree" button, you acknowledge and confirm that you are seeking information relating to Economic Laws Practice (ELP) of your own accord and there has been no advertisement, personal communication, solicitation, invitation or any other inducement of any sort whatsoever by or on behalf of ELP or any of its members to solicit any work through this website.

I AGREE EXIT SITE