The Delhi Legislative Assembly on January 09, 2026, issued the Delhi Shops and Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2026, further to amend the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954.
The following has been amended, namely: -
• Section 1 is amended to insert sub-section (5), restricting the applicability of the Act to shops and establishments employing 20 or more employees. Section 2(2) is amended to raise the age reference from the twelfth year to the fourteenth year.
• Under Section 8, daily working hours are increased from nine to ten hours, inclusive of rest interval and lunch break, while weekly working hours are capped at 60 hours. The overtime limit is revised from 150 hours per year to 144 hours per quarter.
• Section 10 is amended to increase the continuous working period before a rest interval from five hours to six hours.
• Section 11 is amended to standardize the maximum spread-over of working hours to twelve hours.
• Further, Section 14 is completely substituted to prohibit night work for young persons and to allow women to work during night hours with their consent, subject to stringent safeguards such as written consent, CCTV surveillance, security and transport facilities, minimum deployment of two women employees, compliance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013.
[Notification no. - 21/8/DSAE(A)/2026/LAS-VIII/Legn./16203]
