The Delhi government has issued a fresh advisory limiting late office hours for women employees, reinforcing its stance on workplace safety, dignity and managerial responsibility. The directive, issued by the Women and Child Development department, states that women staff should not be required or implicitly expected to work beyond regular office hours, except in exceptional and unavoidable situations.
According to the advisory, any deviation from normal working hours must be carefully justified in advance. In cases where late work becomes unavoidable, the responsibility for ensuring the woman employee’s safe transport home will rest squarely with the concerned branch head or reporting officer. The department made it clear that accountability will be personal, not procedural, underscoring the seriousness of the mandate.
Senior officials have been instructed to evaluate whether extended work hours are genuinely necessary and to avoid asking women employees to stay back for routine tasks or non-urgent work that can be deferred. The advisory cautions against normalising late sittings and calls for stricter oversight whenever exceptions are made.
Emphasising a “humane, gender-sensitive and responsible” approach to management, the department reiterated that the safety and dignity of women employees must remain non-negotiable. It also signalled that compliance with the advisory will be closely monitored, with little tolerance for lapses.
The move comes amid heightened attention on workplace safety and employer accountability, particularly around late working hours in both government and private offices, as authorities push for stronger safeguards for women at work.
Source – https://www.bwpeople.in/article/delhi-govt-limits-late-office-hours-for-women-583639