The Department of Commerce has notified a new rule namely Rule 43A – Home Work in Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006 in all Special Economic Zones. The notification was issued at the request of the industry to make provisions for a nationwide Uniform Home Work (WFH) policy in all Special Economic Zones. The Commerce Department then held several rounds of discussions with various stakeholders before confirming the announcement.
Notification under Rule 43A provides for home working for the following category of employees of a unit in a SEZ:
i. Employees of IT/ITeS SEZ departments
ii. Employees who are temporarily unable to work
iii. Employees who travel
iv. Employees who work outside the workplace
As per the new notification, WFH can be extended to a maximum of 50% of the total employees including contractual employees of the unit. The Development Commissioner (DC) of the SEZ has the flexibility to approve higher staffing (more than 50%) for any reason which must be recorded in writing in good faith.Working from home is now allowed for a maximum of one year. However, the DC can extend it further by one year at the request of the units. In the case of SEZ units whose employees are already working from home, a transitional period of 90 days has been set in the notification to seek approval. SEZ units shall provide equipment and secure connectivity for the purpose of WFH to carry out authorized block operations and the permission to remove the equipment is the same as the permission given to the employee.
