Chapter I PRELIMINARY

Short title, extent commencement and application

1. (1) This Act may be called the Bihar Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2025.
2. (2) It shall extend to the whole of the State of Bihar.
3. (3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
4. (4) It shall apply to such shops and establishments where ten or more workers are employed.

Definitions. - In this Act, unless otherwise requires in the context -

1. (a) ''Chief Facilitator" means the Chief Facilitator appointed under proviso of sub-section

1. (1) of section 18;
   • (b) "Facilitator" means the Facilitator appointed under sub- section
2. (1) of section 18;
   • (c) "Day" means a period of twenty-four hours beginning at mid night;
   • (d) "Employer" means an owner or a person who has ultimate control over the affairs of a shop or an establishment, and includes-
     • (i) in the case of a firm or association of individuals, partners or members of the firm or association;
     • (ii) in the case of a company, a director of the company;
     • (iii) in the case of a shop or an establishment owned or controlled by the Central Government or a State Government or local authority, the person or persons appointed to manage the affairs of such shop or establishment by the Central Government or the State Government or local authority, as the case may be;
   • (e) "Establishment" means any premises, not being the premises of a factory or a shop, -
     • (i) wherein any trade, business, manufacture, or any work in connection with, or incidental or ancillary thereto, or any journalistic or printing work, or business of banking, insurance, stocks and shares, brokerage or produce exchange, is carried on; or
     • (ii) which is used as theatre, cinema, or for any other public amusement or entertainment, to whom the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948 does not apply; or
     • (iii) or such other establishment as the State Government may, by notification, declare to be an establishment to which the Act applies,
   • (f) "notification" means a notification published in the Official gazette, under this act,
   • (g) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
   • (h) "shop" means any premises where goods are sold, either by retail or wholesale or where services are rendered to customers, and includes an office, a store-room, godown, warehouse or work house, work place for distribution or packaging or repackaging or where finished goods are carried on;
     • (i) "wages" means all remuneration (whether by way of salary, allowances or otherwise) expressed in terms of money or capable of being so expressed which would, if the terms of employment, express or implied, were fulfilled, be payable to a person employed in respect of his employment or of work done in such employment, and includes-
     • (i) any remuneration payable under any award or settlement between the parties or under any order of a court or tribunal;
     • (ii) any remuneration to which the person employed is entitled in respect of overtime work or holiday or any leave period;
     • (iii) any additional remuneration payable under the terms of employment (whether called a bonus or by any other name);
     • (iv) any sum which by reason of the termination of employment of the person employed is payable under any law, contract or instrument which provides for the payment of such sum, whether with or without deductions;
     • (v) any sum to which the person employed is entitled under any scheme framed under any law, for the time being in force; and
     • (vi) house rent allowance, but does not include-
   • (A) any bonus payable under Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, which does not form part of the remuneration payable under the terms of employment or which is not payable under any award or settlement between the parties or under any order of a court;
   • (B) the value of any accommodation, or of the supply of light, water, medical attendance or other amenity or of any service excluded from the computation of wages by a general or special order of the State Government;
   • (C) any contribution paid by the employer to any pension or provident fund and Employee State Insurance Corporation, and the interest which may have accrued thereon;
   • (D) any travelling allowance or the value of any travelling concession;
   • (E) any sum paid to the employed person to defray special expenses entailed to him due to nature of his employment; or
   • (F) any gratuity payable on the termination of employment in cases other than those specified in sub-clause (iv);
   • (j) ''week'' means a period of seven days beginning at midnight on Saturday night or such other night as may be approved in writing for a particular area by the Chief Facilitator;
   • (k) "worker" means any person (except an apprentice as defined under clause(aa) of section 2 of the Apprentices Act, 1961) employed in any shop and establishment to do any manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, but does not include any such person––
   • (a) who is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity; or
   • (b) Who is employed in such a shop where workers are entitled to get benefits under the Factories Act, 1948
   • (l) "Member of the Family" means close relatives of employer like mother, father, wife, husband, son, daughter, daughter -in -law, son -in- law, brother, sisters, grandson, granddaughter, maternal grandson and maternal granddaughter.
   • (m) "Managerial" means worker disposing work related to management of the shop and establishment.
   • (n) "Supervisory" means worker disposing work related to supervision of the shop and establishment.
   • (o) "Misconduct" means
     • (i) wilful insubordination or disobedience, whether alone or in combination with other, to any lawful order of a superior;
     • (ii) wilful damage or loss of employer's property;
     • (iii) taking or giving bribes or any other illegal gratification;
     • (iv) theft, fraud or dishonesty in connection with the employer's business property;
     • (v) habitual absence without leaves or absence without leave for more than ten days;
     • (vi) habitual breach of any law applicable to the establishment;
     • (vii) habitual late attendance.
     • (viii) riotous or disorderly behaviour during working hours at the establishment or any act subversive of discipline;
     • (ix) habitual or gross negligence or neglect of work;
     • (x) striking work inciting others to strike work in contravention of the provisions of any law or rule having the force of law.
     • (xi) breach of the provisions of the standing orders applicable to the establishment and certified under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946

1. (1) The provisions of this Act shall not apply to-
   • (a) a worker occupying a position of confidential, managerial or supervisory character in a shop or in an establishment;
   • (b) a worker whose work is inherently intermittent;
   • (c) any office of the Government or the local authority;
   • (d) any office of the Reserve Bank of India;
   • (e) a member of the family of an employer.
2. (2) A list of the workers referred to in clause
   • (a) of sub-section
3. (1) shall be displayed on the website of the shop or establishment and in absence of the website, at a conspicuous place in the shop or establishment and a copy thereof shall be sent to the

Safeguarding Existing Worker Rights Safeguarding Existing Worker Rights- Nothing contained in this Act shall adversely affect, any right or privilege to which any worker is entitled, under any law, award, agreement, contract, custom or usage for the time being in force.