Women’s Employment: Night Shift Provisions and Safety Requirements

The employment landscape for women in India has undergone substantial transformation over the past two decades, particularly concerning night shift work. Historical restrictions that once prohibited women from working during night hours have gradually been dismantled through judicial intervention and legislative reform. This evolution reflects changing societal attitudes toward gender equality in the workplace and recognizes women’s agency in making employment decisions. Understanding the current legal framework governing women’s night shift employment requires examining the intersection of constitutional principles, labour legislation, and workplace safety mandates that together shape contemporary employment practices.

Constitutional Framework and Judicial Interpretation

The legal journey toward eliminating discriminatory night shift restrictions began with constitutional challenges to protective legislation that paradoxically limited women’s economic opportunities. The Indian Constitution guarantees equality before the law under Article 14 and prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex under Article 15. Article 16 further ensures equality of opportunity in matters of public employment. These constitutional provisions became the foundation for challenging night shift bans that were initially intended as protective measures but effectively restricted women’s employment prospects.

The landmark judgment in Vasantha R. v. Union of India delivered by the Madras High Court in 2000 marked a turning point in this legal discourse.[1] The petitioner, a woman employed in a textile mill, challenged the constitutionality of the night shift prohibition contained in the Factories Act. The Court held that provisions denying women the opportunity to work during night hours when they were willing to do so violated Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Constitution. The judgment emphasized that such restrictions, despite being framed as protective measures, were discriminatory and detrimental to women’s livelihood and professional advancement. The Court observed that women should not be denied equal opportunities in employment based on gender alone, particularly when adequate safety measures could address legitimate security concerns.

Following this precedent, several other High Courts reached similar conclusions. The Andhra Pradesh High Court reiterated these principles, noting that when there is no difference in the nature of work, working hours, or workload between male and female workers, discrimination based solely on sex lacks reasonable classification or nexus to any legitimate objective.[2] These judicial decisions collectively established that blanket prohibitions on women’s night work were unconstitutional and that any restrictions must be narrowly tailored to address specific safety concerns rather than operating as categorical bans.

The Factories Act and State-Level Reforms

The Factories Act of 1948 originally restricted women’s employment to daytime hours between 6 AM and 7 PM through provisions in Section 66. This restriction reflected paternalistic attitudes prevalent at the time of the Act’s enactment, premised on the belief that night work posed inherent dangers to women that justified complete prohibition. However, following judicial interventions declaring these provisions unconstitutional, state governments began issuing notifications permitting women’s night shift employment subject to specific safety conditions.

Between 2014 and 2017, seven Indian states including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh amended their regulations to permit women’s night shift work in factories.[3] These reforms required employers to provide female-friendly amenities including separate toilets, transportation facilities, mechanisms to prevent sexual harassment, and adequate rest periods between shifts. The staggered implementation across states created opportunities to study the impact of removing gender-discriminatory employment restrictions.

State governments typically approached these reforms through executive notifications rather than legislative amendments, allowing for more flexible and rapid implementation. The Himachal Pradesh notification, for example, granted exemptions valid for three years from August 2022, requiring employers to obtain prior written consent from women workers before engaging them in night shifts. The notification mandated compliance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act and prohibited women from working more than eight hours daily or forty-eight hours weekly. Similarly, the Andhra Pradesh notification required adequate transportation facilities for pickup and drop-off at workers’ residences, proper illumination of workplaces including passages to facilities, and prohibition of employment violating maternity benefit provisions.

Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code represents the most recent and comprehensive legislative framework governing women’s night shift employment. This Code consolidates thirteen separate labour laws into a unified statute addressing workplace safety, health, and working conditions across various industries.[4] Section 43 of the Code explicitly permits women to work between 7 PM and 6 AM in all establishments, marking a departure from earlier sectoral restrictions.

The Code establishes several mandatory requirements for employers engaging women in night shifts. First, employers must obtain the worker’s consent before assigning night shift duties. This consent requirement ensures that women retain agency over their employment decisions and are not compelled to work hours they find unsuitable. Second, employers must ensure safety measures including secure transportation facilities for pickup and drop-off, adequate lighting throughout the workplace including areas connecting to washrooms and other facilities, and appropriate security arrangements. Third, employers must comply with all provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act including maintaining functional Internal Complaints Committees.

The Code also mandates that employers provide health and welfare provisions such as medical aid, restrooms, and reasonable rest intervals between shifts. For below-ground mines, a minimum of three women employees must be on duty at any workplace simultaneously, ensuring that women do not work in isolation in potentially hazardous underground environments. These requirements reflect lessons learned from state-level implementations and incorporate best practices developed through practical experience.

The implementation of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code beginning November 21, 2025, represents a watershed moment in Indian labour law reform. This nationwide implementation supersedes the patchwork of state-level regulations that previously governed women’s night shift employment, creating uniform standards applicable across all states and union territories.[5] The Code’s enforcement signals governmental commitment to ensuring that women have equal access to employment opportunities regardless of working hours while maintaining robust safety protections.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Framework

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013 provides critical protections for women employees working in all shifts including night hours.[6] This legislation, commonly referred to as the POSH Act, arose from the Supreme Court’s guidelines in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan and was enacted to address the persistent problem of workplace sexual harassment that particularly affects women working in vulnerable conditions including night shifts.

The POSH Act defines sexual harassment broadly to include unwelcome physical contact and advances, demands or requests for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography, and any other unwelcome physical, verbal, or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature. The Act applies to all workplaces regardless of the number of employees and extends to any place visited by employees during the course of employment. This expansive definition ensures that women travelling to and from night shifts or working in remote locations receive protection under the Act’s provisions.

Every organization employing ten or more workers must constitute an Internal Complaints Committee to receive and address sexual harassment complaints. The Committee must be headed by a senior woman employee and include at least two members committed to the cause of women or having experience in social work, along with one external member from a non-governmental organization familiar with sexual harassment issues. For organizations with fewer than ten employees, complaints are addressed by Local Complaints Committees established at the district level.

The Act mandates several employer obligations particularly relevant to night shift employment. Employers must provide safe working environments free from sexual harassment, conduct regular awareness programs about the Act’s provisions, and display information about the Act and complaint mechanisms prominently in the workplace. The Act prohibits retaliation against complainants and provides for interim relief including transfer of the complainant or respondent during investigations. Penalties for non-compliance include fines and potential cancellation of business licenses, creating strong incentives for employers to implement effective prevention and redressal mechanisms.

Maternity Benefit Protections

The Maternity Benefit Act of 1961, as amended in 2017, establishes important protections for pregnant women and new mothers that interact with night shift employment provisions.[7] The Act prohibits employers from knowingly employing women during specified periods before and after childbirth, ensuring that pregnancy and maternity do not jeopardize women’s employment or health.

Under the amended Act, women with fewer than two surviving children are entitled to twenty-six weeks of maternity benefit, of which up to eight weeks may be taken before the expected delivery date. For women with two or more surviving children, the entitlement is twelve weeks. The Act also provides six weeks of leave in cases of miscarriage or medical termination of pregnancy, twelve weeks for commissioning and adoptive mothers, and two weeks for tubectomy operations. These provisions recognize the biological realities of pregnancy and childbirth while ensuring that women retain their employment and receive full wages during maternity leave.

Critically for night shift employment, all state notifications permitting women to work night hours explicitly prohibit employment that violates maternity benefit provisions. Employers cannot require or allow pregnant women to work during prohibited periods, and must provide light work that does not involve long hours of standing or arduous tasks that might interfere with pregnancy or fetal development. The Act also mandates nursing breaks of prescribed duration for mothers with children up to fifteen months old, and requires establishments with fifty or more employees to provide crèche facilities within a stipulated distance from the workplace. These protections ensure that motherhood and employment remain compatible even when women work non-traditional hours.

Transport and Safety Infrastructure Requirements

Transportation security represents one of the most critical aspects of women’s night shift employment safety. Recognizing that women travelling to and from work during night hours face heightened vulnerability, both state notifications and the national Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code mandate that employers provide safe transportation facilities. These requirements typically specify that employers must arrange pickup and drop-off services near workers’ residences rather than requiring women to travel to distant collection points.

Recent state notifications have incorporated technological safeguards into transport requirements. Jharkhand’s 2025 notification, for example, requires GPS tracking on all transport vehicles used for women employees during night shifts.[8] This enables real-time monitoring of vehicle locations and routes, allowing both employers and authorities to respond quickly to any incidents or deviations from prescribed routes. The notification also mandates that transport arrangements must ensure women workers are not left stranded due to vehicle breakdowns or other operational failures.

Workplace infrastructure requirements extend beyond transportation to encompass the physical environment in which women work during night hours. Adequate lighting throughout the workplace including all passages leading to toilets, washrooms, drinking water facilities, and entry and exit points is universally mandated. This lighting requirement addresses the increased risk of accidents and security incidents in poorly lit areas during night hours. Facilities such as toilets and washrooms must be located near the areas where women work, reducing the need for women to traverse long distances through potentially isolated areas of the workplace.

Security arrangements represent another crucial element of night shift safety infrastructure. Several state notifications require dedicated security personnel, CCTV surveillance covering all areas accessible to women workers, and twenty-four-hour manned security control rooms. Some states mandate regular night patrols and liaison with local police authorities to ensure rapid response capabilities in case of emergencies. The Jharkhand notification specifically requires that security personnel receive training in soft skills and, where possible, be recruited from ex-servicemen through the Directorate General of Resettlement, recognizing that professional security training and appropriate interpersonal skills are essential for effective protection.

Employer Compliance and Reporting Obligations

Employers engaging women in night shift work face substantial compliance obligations designed to ensure adherence to safety and welfare standards. Most state notifications require employers to obtain written consent from each woman worker before assigning night shift duties. This consent must be documented and maintained as part of employment records, providing evidence that women have voluntarily agreed to night work rather than being coerced or compelled to accept such assignments.

Several states have implemented electronic reporting systems for employers. Uttar Pradesh’s notification allows employers to submit monthly reports electronically to the Inspector of Factories, detailing the number of women employed during night shifts, any incidents that occurred, and confirmation of compliance with safety requirements. Any untoward incident must be reported immediately to local police in addition to factory inspectors, ensuring that law enforcement can respond promptly to serious safety breaches.

Jharkhand’s recent notification introduces a self-certification mechanism wherein factory occupiers employing women during night shifts must submit electronic certifications through the Labour Department’s portal confirming adherence to all prescribed provisions. This approach balances the need for regulatory oversight with reducing the compliance burden on employers by allowing self-reporting rather than requiring pre-approval for each operational decision. However, the self-certification system is supported by inspection powers that enable authorities to verify claimed compliance and take enforcement action against false certifications.

Sector-Specific Applications and Challenges

The application of night shift regulations varies across different employment sectors, reflecting the diverse nature of women’s work in the Indian economy. Manufacturing sectors including textile mills, pharmaceutical factories, and electronics assembly plants have been at the forefront of implementing women’s night shifts given their reliance on continuous production processes. These sectors have generally found it economically viable to invest in the required safety infrastructure including transportation, lighting, and security arrangements because the benefits of accessing a larger labour pool outweigh the implementation costs.

The information technology and business process outsourcing sectors have long employed women during night hours to serve international clients in different time zones. These sectors typically operate in urban areas with better transportation infrastructure and have organizational cultures more accepting of gender diversity. However, even these sectors must ensure compliance with transportation, security, and harassment prevention requirements that apply universally across all industries.

Research examining the impact of night shift reforms found that the benefits of removing discriminatory restrictions were concentrated almost entirely among large firms.[9] Smaller firms faced challenges developing the infrastructure required for safe night shift operations, including the costs of transportation arrangements, security personnel, and lighting improvements. This finding suggests that while legal reforms create opportunities for women’s employment, the practical realization of these opportunities depends on employers’ capacity to implement required safety measures. Policymakers have recognized this challenge, with some suggesting that smaller firms may need targeted support through subsidies, shared facilities, or relaxed compliance requirements where appropriate.

Enforcement Mechanisms and Penalties

The enforcement of night shift safety provisions operates through factory inspectorates and labour departments that possess powers to inspect workplaces, examine records, and investigate complaints. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code designates Inspector-cum-Facilitators who combine inspection functions with advisory roles, helping employers understand and implement compliance requirements while also investigating violations.

Penalties for non-compliance vary depending on the nature and severity of violations. Violations of the POSH Act can result in fines up to fifty thousand rupees and potential cancellation of business licenses for repeated offences. Violations of safety requirements under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code can lead to imprisonment ranging from three months to one year along with monetary penalties. The threat of criminal prosecution for serious safety violations reflects legislative recognition that women’s safety during night shifts requires robust enforcement backed by meaningful deterrents.

Beyond formal penalties, employers face reputational risks from publicized safety violations or sexual harassment incidents. In an era of social media and heightened public awareness of women’s workplace safety issues, incidents involving women employees during night shifts can generate significant negative publicity affecting employer brand reputation and ability to attract talent. This reputational dimension creates additional incentives for compliance beyond formal legal sanctions.

Future Directions and Policy Considerations

The implementation of unified labour codes beginning in November 2025 marks the beginning of a new phase in regulating women’s night shift employment rather than the culmination of reform efforts. Several areas require continued attention to ensure that legal rights translate into practical workplace equality. The capacity of smaller employers to implement required safety infrastructure remains a concern requiring targeted policy interventions. Options being considered include government subsidies for transportation and security costs, development of shared transportation pools serving multiple smaller employers in industrial areas, and graduated compliance requirements that account for organizational size and resources.

Enforcement capacity represents another critical challenge. Labour inspectorates in many states remain understaffed relative to the number of workplaces requiring oversight. Strengthening inspection mechanisms through additional personnel, training programs, and technological tools for monitoring compliance will be essential to ensure that legal requirements translate into actual workplace safety. The electronic reporting systems being implemented in several states represent promising developments that could be expanded to create centralized databases enabling more effective monitoring and analysis of compliance patterns.

Cultural and social factors continue to influence women’s night shift employment beyond formal legal provisions. Family attitudes, societal perceptions of appropriate roles for women, and concerns about safety and reputation affect women’s willingness to pursue night shift opportunities even where legal protections exist. Addressing these broader social dimensions requires sustained efforts at awareness-building and cultural change alongside legal reform. Public education campaigns highlighting women’s rights, successful examples of safe night shift implementation, and the economic benefits of expanded employment opportunities can help shift attitudes over time.

Conclusion

The evolution of legal provisions governing women’s night shift employment in India reflects broader movements toward gender equality and recognition of women’s agency in making employment decisions. What began as paternalistic protective legislation prohibiting women’s night work has been transformed through judicial intervention and legislative reform into a framework that enables women’s equal participation in the workforce while mandating robust safety protections. The current legal framework established through the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code and supporting legislation provides clear rights and obligations that apply uniformly across the country, ending the previous patchwork of state-level regulations.

However, the existence of legal rights does not automatically ensure their realization in practice. Effective implementation requires sustained attention to enforcement mechanisms, support for smaller employers in developing required infrastructure, continued vigilance regarding workplace safety and harassment prevention, and broader social change supporting women’s workforce participation. The experience of states that reformed their night shift regulations earlier demonstrates that legal reform can increase women’s employment when accompanied by genuine implementation of safety requirements. As India continues its transition to unified labour codes, maintaining focus on both the letter and spirit of these protections will be essential to achieving the goal of genuine workplace equality for women across all working hours.

References

[1] Vasantha R. v. Union of India, (2001) I ILLJ 843 Mad. Available at: https://indiankanoon.org/doc/715470/

[2] Singhania & Partners. (2022). The Shift in Working Women Shifts. Available at: https://singhania.in/blog/the-shift-in-working-women-shifts

[3] Gupta, S., et al. (2025). Night shift bans and female employment in Indian manufacturing. Ideas for India. Available at: https://www.ideasforindia.in/topics/productivity-innovation/night-shift-bans-and-female-employment-in-indian-manufacturing.html

[4] PRS Legislative Research. (2025). Draft Rules under Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. Available at: https://prsindia.org/billtrack/draft-rules-under-occupational-safety-health-and-working-conditions-code-2020

[5] The Logical Indian. (2025). Historic Shift: Women Allowed Night-Shift Work Nationwide Under New Labour Codes. Available at: https://thelogicalindian.com/historic-shift-women-allowed-night-shift-work-nationwide-under-new-labour-codes-key-updates-you-need-to-know/

[6] Ministry of Women and Child Development. (2013). The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Available at: https://doe.gov.in/files/inline-documents/DoE_Prevention_sexual_harassment.pdf

[7] Ministry of Labour and Employment. (1961). The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. Available at: https://labour.gov.in/sites/default/files/the_maternity_benefit_act_1961_0.pdf

[8] Legality Simplified. (2025). Jharkhand Allows Women’s Night Shift Work in Factories. Available at: https://www.legalitysimplified.com/jharkhand-government-permits-employment-of-women-workers-in-night-shifts-with-strict-safety-guidelines/

[9] Gupta, S., et al. (2025). Night shift bans and female employment in Indian manufacturing. Ideas for India. Available at: https://www.ideasforindia.in/topics/productivity-innovation/night-shift-bans-and-female-employment-in-indian-manufacturing.html