Delhi Shops and Establishments Act,1954 — Physical PDF page 19 of 27

     The register of employment and wages is required to be kept in Form ‘G’ duly bound and
pages serially numbered. Where, however, the opening and closing hours are ordinarily uniform,
the employer may maintain such register in Form ‘H’ alongwith a separate register of wages and
record of leave in Form ‘I’ but the entries relating to a particular date on which an employee if
called upon earlier or detained later than the usual working hours are required to be made
immediately in the remarks column of Form ‘H’ before such early or late working commences. In
the case of an establishment which is not required to observe a close day under section 16 of the
Act, the occupier has to exhibit in a conspicuous place in his establishment a notice in Form ‘J’
specifying the day or days of the week on which his employees shall be given weekly holidays;
the notice should be exhibited before the employees, to whom it relates, before they cease work
on the Saturday immediately preceding the first week during which it is to have effect. In any
register or record which an employer is required to maintain, the entries relating to any day
should be made on the mid-day of the following day provided that in the attendance register the
entries relating to any day should be made on the same day. The entries in respect of actual
commencement of work should be made immediately where the employee has been called
earlier than the hour at which he is ordinarily required to report.
     All such registers and records are required to be exhibited at the place of work. Any notice
required to be exhibited under the provisions of this section should be exhibited in such a manner
that it can be readily seen and read by any person whom it affects and should be renewed,
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whenever it becomes defaced or otherwise ceases to be clearly legible and such registers,
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records and notices relating to any calendar year have to be preserved till the end of the following
year. This section also requires every occupier to exhibit in his establishment another notice
showing the close day, the daily working hours and usual period of the rest, interval fixed for
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employees in Form ‘K’; (Rule 14 and 14A of the Delhi Shops and Establishments Rules, 1954).
(b) Grant of exemption from maintenance of prescribed records
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     Under rule (14A) of the Rules if on an application made by the employer in writing the
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Government is satisfied that any register or record maintained by such employer gives in respect
of the person employed by him the necessary particulars required to be shown in Form G/H/I to
be maintained, the Government may, by order in writing direct that the register or record so
maintained by such employer should, to the corresponding extent, be deemed to be a register or
record maintained under the Rules framed under this Act.
(c) Failure to maintain records—if single offence
     Under sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 33 of the Act read with the rules framed thereunder,
the occupier of any shop or establishment is under an obligation to keep a record of the hours
worked, the amount of leave taken by end of the intervals allowed for rest and meals to every
person and particulars of all employment overtime as also to keep exhibited notices setting forth
the number of hours in the week and such other records and registers as may be prescribed and
display such other notices as may be prescribed. The attendance registers, wages registers,
record of leave registers as well as the form of notices required to be displayed have been
prescribed by the Government for this purpose. The failure to maintain a register of attendance or
of the hours worked or the amount of leave taken and of the intervals allowed for rest and meals
or not entering the particulars of all overtime employment constitutes an offence punishable under
sub-section (2) of section 40 of the Act. A separate and distinct offence is not committed in
respect of each particular which is omitted to be shown in the register or other records but it is the
failure to maintain a particular prescribed register showing the various particulars that constitutes
the offence, whether the particulars be one, two or several.
(d) Can an Inspector require an employer to produce the record in his office for
inspection?
     Under section 33 of the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954, the occupier of every
shop or commercial establishment is required to maintain certain registers, records and notices
prescribed under rule 14 of the Delhi Shops and Establishments Rules, 1954. Section 35 of the
Act casts an obligation on every occupier of a shop or establishment to produce for inspection of
an Inspector, all accounts or records required to be kept for the purpose of this Act and to give
any other information in connection therewith as may be required. Under rule 17 of the Rules, it is
the duty of an Inspector to make such examination of the premises and of the registers, records