Rule 44. Conditions relating to safety, holidays and working hours or any other condition to be observed by the employer

(1) No woman worker shall be required or allowed to work for more than nine hours in any day or for more than forty eight hours in any week.

(2) The following conditions shall be met for employment of women during night or before 6.00 a.m. and beyond 7.00 p.m. in any day, namely, -

(a) the consent of women employee shall be taken;

(b) no women shall be employed against the maternity benefit provisions laid down under the Social Security Code, 2020 (Act 36 of 2020);

(c) adequate transportation facilities shall be provided to women employee to pick-up and drop such employee to the doorstep of her residence;

(d) the workplace including passage towards conveniences or facilities concerning toilet, washrooms, drinking water, entry and exit of women employee should be well-lit;

(e) the toilet, washroom and drinking facilities should be near the workplace where such women employee are employed;

(f) Provide safe, secure and healthy working condition such that no women employee is disadvantaged in connection with her employment;

(g) The provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (Central Act 14 of 2013), as applicable to the establishments, shall be complied with.

(h) It shall be the duty of the employer to prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment and to provide the procedures for the resolution, statement or prosecution of acts of sexual harassment by taking all steps required;

(i) The employer shall take appropriate steps to prevent sexual harassment;

(j) In case of any criminal case of sexual harassment, the employer shall initiate appropriate action in accordance with the penal law without delay and also ensure that victims or witnesses are not victimized or discriminated while dealing with the complaints of sexual harassment and wherever necessary, at the request of the affected worker, shift or transfer the perpetrator, if circumstances warrant. The employer shall take appropriate disciplinary action if such conduct amounts to misconduct which outrage the modesty of the women worker in or during the employment;

(k) The employer shall maintain a complaint mechanism in the establishment itself and the said mechanism shall ensure time-bound treatment of complaints. Such mechanism should be at any rate to provide, when necessary, an Internal Compliance Committee, a special counselor or other support services including the maintenance of confidentiality;

(l) Such an Internal Compliance Committee shall be headed by a woman and not less than half of its members shall be women, besides a non-governmental organization’s representation in the Committee. Such person shall be familiar with the issues of sexual harassment;

(m) The women workers shall be allowed to raise issues of sexual harassment in the employee’s meeting and other appropriate forum;

(n) The women workers shall be made aware of their rights in particular by prominently notifying the guidelines on the subject;

(o) Wherever there is a harassment at the instance of a third party, either by an act or omission, the employer and person in charge of the establishment shall take all steps necessary and reasonable to assist the affected persons in terms of support and preventive action;

(p) The employer shall provide proper lighting not only inside the factory, but also surroundings of the establishment and to all places where the women workers may move out of necessity in the course of such shift;

(q) The employer shall make sure that the women workers are employed in a batch not less than five and the total of the women workers employed in a night shift shall not be less than two;

(r) Sufficient women security shall be provided during the night shift at the entry as well as exit points;

(s) Separate dormitory accommodation shall be provided for women workers after the working hours in night shift, if required;

(t) Mess room shall be provided for the female employees;

(u) The employer shall provide appropriate medical facilities and also make available at any time of urgency on call where more than hundred women workers are employed in a shift, a separate vehicle shall be kept ready to meet the emergency situation such as hospitalization, whenever there is acase of injury or incidental acts of harassment;

(v) During night shift not less than 1/3rd-of strength of the supervisors or shift-in-charge or foreman or other supervisory staff shall be women wherever applicable;

(w) The women workers who work in night shifts and regular shifts shall have a monthly meeting through their representatives with the employer once in eight weeks as grievance day and the employer shall try to comply with all just and reasonable grievances; and

(x) The Inspector-cum-Facilitator shall strictly enforce the conditions and make it apoint to take note of the non-compliance in their inspection from time to time.