Navigating the Maharashtra Shop and Establishment Act: Licensing and Wage Queries for Field and Factory Staff

Dear Colleagues,

Applicability and Coverage under the Maharashtra Shop and Establishment Act 2017

I have a query regarding the Applicability and Coverage under the Maharashtra Shop and Establishment Act 2017, as follows:

1. While applying for a Shop and Establishment License, should field staff/sales and marketing staff be considered for licensing purposes?

2. We are registered under the Shop and Establishment Act and have obtained a license for our head office. However, we have 45 employees working in an XYZ factory as maintenance staff in another city. Should we include these 45 employees in our Head Office License?

3. Should these 45 employees be paid wages/salary according to the minimum wages rate of the Factory/Shop and Establishment?

Thank you in anticipation.

Regards, Shailesh

Commercial Establishment Definition Under the Bombay Shop & Establishment Act 1948

As per the Bombay Shop & Establishment Act 1948 (not the Maharashtra Shop & Establishment Act), there is nothing in the definition of section 2(4) of "commercial establishment" that indicates a requirement for a fixed place, abode, premises, or location from where it operates. The idea of premises is not implicit in the definition of "commercial establishment." The test for an organization to be considered a commercial establishment must not only involve an organized activity for carrying on any business, trade, or profession, but the activity must also be carried out in a commercial manner. If these two conditions are satisfied, it is irrelevant whether such an activity, involving an employer and employees, has a specific premises from which it operates.

A sales organization with a regional officer at the head of a region and salesmen in different parts of the state, even without a specific office of its own, would nonetheless be a commercial establishment if it carries on any business, trade, or profession, etc. (1973) I LLJ 447 Guj.

Dear colleague, you should have mentioned what business you are in and whether you have sales offices outside Mumbai. You have stated that you are already covered under the Shops Act. What strength did you mention in your application for a license? If your sales and marketing offices have separate licenses in respective states, then that strength can be excluded. In my view, the strength of maintenance staff working outside of Maharashtra has to be counted for the license in Maharashtra. Minimum wages, as applicable to the Shops Act in Maharashtra, will have to be followed.

Regards, Vinayak Nagarkar HR Consultant