The Government of Gujarat has issued the Factories (Gujarat Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, bringing significant changes to working hours, overtime, and women’s employment in factories. The ordinance aims to boost industrial growth, attract investment, and generate employment, especially in sectors of national importance.
📆 Effective Date:
The ordinance came into force immediately upon its promulgation on 1st July 2025.
🛠️ Key Amendments Introduced by the Ordinance
🔹 1. Extended Daily Working Hours
- Factories can extend daily working hours from 9 hours to 12 hours, including rest intervals.
- Weekly cap remains at 48 hours.
- Written consent from workers is mandatory for extended hours.
- Remaining days in the week will be paid holidays.
🔹 2. Continuous Work Without Interval
- Workers may be required to work up to 6 hours continuously without a break, under flexible working conditions.
🔹 3. Spread Over Limit Increased
- The daily spread over of work (inclusive of breaks) can be increased to 12 hours by government notification.
🔹 4. Revised Overtime Rules
- Overtime wages (double the normal rate) will be applicable when a worker works:
- More than 9 hours/day (6-day week)
- More than 10 hours/day (5-day week)
- More than 11.5 hours/day (4-day week)
- Or on paid holidays
🔹 5. Higher Overtime Cap
- Maximum overtime in a quarter raised from 75 hours to 125 hours.
- Written consent is mandatory for any overtime work.
👩🏭 Women’s Night Shift Employment – New Provisions
The ordinance permits women to work between 7 PM and 6 AM under strict safety and welfare conditions:
✅ Mandatory Safeguards for Women Working at Night:
- No woman can be forced to work night shifts – written consent is required.
- Sexual harassment prevention measures must be in place.
- Employers must ensure a safe, non-hostile work environment.
- Internal Complaints Committee and grievance redressal must be functional.
- Workplace, surroundings, and routes must be well-lit and under CCTV surveillance (storage for at least 45 days).
- Minimum 10 women per night shift.
- Women security staff at entry/exit points.
- Transport facility with female guards, CCTV, and GPS-equipped vehicles must be provided.
- Rest rooms for early arrival/late departure.
- At least 1/3rd of night shift supervisors must be women.
- 12-hour rest gap required between shift changes (day-to-night and vice versa).
- Driver background verification is mandatory.
- Personal data protection: contact details of women employees must remain confidential.
- Route planning must avoid women being picked up first or dropped last.
📜 Rationale Behind the Ordinance
According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons, the ordinance was promulgated to:
- Provide flexibility in working hours for economic revival.
- Enhance productivity and ease of doing business.
- Enable gender equality and provide more opportunities for women.
- Facilitate night shift employment with strict safety norms.
- Empower the state to act swiftly without waiting for assembly sessions, under Article 213 of the Constitution.
📢 Conclusion
The Factories (Gujarat Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 is a landmark step for industrial policy in Gujarat, aiming to create a business-friendly environment while ensuring worker welfare, especially for women in night shifts.