Haryana Assembly Clears Bill to Raise Working Time to 10 Hours for Shop Staff

Written by: Team Angel OneUpdated on: 23 Dec 2025, 7:49 pm IST

Haryana has amended its shops law to allow 10-hour workdays while retaining the 48-hour weekly cap, triggering debate over worker welfare versus business flexibility.

The Haryana Assembly on Monday passed amendments to the Haryana Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958, permitting an increase in daily working hours from 9 to 10 for employees in shops and private commercial establishments.

The overall weekly working limit, however, remains capped at 48 hours.

What Amendments Changed?

The Haryana Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2025 introduces several revisions aimed at providing operational flexibility to businesses.

Apart from extending daily working hours, the legislation raises the quarterly overtime ceiling from 50 hours to 156 hours, allowing establishments to manage peak workloads more effectively.

The bill also increases the maximum continuous working period without rest from 5 hours to 6 hours.

Government’s Rationale

Labour Minister Anil Vij said the amendments are intended to ease compliance pressures on small businesses while safeguarding workers’ interests. He told the House that the reforms are beneficial for both shop owners and employees and are designed to encourage economic growth without compromising labour protections.

A key change includes raising the employee threshold for mandatory registration from zero to 20 workers. Establishments employing fewer than 20 people will now only need to intimate authorities about their operations, instead of obtaining a formal registration certificate.

Conclusion

The passage of the Bill underscores Haryana’s push to balance business flexibility with labour safeguards, even as concerns persist over the long-term impact on workers’ work-life balance.

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Published on: Dec 23, 2025, 2:18 PM IST

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