Planning a Fruit and Veggie Mart: How Do I Manage Employee Shifts and Hours?

Planning to Start a Vegetable and Fruit Mart

I am planning to start a vegetable and fruit mart, similar to a supermarket. I am considering operating between 9 am to 9 pm or 7 am to 9 pm.

Employee Scheduling and Timings

How should I employ staff, and what should be the timings for employees? Can I hire them for a 9 am to 9 pm shift? If I operate from 7 am to 9 pm, how should I manage the timings? The store will be located in a town where it will be difficult to find part-time employees.

Shift Planning for Vegetable and Fruits Mart

The vegetable and fruits mart will be covered under the State Shops and Establishments Act, and accordingly, you will have to decide on the shift operations. While you may require fewer staff in the morning, the footfalls are likely to be much more in the second half of the day. You will have to plan your deployment based on the legal provisions.

Thank you for the reply. If I operate from 9 am to 9 pm and employ 3 members, what should be their working hour schedule?

Dear colleague, this means you want operations to run for 12 hours. Besides, you will need preparatory/wind-up time before starting and after closing of work. Maybe a model like D'Mart/Big Bazaar or similar can help you, depending on the size of your business. Legally, 8 hours of work plus a 1/2-hour break, weekly paid time off, and paid leaves are mandatory. Therefore, you may have to follow a staggered weekly off system for which you need a reliever during weekly off and statutory leave periods or work overtime within the limits of the law. The number of employees you have needs to be adequate enough to meet these requirements.

Regards, Vinayak Nagarkar
HR and Employee Relations Consultant