How to Manage 24-Hour Plant Shifts While Complying with Factory Act Working Hours?

Dear All,

Good Morning. I have a query regarding working hours and rest time. As per the Factory Act of 1948, the working hours in a day are 09 hours and 48 hours in a week (which means 08 hours of working and 01 hour for tea and lunch breaks). However, if a company operates a 24-hour plant, how should we determine the working hours for each shift?

To provide some context, there are typically 04 shifts in a day: 'A' Shift, General Shift, 'B' Shift, and 'C' Shift. My question is, if an individual's daily working hours are 9 hours, how can we manage to run a plant effectively across 04 or 03 shifts?

Please reply as soon as possible.

Thank you.

Dear Gautham,

Daily 9 hours means it is the maximum but not compulsory. Also, weekly the maximum is 48 hours, i.e., daily average is 8 hours. Hence, an average of 9 hours per day is not practical.

Generally, three shifts are common without overlapping. You may plan for 8 hours, including a 30-minute break in each shift. The same can be arranged as more in the day/easy timings and less in night/tough timings. The latter will be economical because if the shift timings are equal, you have to pay shift allowance for tough timings.

Abbas.P.S