The Factories (Gujarat Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 (“Ordinance”) dated June 30, 2025, has been published by the Government of Gujarat on July 1, 2025, amending specific provisions of the Factories Act, 1948 (“Factories Act”). As an Ordinance, these amendments will remain in force for 6 months from the date of publication, unless ratified by the state Legislature, in which case they will become permanent. The key amendments introduced are as follows: (1) Section 54 – Daily Working Hours: the state Government may, by notification, extend daily working hours to 12 hours (including rest intervals), subject to weekly working limits of 48 hours, written worker consent, and applicability to notified factories, with the remaining days being paid holidays; this will be effective only upon such notification; (2) Section 55 – Rest Intervals: continuous working hours without a break may be extended to 6 hours through government notification for notified factories; this also requires notification to take effect; (3) Section 56 – Spread Over: spread over may be extended up to 12 hours per day (including rest intervals), again subject to notification and in alignment with Section 54; this too will be effective only upon notification; (4) Section 59(1) – Overtime Wages: the entitlement to overtime wages at twice the ordinary rate is now based on the following thresholds: (a) more than 9 hours/day or more than 48 hours/week (6-day week), (b) more than 10 hours/day or more than 48 hours/week (5-day week), and (c) more than 11.5 hours/day in a 4-day week or on paid holidays; this amendment takes effect immediately upon publication; (5) Section 65 – Revised Overtime Limits and Consent Requirement: the permissible overtime limit has been increased from 75 to 125 hours per quarter, and written consent is now mandatory for overtime work, though these revised limits apply only upon formal exemption under Section 65(2); while effective immediately, operational applicability depends on state exemption; and (6) Section 66(1) – Employment of Women in Night Shifts: the earlier bar on granting exemptions from Section 54 to women and the blanket prohibition on working beyond 7:00 p.m. have been removed; women may now work between 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. if notified by the state Government, subject to stringent safety conditions including sexual harassment prevention mechanisms, CCTV and lighting, group deployments, transportation with GPS and security, female supervisors, proper rest intervals, and written consent; this amendment is partially effective immediately (i.e., the removal of the bar), but night shift deployment still requires state notification.
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