The rules around scheduling women on night shifts changed meaningfully with the 2022 Employment Act amendments — moving from an older, more restrictive framework toward one built around employer-provided safety measures rather than a blanket cutoff.
The shift from a blanket restriction to a safety-based framework
Older versions of the Act placed tighter blanket restrictions on women working certain night hours in some sectors. Recent amendments moved toward a framework where women can generally work night shifts, provided the employer puts in place specific safety measures — things like safe transport arrangements, adequate workplace security, and in some cases written consent or a risk assessment, particularly in higher-risk sectors like manufacturing.
What this means practically for F&B, retail, and similar shift businesses
For hospitality and retail — sectors that already commonly schedule women on evening and closing shifts — the practical requirement is less about whether a shift is legally permitted at all, and more about whether you can show the safety side is genuinely covered: safe way home after a late shift, adequate lighting and security around closing time, and not leaving a lone female staff member closing an isolated site unsupported.
Sector-specific rules may still differ
Manufacturing and some other sectors have historically carried additional, more specific approval or notification requirements for night work involving women. If your business spans more than one sector type (a retail operation with an attached small production or packing area, for example), don't assume the same rule applies uniformly across the whole operation.
The practical takeaway
Treat this as a genuine safety planning exercise, not a paperwork formality: can you show a real, working answer for how a female staff member gets home safely after a late shift, and is the workplace itself adequately secured for closing hours? Confirm current specifics with JTKSM given how much this area has shifted in recent amendments.