Is It Mandatory to Close on Labor Day, or Are There Exceptions for May 1, 2023?

Hello CiteHR Family, I have a question regarding Labor Day. Is it mandatory to close the company's operations on May 1, 2023, or do we have any exceptions to run the operations?

Thank you in advance.

Almost all states have separate legislation to regulate holidays in factories, plantations, shops, and commercial establishments. In some states' rules, May 1st is not a mandatory national holiday, whereas in many states, May 1st is a national holiday. However, in Maharashtra, I don't find any separate enactment for this other than the new Maharashtra Shops and Commercial Establishment Act of 2017, which provides for holidays to be observed in commercial establishments. In this Act, May 1st is considered a National Holiday, similar to 26th January, 15th August, and 2nd October. I would like to confirm whether this Act also applies to factories in Maharashtra.

Dear K-Pandarinath, There's no rule or law mandating the declaration of a holiday. If you have included it in the holiday calendar for the year 2023 (LIST OF PAID HOLIDAYS FOR THE YEAR-2023), then you can consider it. It's advisable to discuss this with your top management. You can consider declaring a holiday on Labour Day, as most companies are non-functional on that day. Additionally, you can also celebrate Labour Day within your unit.

I differ from Alok. There are separate Acts to regulate holidays, such as the Kerala Industrial Establishment (National and Festival Holidays) Act, the Tamil Nadu Industrial Establishment (National and Festival Holidays) Act, and the Karnataka Industrial Establishment (National and Festival Holidays) Act. The number of holidays under each Act differs from state to state. For example, in Kerala, there are 4 National Holidays and nine festival holidays. In Karnataka, there are 5 national holidays (with November 1st being the state formation day as a national holiday) and 5 festival holidays. In Tamil Nadu, there are 4 national holidays and 5 festival holidays, among others. Each state has enacted its own Acts to regulate the employment of workers on holidays.

Dear Madhu TK Sir, I agree with you because rules and regulations may vary from state to state, and it totally depends on state rules.

Under many states' Acts pertaining to holidays, May 1st is a mandatory national holiday. Mr. Gautam should first review these Acts before commenting so authoritatively that there are only three national holidays. Please also refer to my previous comments.

May 1 is Maharashtra Day, as the state was created on this day in 1960. Every year, the Government of Maharashtra issues a notification declaring May 1 to be a public holiday to be celebrated as Maharashtra Day. Therefore, it has to be a paid holiday for employees. If any person is employed on that day due to work exigencies, then that person has to be compensated as per the law in this regard.

Dear Madhu Sir, Under many states' Acts pertaining to holidays, May 1st is a mandatory national holiday. I agree with the mandatory holiday but do not agree for it to be a national holiday. I request you to kindly share with me the state acts where it has been declared a mandatory national holiday because in many states, it is declared as Labour Day.

You can take it from the websites. Only a very few states have not declared it as a national holiday, but all other states have included May 1st, being International Labour Day, as a national holiday. Please see one by one and then come back.

Good morning. In Maharashtra state, 1st May is treated as a compulsory holiday as Maharashtra Day/Labour Day. However, considering the business requirements to run operations, management can ask required co-workers to continue the shift as per routine. In lieu of the same, management is liable to pay the benefits for working on a paid holiday (double pay & compensatory off) as per the rules applicable to your establishment.

Hope this helps you.

The original post discusses whether it should be mandatory to close factory operations on 1st May. There are factories with continuous processes, such as steel plants, where operations continue on days like 26th January and 15th August. If the factory in question is a continuous process industry, it can remain open on 1st May. Otherwise, as per state rules and laws, it may need to be closed.

S K Bandyopadhyay (WB, Howrah)
CEO-USD HR Solutions
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In Maharashtra, the mandatory holiday on 1st May is primarily because it is Maharashtra Day, the day on which Maharashtra as well as Gujarat were constituted. The day holds much emotional significance for Maharashtrians.

However, what is the context for this query?

Dear Pandarinath, No doubt, national and festival holidays are mandated in most of the state Acts and rules, including May Day, which we say is a compulsory holiday. My opinion and status are that the employer need not lock or stop operations on account of this. If it is a continuous process, it has to run. Furthermore, all these statutes state that if employees are made to work on these specified holidays, the mode of payment or a substitute holiday should be provided. This is the beauty of the law. However, if you have a union or employees' association, inform them and let them know the delivery schedule and circumstances. One can continue the process.

Regards, Ram K Navaratna
HR Resonance