Department of Law, Justice and Legislative Affairs, issued a notification under the Delhi Shops and Establishments (Amendment) Act, 2026 for modernizing Delhi’s work culture.

Department of Law, Justice and Legislative Affairs on March 11, 2026 introduced amendments under the Delhi Shop and Establishment Act (“Act”) significantly modernizes the original 1954 Legislation to provide more flexibility to businesses while introducing specific protections for women workers. The Act will now specifically apply only to shops and establishments that employ 20 (twenty) or more employees. Under Section 2 of the Act, the definition related to age regarding ‘young persons’ has been updated from the 12th (twelfth) year to 14th (fourteenth) year.

The Act has introduced significant changes to working hours, introducing more flexible but structured working hour limits. Under Section 8 of the Act the maximum working hours are now 10 (ten) hours per day, which must include rest intervals and lunch breaks and the total working hours in a week cannot exceed 60 (sixty) hours. Aggregate overtime hours are now capped at 144 (one hundred forty-four) hours per quarter, replacing the previous limit of 150 (one hundred fifty) hours per year. Employees can now work for up to 6 (six) hours before requiring a rest interval, increased from 5 (five) hours, and the total ‘spread over’ (the period from when an employee starts to when they finish for the day) is fixed at 12 (twelve) hours.

The major highlight of the Act is introduction of employment of women in night shifts. The Act has given formal right for women to work night shifts, subject to strict safety conditions. As per Section 14 (2) of the Act the permissible hours during summer will be ‘9:00 PM to 7:00 AM’ and during the winter will be ‘8:00 PM to 8:00 AM.’