How Many Hours Can You Legally Work in a Day? Seeking Clarity on Overtime Rules

Dear Friends, please provide me with details on the following question: How many hours can someone work in one day per week?

Regards,
Himanshu

Dear Himanshu,

Working Hours as per the Factories Act of 1948

As per the Factories Act of 1948, the clause regarding working hours is described as follows:
- For an adult, 8 hours in a day. Overtime is a maximum of 2 hours in a day, with a total spread over a maximum of 11 hours in the working premises.
- An adult can work a maximum of 48 hours normally, with overtime capped at 12 hours, allowing a total of 60 hours to be worked in a week.
- Additionally, a maximum of 48 hours of overtime is allowed in a month, with only 50 hours permitted for any three consecutive months in a calendar year (e.g., May to July).

Regards,
Boopathi

Hi,

For more than 48 hours in a week and 9 hours in a day, one will be liable to be paid overtime. If it's 5 days of 8 hours each and the 6th day is 9 hours, one cannot argue that the 6th day is below 9 hours; therefore, overtime cannot be paid. In this case, the total hours for all 6 days amount to 49 hours, hence one hour of overtime needs to be paid.

Similarly, if it's 4 days of 8 hours each, the 5th day is 7 hours, and the 6th day is 9 hours, the total may only be 48 hours in a week. However, even in this scenario, one hour for the 6th day's overtime needs to be paid.

Therefore, the rule states that more than 9 hours a day and 48 hours in a week should be considered together to clearly understand the purpose of the law.

Regards.