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A landmark decision removes 70-year-old restrictions, opening new opportunities for women in tourism and food services<\/strong><\/p>\n Sri Lanka has taken a major step toward workplace equality with a new extraordinary gazette notification that permits women over 18 years of age to work night shifts in the hospitality and food service industries. Published on January 30, 2025, this groundbreaking amendment removes decades-old restrictions that have limited women’s participation in one of the country’s most vital economic sectors.<\/p>\n Labour Minister<\/a> Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando issued the gazette<\/a> under Section 66 of the Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act, marking a turning point in Sri Lanka’s labour laws. The new regulations allow women to work between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. in various roles including janitorial attendants and food service positions.<\/p>\n For over 70 years, Sri Lankan women faced legal barriers preventing them from working night shifts in hotels, restaurants, and related establishments. The Shop and Office Employees Act No. 19 of 1954 originally created these restrictions based on outdated ideas about women’s roles in society.<\/p>\n These old laws assumed that women’s primary responsibility was taking care of children and maintaining family life, which night shifts were thought to disrupt. The restrictions also stemmed from concerns about workplace harassment and the lack of safe transportation during late hours. While these concerns were meant to protect women, they actually prevented many women from accessing good job opportunities in growing industries.<\/p>\n The new gazette removes these barriers while ensuring strong protections remain in place for women who choose to work night shifts.<\/p>\n The extraordinary gazette notification creates clear guidelines for employing women during night hours. Women aged 18 and above can now work as:<\/p>\n The regulations define night work as any employment between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the following day. This 12-hour window opens up thousands of potential jobs in Sri Lanka’s tourism and hospitality sectors.<\/p>\n Previously, the Act only allowed women over 18 to work as “ladies lavatory attendants” after 6:00 p.m. The new amendments significantly expand the types of positions available to women during these hours.<\/p>\n The gazette places serious responsibilities on employers to protect women working night shifts. These requirements ensure that removing the ban does not compromise worker safety.<\/p>\n Safe Transportation:<\/strong> Employers must provide suitable transportation to employees’ residences if their shift ends between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. This addresses one of the biggest concerns women face when considering night work.<\/p>\n Accommodation Options:<\/strong> If an employer cannot provide transportation, they must offer appropriate accommodation from the end of the shift until 6:00 a.m. This gives workers a safe place to rest before traveling home during daylight hours.<\/p>\n Healthcare and Welfare:<\/strong> Employers remain fully accountable for the healthcare, safety, and overall welfare of female employees engaged in night work. This creates legal protection for women and gives them recourse if employers fail to meet their obligations.<\/p>\n Safe Working Environment:<\/strong> The regulations require employers to take necessary measures to create a safe working environment, including specific protections during night-time operations.<\/p>\n The Ministry of Labour emphasized that these protections are not optional. Employers who fail to provide these safeguards can face legal consequences.<\/p>\n Sri Lanka’s tourism and hospitality sector ranks as the country’s third-largest foreign exchange earner and creates significant employment opportunities. However, the industry has faced persistent labour shortages, especially as many young Sri Lankans leave the country seeking better opportunities abroad.<\/p>\n According to World Bank data from 2024, women make up only 31.6 percent of Sri Lanka’s labour force, despite accounting for more than half the population. This represents one of the lowest female workforce participation rates in South Asia.<\/p>\n Recent statistics from the fourth quarter of 2024 show even more concerning trends. While 67.6 percent of men participate in the workforce, only 30.3 percent of women do. This gap has barely changed in recent years despite various government initiatives.<\/p>\n Within the tourism sector specifically, women’s participation drops to just 10 percent, even though the industry plays a vital role in the economy. These numbers highlight why legal reforms are urgently needed.<\/p>\n The country currently faces a serious labour shortage problem. Out of a working-age population of 17.6 million people, only 8.4 million are economically active. The remaining 9.2 million people, predominantly women, remain outside the labour force due to various barriers.<\/p>\n Young people face particularly high unemployment rates. One in five Sri Lankans aged 15-24 are jobless, with women in this age group facing a staggering 25.7 percent unemployment rate\u2014nearly double that of young men at 16.3 percent.<\/p>\n These statistics show that Sri Lanka cannot afford to keep half its population locked out of key economic sectors. The new gazette helps address this problem by removing legal barriers that prevented women from accessing thousands of jobs.<\/p>\n The restrictions on women’s night work stem from colonial-era “protectionist” mindsets that treated women as needing special legal protection rather than equal opportunities. While the intentions may have been good, these laws actually harmed women by limiting their economic choices.<\/p>\n Other countries in the region have already moved past these outdated restrictions. By maintaining them, Sri Lanka fell behind international standards for gender equality in the workplace. The new gazette brings the country in line with modern labour practices while maintaining appropriate safety measures.<\/p>\n The amendments represent a shift in thinking\u2014from treating women as people who need protection from work, to treating them as equal economic actors who deserve access to the same opportunities as men.<\/p>\n The hospitality industry operates around the clock. Hotels need staff working overnight shifts to serve guests. Restaurants increasingly stay open late to meet customer demand. Without the ability to hire women for these positions, businesses faced artificial constraints on their operations.<\/p>\n The new regulations allow businesses to hire from the entire talent pool, not just half of it. This means:<\/p>\n Industry leaders have welcomed the change as necessary for meeting international standards and competing effectively in global tourism markets.<\/p>\n While the gazette represents significant progress, women still face other barriers to workforce participation that laws alone cannot solve.<\/p>\n Social and Cultural Attitudes:<\/strong> Many families and communities still disapprove of women working night shifts, regardless of what the law says. Changing these attitudes will take time and education.<\/p>\n Work-Life Balance:<\/strong> Women continue to shoulder most household and childcare responsibilities. Working night shifts while managing these duties can be extremely difficult without support systems.<\/p>\n Skills Gaps:<\/strong> Some women lack the training needed for available positions. Job training programs need to expand to help women develop relevant skills.<\/p>\n Safety Concerns:<\/strong> Even with legal protections, some women may feel unsafe traveling to and from work during night hours. Communities need better street lighting, more reliable public transportation, and increased security.<\/p>\n Workplace Harassment:<\/strong> Creating safe workplaces requires more than just laws. Companies need strong policies, training programs, and enforcement mechanisms to prevent harassment.<\/p>\n The government and civil society organizations will need to address these issues to ensure the legal changes translate into real opportunities for women.<\/p>\n Women’s rights organizations have fought for these changes for many years. They view the gazette as an important victory but emphasize that more work remains.<\/p>\n Activists point out that removing legal barriers is just the first step. They call for:<\/p>\n Workers themselves express mixed feelings. Some welcome the new opportunities and trust that the safety protections will be enforced. Others remain cautious, wanting to see how the regulations work in practice before making major career decisions.<\/p>\n Most countries in South Asia have already removed similar restrictions on women’s night work, making Sri Lanka a late adopter of this reform. India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan have all updated their labour laws in recent years to expand women’s work opportunities.<\/p>\n However, Sri Lanka’s approach stands out by including strong employer accountability measures in the same regulation that lifts the ban. This combined approach aims to prevent the exploitation that has sometimes occurred in countries where restrictions were removed without adequate protections.<\/p>\n The success of this gazette will depend entirely on how well it gets implemented. Several factors will determine whether it achieves its goals:<\/p>\n Government Enforcement:<\/strong> Labour inspectors need adequate resources to monitor compliance with the new rules. Regular workplace inspections can ensure employers provide required safety measures.<\/p>\n Business Compliance:<\/strong> Companies must take their responsibilities seriously, not just to avoid penalties but to create genuinely safe workplaces that attract and retain talented women employees.<\/p>\n Worker Education:<\/strong> Women need to know their rights under the new regulations. Information campaigns can help workers understand what protections they are entitled to and how to report violations.<\/p>\n Continued Legal Reform:<\/strong> This gazette addresses one important issue, but other discriminatory laws and practices still exist. Ongoing reform efforts should build on this progress.<\/p>\n When more women join the workforce, entire economies benefit. Research shows that countries with higher female labour force participation rates experience:<\/p>\n For Sri Lanka specifically, bringing women’s workforce participation up to regional averages could add billions to the national economy. The tourism sector alone could see significant growth if it could access skilled workers from the entire population.<\/p>\n The January 30 gazette represents real progress toward gender equality in Sri Lanka’s labour market. It removes an outdated legal barrier that prevented women from accessing thousands of jobs in important economic sectors.<\/p>\n However, laws alone cannot create equality. The gazette must be enforced effectively. Social attitudes need to change. Support systems must develop to help women balance work and family responsibilities. Safety measures require consistent implementation.<\/p>\n Women’s rights advocates view this moment as an opportunity to push for additional reforms. They call for updates to other labour laws that discriminate against women, stronger anti-harassment protections, and better childcare support for working mothers.<\/p>\n The success of this policy will be measured not just by whether women can legally work night shifts, but by whether they actually access these opportunities safely and fairly. That outcome depends on continued commitment from government officials, business leaders, workers’ organizations, and society as a whole.<\/p>\n For now, the gazette stands as an important milestone in Sri Lanka’s journey toward workplace equality\u2014one that opens doors while maintaining protections, and that treats women as the capable economic actors they are.<\/p>\n About This Reform:<\/strong> The gazette was issued under Section 66 of the Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act by Labour Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando. It amends regulations that have restricted women’s night work since 1954.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sri Lanka removes 70-year ban on women’s Work night shifts in hospitality sector. New gazette expands job opportunities while A landmark decision removes 70-year-old restrictions, opening new opportunities for… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4824,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"no","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_205606689_205606689":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[{"account":"twitter_205606689_205606689","service":"twitter","timestamp":1770142722,"status":"error"}],"rop_publish_now_status":"done","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,16,13],"tags":[4957,4953,4961,4960,4955,4964,4949,4959,4950,4958,4962,4954,4952,4947,4963,4956,4948,4951,4946,4965],"class_list":["post-4823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","category-local-home","category-main-story","tag-breaking-glass-ceiling","tag-can-women-work-night-shifts-hotels-sri-lanka","tag-colonial-era-laws-removed","tag-economic-independence-women","tag-employer-safety-requirements-night-shift-sri-lanka","tag-female-economic-participation","tag-female-hospitality-jobs-sri-lanka","tag-gender-equality-workplace","tag-labour-law-changes-sri-lanka-2025","tag-labour-reform-2025","tag-labour-shortage-solution","tag-new-regulations-female-night-workers-sri-lanka","tag-shop-and-office-employees-act-amendment","tag-sri-lanka-women-night-shift-law","tag-tourism-industry-jobs","tag-women-empowerment-sri-lanka","tag-women-night-work-gazette-2025","tag-women-workforce-participation","tag-womens-night-shift-gazette","tag-workplace-safety-regulations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceylondailynews.lk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceylondailynews.lk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceylondailynews.lk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceylondailynews.lk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceylondailynews.lk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4823"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ceylondailynews.lk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4825,"href":"https:\/\/ceylondailynews.lk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4823\/revisions\/4825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceylondailynews.lk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceylondailynews.lk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceylondailynews.lk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceylondailynews.lk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Understanding the Historic Change<\/h2>\n
What the New Regulations Mean for Women to Work Night Shifts<\/h2>\n
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Strong Safety Protections Built Into the Law<\/h2>\n
Employer Responsibilities Include:<\/h3>\n
Why This Change Matters for Sri Lanka’s Economy<\/h2>\n
The Numbers Tell an Important Story:<\/h3>\n
Labour Shortages Drive the Need for Reform<\/h2>\n
Breaking Down Colonial-Era Thinking<\/h2>\n
Impact on the Hospitality and Tourism Industry<\/h2>\n
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Challenges That Still Need Addressing<\/h2>\n
Ongoing Challenges Include:<\/h3>\n
What Activists and Workers Say<\/h2>\n
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Comparing Sri Lanka to Regional Neighbours<\/h2>\n
Looking Forward: Implementation Matters<\/h2>\n
Economic Benefits of Increased Female Participation<\/h2>\n
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The Road Ahead<\/h2>\n
\nKey Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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