The Rajasthan Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958
The Rajasthan Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958 and the Rajasthan Shops and Commercial Establishments Rules, 1959 apply to shops and commercial establishments across the State of Rajasthan. They regulate wage payment, terms of service, hours of work, rest intervals, overtime, opening and closing hours, closed days, holidays, leave, maternity leave and benefits, working conditions, the employment of children, and the records an employer must keep.
Key Definitions
- Commercial establishment: an establishment carrying on trade, banking or insurance, or office work, together with hotels, restaurants, theatres and other places of public amusement or entertainment, and any other premises the State Government declares to be one.
- Shop: premises where trade or business is carried on or services are rendered to customers, including the offices, storerooms, godowns and warehouses used for that business. A shop attached to a factory is excluded where its workers get the benefits of the Factories Act, 1948.
- Establishment: a shop or a commercial establishment.
Registration of Establishments
- An establishment that existed when the Act came into force had to register within 30 days of that date. A new establishment must register within 30 days of starting work.
- The employer sends the Inspector a statement (Form 1) with the prescribed fee, giving the names of the employer and the manager, the postal address, the name of the establishment if any, and the other particulars the Rules require.
- Once satisfied the statement is correct, the Inspector enters the establishment in the register of establishments (Form 2) and issues a registration certificate, which must be displayed prominently at the establishment.
- Changes in the registered particulars are notified in Form 4, and the certificate is renewed by applying in Form 5.
- Registration is done online through the Rajasthan Labour Department, which also publishes the fee structure and document checklist (see References).
Establishments and Persons Not Covered
The Act does not apply to:
- Offices of the Central or State Government or of a local authority.
- Offices of the Reserve Bank of India.
- Establishments for the treatment or care of the sick, infirm, destitute or mentally unfit.
- People whose work is inherently intermittent, such as travellers and caretakers.
- Fairs and bazaars held for a charitable or other purpose from which no private profit is made.
- Libraries that lend books or periodicals only for charitable, philanthropic, religious or educational purposes.
Compliances
- Form 1 - Statement under Section 4
- Form 2 - Register of Establishments
- Form 4 - Notice of Change
- Form 5 - Application for Renewal of Registration Certificate
- Form 7 - Notice of Close Day or Change in Close Day
- Form 9 - Notice of Confinement under Section 24
- Form 10 - Certificate from Medical Practitioner
- Form 11 - Register of Employment
- Form 12 - Opening and Closing Hours (Ordinarily Uniform)
- Form 13 - Notice of Daily Periods of Work
- Form 14 - Record of Hours of Work
- Form 15 - Notice of Weekly Holidays