Work from home to be allowed in SEZs, may be extended up to 50% employees; Details here
"Work from home is now permitted for a maximum of one year. However, the DC may extend it for a period of one year at a time at the request of units," the department of commerce stated in its statement.
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FollowWork from home will be permitted in special economic zones (SEZs) for a maximum of one year and may be extended to up to 50% of total employees, including contractual staff, according to a government announcement. The Indian government's commerce ministry's department of commerce has notified a new rule 43A for WFH under the Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006. According to the announcement, the decision was made in response to industry requests for a countrywide standard work-from-home policy.
"The notification was published in response to industry demand for a country-wide consistent Work From Home (WFH) policy throughout all Special Economic Zones. The Department of Commerce then undertook multiple rounds of conversations with various stakeholders before finalising the announcement," stated the department of commerce in its notification published on Tuesday, July 19.
According to the government, the new law allows some types of SEZ employees to work from home. Here a list where WFH is applicable:
i. Employees of IT/ ITeS SEZ units
ii. Employees, who are temporarily incapacitated
iii. Employees, who are travelling
iv. Employees, who are working offsite
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According to the new announcement, work from home privileges can be extended to up to 50% of total employees, including contractual employees of the unit. However, the Development Commissioner (DC) of SEZs has the authority to authorise a larger number of workers (more than 50%) for any legitimate cause that is documented in writing.
"Work from home is now permitted for a maximum of one year. However, the DC may extend it for a period of one year at a time at the request of units," the department of commerce stated in its statement.
The announcement further stated that for SEZ units whose employees are currently working from home, a transition time of 90 days has been granted to seek clearance.
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The work-from-home laws apply to Special Economic Zones, which are locations subject to a separate set of economic regulations than other parts of India. This is done in order to entice foreign direct investment. At the time, India has eight operational SEZs: Santa Cruz (Maharashtra), Cochin (Kerala), Kandla and Surat (Gujarat), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Falta (West Bengal), and Noida (Uttar Pradesh).
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