Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

Download full Q1 2024 Global Guide Quarterly

Social Security Agreement Between India and Brazil

New Regulation or Official Guidance

Authors: Vikram Shroff, Partner and Head of Employment, and Nipasha Mahanta, Associate – Nishith Desai Associates

Effective January 1, 2024, India and Brazil have entered into a Social Security Agreement (SSA). The Agreement provides that employees in India or Brazil sent to work in the other country for short-term assignments, up to 36 months, are exempt from social security contributions in the country where they are sent to work if they obtain a Certificate of Coverage (COC) issued from their home country stating that the employee is subject to the legislation of the issuing country and providing the duration of the certificate.

Karnataka Compulsory Gratuity Insurance Rules, 2024

New Regulation or Official Guidance

Authors: Vikram Shroff, Partner and Head of Employment, and Nipasha Mahanta, Associate – Nishith Desai Associates

The Karnataka state government has issued the Karnataka Compulsory Gratuity Insurance Rules, 2024 (Rules), which requires private employers in Karnataka to obtain compulsory insurance for gratuity payments to employees. New employers must obtain gratuity insurance within 30 days of the rules becoming applicable to their business, and existing employers have 60 days to obtain the insurance. Within 30 days of the insurance acquisition, employers must register with the relevant authority, identified in the Gratuity Act, and provide a list of employees insured, which must be regularly updated.

Employers that already have an approved gratuity trust fund and employers with at least 500 employees who establish an approved gratuity trust fund may seek exemption from the Rules by registering their establishments with the controlling authority and complying with certain obligations.

Violation of the Rules is punishable with a fine of up to INR 10,000 (approx. USD 120) and a further fine of up to INR 1000 (approx. USD 12) for each day of continuing violation.

Gujarat Exempts IT, ITES and Financial Services from the Application of Gujarat Shops and Establishments Act, 2019

New Regulation or Official Guidance

Authors: Vikram Shroff, Partner and Head of Employment, and Nipasha Mahanta, Associate – Nishith Desai Associates

The Government of Gujarat has exempted IT, IT enabled services, Financial Services establishments, and establishments in the GIFT city (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) from provisions relating to fixed work hours (section 12) and spread-over hours (section 14), of the Gujarat Shops and Establishments Act, 2019 (GSEA), for two years from February 5, 2024. The exempted establishments no longer need to comply with requirements that workers cannot work for more than nine hours per day and 48 hours per week and must be given a half hour rest period after five hours of work.

To be eligible for the exemption, employers must comply with all other requirements under the GSEA including registration of the establishment, compliance with health and safety requirements, overtime payments at double the wage rate, overtime cap of 125 hours every three months, and at least 24 hours of consecutive rest per week.

Conditions for Exempting Women from the Prohibition of Factory Night Shift Work in Haryana

New Regulation or Official Guidance

Authors: Vikram Shroff, Partner and Head of Employment, and Nipasha Mahanta, Associate – Nishith Desai Associates

The Haryana state government has issued requirements for factories seeking exemption from the prohibition of employing women in factories during the night shift (7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.).

The conditions include:

• Obtaining consent from each woman prior working night shifts
• Compliance with the Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (PoSH Act), publication of an updated sexual harassment policy, conducting regular workshops on awareness and prevention of sexual harassment, and filing annual reports with the labor commissioner regarding sexual harassment in the workplace
• Providing safety measures such as adequate lighting, and CCTV coverage to ensure female employees' security
• Employing women workers in batches of at least 10
• Providing women with transportation to and from their residence in vehicles having well trained pre-screened drivers with bio-data records, proper communication channels, CCTV, and GPS security guards, including female security guards

Additional conditions apply to factories employing 100 or more women.

Bills to Amend the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013

Proposed Bill or Initiative

Authors: Vikram Shroff, Partner and Head of Employment, and Nipasha Mahanta, Associate – Nishith Desai Associates

Two bills have been introduced to amend the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (PoSH Act).

The key topics covered are:

• Replacing the current Local Complaints Committee with an Employment Tribunal comprised of a chairperson who shall be a retired female judge of the District Court and at least six members of which at least three must be women working within the district
• Extending the time for filing complaints from the current six-month time limit to a time determined by the Internal Committee (IC) or the Employment Tribunal based on the circumstances of the case, with a possible additional extension of time
• Replacing "recommend to" with "direct" in section 13(3) of the PoSH Act to make IC recommendations binding and require employers to act on the directions of the Employment Tribunal within 60 days