Struggling with Weekly Holiday Changes: How Can I Convince Officials to Switch from Tuesday to Sunday?

Dear concerns,

According to the AP Shops and Establishment Act 1988, there is a weekly holiday on Sunday or any other day in the states. In some areas, Tuesday is declared as the weekly holiday, causing trouble for my company with those branches. While the main branch and related branches are closed on Sunday, two branches work on Tuesday due to local influence. The act allows for this, but I would like to change Sunday to be the weekly holiday instead of Tuesday.

I have discussed this with the area ACL, but he did not agree with my proposal for Sunday as the holiday; he is adamant about Tuesday as the holiday. I am unable to obtain a 365-day permission as it is highly expensive for the organization.

Please help and guide me on how to proceed. If there is a way to seek permission from the DCL or any other relevant officials regarding this matter, I would appreciate your assistance.

Thank you.

Shops and Commercial Establishments Act: Weekly Holiday Flexibility

The Shops and Commercial Establishments Act provides for one closed holiday, and it is up to the establishment to decide on which day it should observe that weekly holiday. At the same time, the establishment can seek exemption from this provision. Accordingly, hotels and restaurants have already been granted exemption from the operation of this section. Similarly, IT companies are also given flexibility in selecting weekly holidays for their establishments.

In this scenario, rejecting the request for a change in the weekly off/holiday by the appropriate authority under the Shops and Commercial Establishments Act is not proper and is beyond his authority. Therefore, I would suggest that you first publish a notice of change in the weekly off (as required per section 9A of the Industrial Disputes Act) and ensure that employees do not have any objection to that change. After 21 days of such publication, you can change the day of the weekly closing and post it on the notice board. You do not need to obtain concurrence from the Labor department to effect such a change, as far as I understand.

The above advice is based on my understanding of the laws applicable in Kerala. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

What if some employees have objections to changing the weekly off/holiday after publishing a notice? How should the employer proceed? Should the employer obtain written consent from all employees if they have all agreed to changing the weekly off?

Regards,
Suresh

Handling Employee Objections to Changes

If employees have objections, naturally, it will become a dispute, and you will have to settle the dispute before effecting such changes. Under these circumstances, the general opinion of the employees will be considered, and the others who dissent will have to follow it as the majority decision. A meeting shall be convened, and the minutes recorded, which will serve as consent from the employees.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Understanding the Shops Act and Weekly Holidays

Normally, what the Shops Act is concerned with is that the establishment shall remain closed one day in a week. However, some Shops Acts, like the Bombay Shops Act, vest power in the local authority to fix a specific day as a holiday for a particular locality after ascertaining the views of the associations, employers, and employees in that locality. Probably, the A.P Shops Act may have such a provision. However, power has also been vested in the authority to fix different days as holidays for different establishments, as provided under the Bombay Shops Act. A similar alternative must have also been in the A.P Shops Act.

Kindly verify the Act and make an application to the ACL for a change of holiday along with consent letters of the employees since that seems to be the foundation for declaring a local holiday. Trust your request will be considered.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
Mumbai

Dear Vishnu and others, The Labour Department has the power to declare a weekly holiday for shops and establishments in various neighborhoods. To seek exemption from this, you must approach the appropriate authority. I have reviewed the AP Shop & Establishment Act, which only outlines the duties of the Inspector regarding the weekly holiday, but it does not mention any changes to it. I was unable to verify the associated rules. It is also unclear whether you are classified as a shop or an establishment.

Regards

Considerations for Changing Service Conditions

Any change in service conditions is to be dealt with under provision 9A of the ID Act. Secondly, various factors affecting the area of business, such as infrastructure, logistics support, power supply, working patterns of other auxiliary units, and political influence, etc., are to be considered. Check these factors and the provisions of the Factories Act or the AP S&E Act, as applicable, to arrive at a decision.

Regards