In this article, Ved Prakash discusses the provisions of Madhya Pradesh Shops and Establishment Act.
The act came into force on 1958 by the government of Madhya Pradesh to regulate conditions of work and to provide statutory obligation for the employers and the rights of the employee in an unorganized sector of the employment and others establishment in their jurisdiction.
Also to regulate the condition of work and employment and therefore to secure maximum benefits for the employees working in the various category of establishment viz; shops commercial establishment residential hotels, restaurants eating houses theaters and other places of public amusement or entertainments are mainly protected by the provisions of this act.
Registration of establishment under the Madhya Pradesh Shops and Establishment Act
Each establishment to which this Act applies shall be registered in accordance with the condition of this section. In thirty days from the date on which this Act apply to an establishment, its employer shall send to the Inspector of the region concerned a report, in the prescribe form, together with such fees, as may be prescribed, containing –
- The name of the owner, the manager and the person hold position of management if any;
- The postal address of and the day of opening the business by the establishment;
- The name, if any, of the organization;
- The kind of the establishment, i.e. whether it is a store, commercial establishment, residential hotel, café, eating house,theatre, or other places of public enjoyment or entertainment;
- Such other information, as may be approved.
On receiving of the testimonial and the cost, the Inspector shall, on being pleased about the accuracy of the statement, record the establishment in the register of establishment in such manner as may be prescribed and shall issue in the agreed form, a registration certificate to the owner. The registration certificate shall be prominently display at the enterprise. In the occurrence of any doubt or difference of opinion between an employer and the Inspector as to the kind to which an establishment should belong the Inspector shall refer the subject to the Labor Commissioner who shall, after such investigation as he thinks proper, decide the category of such establishment and his choice shall be final for the purposes of this Act. The Government may, by notice, require renewal of registration certificate issue under this act at such intervals not being fewer than five years, and on expense of such fee as may be prescribed. The registration fee and the restoration fee shall not exceed ‘[two hundred and fifty rupees] per establishment. The employer shall, within ten days of his finishing the establishment, inform to the Inspector in writing accordingly
Status of Shops and commercial establishment under Madhya Pradesh Shops and Establishment Act
The Government may fix dissimilar opening or closing hours for dissimilar classes of shops and commercial establishment or for different region or for different period of the year.
According to this act, no person shall bring on in or nearby to a street or a public place the trade of any supplies before the opening and after the closing hours fixed under sec. 9 for the shops trade in the same category of goods in the region in which such lane or open place is place . if any person does not follow previous provision, shall be liable to have his goods seized by an Inspector. The goods detained shall be return to the people from whom they were detained on his depositing rupees ‘[50] as security for his appearance in the Court. If the person fails to formulate the deposit, the goods detained shall be formed without wait before a Court, who may provide such guidelines as to their temporary custody.
No worker in any shop or commercial organization shall be mandatory or allowed to labor for more than 48 hours in a week. No worker shall be compulsory to work — (i) in any shop, for more than nine hours on one day; (ii) in any commercial organization, for more than ten hours on one day.
Each shop and commercial organization shall stay closed on one day of the week. The owner shall fix such day at the start of the year, inform it to the Inspector and identify it in a note prominently display in a prominent place in the shop or commercial organization. The owner shall not alter such day more frequently than once in three months shall inform the change to the Inspector and make the required change in the notice in the shop or commercial organization. It is Provided that where any shop or commercial organization comes after the beginning of any year within the purview of this Act, for the first time the owner shall also fix such day of the week on which the shop or commercial organization shall stay closed and inform it to the Inspector within one month.
Residential hotels and Restaurant under the Madhya Pradesh Shops and Establishment Act
In spite of anything contained in any other enactment for the time being in force, no café or eating-houses shall be opened before 5 a.m. and be kept open till 1-30 a.m. It is Provided that an worker in such café or eating- house may be mandatory to start work not before 4-30 a.m. and shall not be compulsory to work later than 2 a.m. it is Provided in this act that any consumer who was being served or waiting to be served at the dying hour of such café or eating-house may be served in such café or eating-house during the half-hour directly following such hour.
No worker in any residential hotel, café or eating-house shall be mandatory or allowed to labor for more than 48 hours in a week and nine hours in one day. The spread-over of an employee in a residential hotel, café or eating-house shall not go beyond fourteen-hours:
All worker in a residential hotel, café or eating-house shall be given at least one day in a week as a holiday. It is Provided that nothing shall apply to an worker whose total period of service in any week is less than six days.
Theaters or other places of public amusement or entertainment under the Madhya Pradesh Shops and Establishment Act
According to this act no theatre or other place of public enjoyment or entertainment shall, on a day, be closed later than 1 a.m. After the hour set for the closing of shops under section 9, no goods of the kind sold in shop shall be sold in any theatre or other place of public enjoyment or entertainment excluding for use on site.
No worker in a theatre or other place of public enjoyment or entertainment shall be compulsory or permitted to work for more than 48 hours in a week and nine hours in one day. The spread-over of an worker in a theatre or other place of public enjoyment or entertainment shall not go beyond twelve hours on a day. It is Provided that the Government may raise the spread-over period question to such form as it may impress whether generally or in the case of a exacting theatre or other place of public enjoyment or entertainment.
The owner shall provide each worker in a theatre, or other places of public enjoyment or entertainment an identity card which shall be kept by the worker when on job and shall be produced on require by an Inspector.
Employment of children, young persons, and women under the Madhya Pradesh Shops and Establishment Act
No child shall be mandatory or allowed to work whether as an worker or otherwise in any organization in spite of that such child is a member of the family of the owner. No young person or women shall be compulsory or allowed to work whether as an worker or else in any organization before 7 a.m. and after 9 p.m. in spite of that such young person or women is a member of the family of the owner.
Leave with pay and payment of wages under the Madhya Pradesh Shops and Establishment Act
A worker shall be deemed to have completed a time of twelve month’s constant service in an organization in spite of any break in the service during those twelve months brought about by illness, accident or authorized leave not more than ninety days in the total for all three, or by a lockout or by a strike which is not an illegal strike, or by irregular periods of involuntary joblessness not exceeding thirty days in the total, and authorized leave shall be deemed not include any weekly holiday allowed under this Act which occur at the start or end of an break brought about by the leave. Any Inspector may institute proceeding on behalf of any worker in an organization to which this Act applies to get better any sum compulsory to be paid by an owner which the employer has not paid.
Amendment of the Payment of Wages Act —[in spite of anything contained in the Payment of Wages Act 1936 (No. IV) the State Government may, by notice, express that subject to the provisions of subsection (2) all or any of the provisions of the said Act shall apply to all or any organization or to all or any rank of workers to which or whom this Act for the time being applied.
Enforcement and inspection under the Madhya Pradesh Shops and Establishment Act
According to this Act, it shall be the responsibility of each local authority whom the Government may by order empower in this behalf to put in force within the region subject to its control, the provisions of this Act, subject to the power of the Government. The local authority empowered may by order delegate any of the powers and functions (other than the powers of making bye laws), exercisable or performable by it under this Act to any of its officer. An order empowering a local authority may at any time cancelled by the Government. To enable Government to exercise useful control over a local authority in the performance of the duty entrusted to it under this Act, Government may approve any officer, not below the rank of a labor officer, to direct the enforcement of this Act within the region subject to the jurisdiction of the local authority and for this point such officer shall have all the control of an Inspector.
Offences and Penalties under the Madhya Pradesh Shops and Establishment Act
If in any organization there is any breaking of any section, rule or order for which no exact punishment is provided in this Act; the owner and the manager shall, on conviction, both be punished with fine which shall not be less than [50 Rs] and which may extend to [500 Rs.
if the breaking of the provisions of section 6 is continued after the end of the tenth day after conviction, the owner shall on conviction be punished with a extra fine which may extend to fifty rupees for each day on which the contravention is so continued;
If any owner or manager with plan to deceive, makes or causes or allows to be made, in any register, documentation or notice agreed to be maintained under the provisions of 31 this Act or the rules made thereunder, on entry which, to his information, is false in any material particular, or intentionally omits, or causes or allows to be omitted, from any such register, record or notice, an entrance which is mandatory to be made therein under the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder, or maintains or causes or allows to be maintained more than one set of any register, record or notice except the office photocopy of such notice, or sends or causes or allow to be sent, to an Inspector any information or notice approved to be sent under the provisions of this Act, or the rules made thereunder which to his information is false in any material particular, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment not exceeding. This act provides us the Penalty for obstructing Inspector. The Executive Magistrate takes trial of the cases which filed under this act. No Court shall take cognizance of an offence under this Act or any rule or order made thereunder unless complaint thereof is made within three months of the date on which the assumed commission of the offence came to the information of an Inspector.
No owner shall give out with the services of an worker who has been engaged for a period of three months or more excluding a reasonable cause and without giving such worker at least one month’s notice or wages in lieu of such notice. It is Provided that such note shall not be necessary if the services of such workers are dispensed with on a charge of bad behavior supported by acceptable evidence recorded at an enquiry held by the owner for the reason.
Conclusion
Thus, this act was enacted for the welfare of the society and to control the working of the shops, commercial organizations restaurants and eating houses and residential hotels. This act provides the way for establishment in a legal manner. According to some calculation, the establishment of the shops and others has raised and which gives a raise in the employment sector. So this act provides a way towards the development of society.
