Kerala Shop and Establishment Act 1960 was introduced to legalise businesses and protect employees' rights. This act provides necessary rules and regulations regarding annual wages, leaves, work hours, holidays, maternity leave, and several other benefits in Kerala.

Companies must register under this act to get a mandatory licence to run a business successfully in Kerala. This guide will give some necessary details of the shop and establishment registration in Kerala. Keep reading to know more.

This act applies to every commercial establishment inside the state territory of Kerala. Every small, medium, and large service has to be registered under this act. Therefore, all types of commercial stores, residential lodges, restaurants, theatres, public entertainment places, etc. are subject to shop and establishment registration in Kerala.

Establishments Exempted From Registration Under the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishment Act

There are some exemptions in this act. These are as follows -

• Employees working in a management position in any establishment
• People who give services that involve travelling
• Central or state government undertaking establishments
• Establishments under local authorities
• Establishments under the Reserve Bank of India and cantonment authorities
• Shops and establishments in market places where temporary fairs are occasional
• Establishments that do not fall under the Factory act 1948

Following are some required steps to register under the act -

Step 1: Go to the official site of the labour department of the Kerala government.

Step 2: Then click on the "online registration" tab and read all related guidelines and click on "proceed".

Step 3: Select Kerala Shops and Establishments Act 1960 and then select the district name and registration office.

Step 4: Find the essential fields, which are -

• Name of employer and manager,
• Name & postal address of the establishments,
• Name of employment & type of business
• No male & female workers
• Business owner mobile no, etc.

Step 5: Download employees' details format and fill the fields and tap on "submit application".

Step 6: Note down the application number and temporary registration number.

Step 7: Download the challan and pay the requisite money.

Step 8: Use that temporary registration number to show and print the application

Applicants need to deliver the following documents to register

• Employer or manager's details
• Trust deed, partnership deed or documents of the association
• Bank details
• In case of rented shops, a rental deed
• Total number of partners, directors or managers
• PAN and Aadhaar details of applicants
• List of employees and their name, address, date of birth, workplace designation and the year of joining
• MOA or AOA
• Certificate of incorporation

There is a simple process of tracking your application status. This is as follows -

Step 1: Visit the official site of the labour department of the Kerala government

Step 2: Input the registration number

Step 3: Fill out the captcha and click on show

The validity of this registration certificate for the shop and commercial establishment in Kerala is 1 year from issue date. Applicants should apply for the certificate renewal at least 30 days after the expiry of the certificate.

If you are wondering about the certificate renewal steps, follow the next segment.

Every year applicants need to renew their licence. Otherwise, they may face issues in running a business. This process of renewal is as follows -

Step 1: Go to the official site of the labour department of the Kerala government

Step 2: Find the "online renewal" option from the portal

Step 3: Go to the licence renewal page by clicking on the "online renewal" tab

Step 4: Now choose the renewal type that should be "renewal of registration"

Step 5: Check your licence details from the next window

Step 6: Next, you need to choose the period of renewal for to option

Step 7:  Download the employee's details format and fill the fields and tap on the browse tab

Step 8: Lastly, tap on the "apply for renewal" option

Here are some of the important rules of shops and commercial establishments in Kerala,

1. Employment of Women, Children and Young Individuals

This act prohibits children from working in any shop and commercial establishment in the state's territory. In addition, women and young individuals who have not reached the age of 17 are not supposed to work before 6 am and after 7 pm.

2. Working Hours

Employees should not work more than 8 hours and 48 hours a week. The extension of the maximum work hours, including overtime, should not exceed 10 hours per day. Moreover, no employee should work more than 4 hours without an interval.

3. Exemption of Work

Pregnant women are exempted from working before delivery or for a certain period following the delivery. They are also not supposed to carry loads during pregnancy

4. Regulations and Employment

• Employers can not dismiss any employee who has served less than 6 months without a reasonable cause
• Organisations must give a notice period of at least 1 month to the employees who have not served for 6 months
• Employers must pay average daily wages to their employees for the leave allowed for them
• Employees who have served for 12 months continuously should get full wages for the holidays from employers
• Employers must keep a copy of the licence in the shop or commercial establishment premises

5. Weekly Holidays

Every shop and commercial establishment should remain closed on at least one day of a week. Shop owners should specify this closing day in a notice to a visible place of the shop for general people. However, this day should not be altered more than once in 3 months.

6. Annual Leave With Wages

Employees can get 12 holidays with full wages after completion of 12 months of serving. This further can extend up to a maximum of 24 days. Moreover, under section 13 (2) (a), twelve sick leaves are allowed to employees with wages on the ground of accidents or sickness.

7. Right of Employees

• Employees can get special leave for the cause of sterilisation
• Casual leave for 12 days is allowed  to the employees with full wages
• Employees are not supposed to do overtime for more than 50 in any quarter
• Employers should pay twice the wages to employees for overtime

8. Management of Records

• Employers must maintain the record of employment in Form A or Form B
• Employers should maintain Form BB for service record
• Form D should be maintained to the total working hours of the employees
• The notice of holidays of employees should be maintained in Form E
• Holidays and leaves should also be maintained in Form F
• Exhibition of the extraction of act and rules in the form of notice is mandatory
• Employers should maintain an inspection book
• Employers should exhibit notice of the weakly closing of the shop or establishment
• Exhibition of the registration certificate is also mandatory
• If there are 10 or more persons added to a shop or establishment in March, June, September and December before the 10th of the following month, it should be recorded in Form H.

9. Penalties

If all rules and regulations are not maintained properly, there is a chance of getting penalties.

• Breaking the rules of the shop and establishment act can cause a penalty of ₹ 250, and if the cause of the penalty is not resolved, then there will be an addition of ₹ 10 per day.
• Any disobeys of the section 6,8,9,to 11, 12, 13, 13A, 14, 18, 21, 21A, 22, 5D, 5E and 5F are subject to penalties

The benefits of Kerala shops and establishment registration are listed below for your reference -

• This acts as legal proof for the shop and establishment owners
• The registration certificate gives the licence to run any business inside the state boundary
• Applicants with this certificate can open a current business bank account
• The certificate holders can round out the inspections made by the state government
• Business owners who register under the act can access the government benefits for small businesses

Therefore, save these details about shop and establishments registration in Kerala to start your business inside the state. The procedures mentioned in the guide will help conduct the registration process easily.