How Should We Compensate Weekend and Holiday Work in a 5-Day Workweek?

Hi all,

I am new to this, and I hope I will get good support. In our company, we have 5 working days in a week. If anyone works on Saturdays and/or Sundays, or on a national holiday, then how should we compensate those leaves for them? Please guide me.

Regards,
Deborah.

Debora,

We can compensate the days an employee worked on weekends/holidays, and we can also provide them with food expenses. It depends on the company policies; please review your company policies and work on it.

Thanks,
Mirza

You can formulate a policy on compensatory time off, whereby you can give the employee a day off within two months from the day the comp time becomes due, or you can pay them overtime.

Anu :)

Hi Deborah,

All of these points are indeed valid. It is essential to establish a policy concerning compensatory time off. Employees who work on holidays should be able to utilize this time off within 60 or 90 days; otherwise, it will expire. This benefit should only apply to those individuals who came into the office out of necessity. Implementing this restriction will help prevent any potential misuse of this policy.

Regards,
Amit Seth

If an employee works for 7 days at a stretch, your company gives him a comp off encashable anytime in the near future, plus any kind of incentive, etc. Is it legal? No.

Surya

Hi Deborah,

I just want to add, along with Amit, that you have to start keeping a record of the same. You can also specify the minimum working hours required. You can mention that it should be pre-planned as well as approved by the managers.

Hope this will help you.

Regards,
Revathi

Dear Deborah, First of all, have a policy on compensatory time off. Avoid working on national holidays as doing so is punishable under the Shops & Estb. Act for some industries. Additionally, this could lead to resentment among employees. If it is unavoidable for employees to work on holidays, compensate them generously to prevent dissatisfaction. In the best interest of the organization, consider offering compensatory time off on a weekday instead of combining it with weekends. This approach would alleviate the burden on colleagues in the department and prevent the establishment of a potentially problematic precedent. I trust that my response meets your satisfaction. 😉

Dear Deborah,

As my fellow members have mentioned earlier, it depends on the company policy. For example, if you observe the extra days worked by people in my company, some individuals should receive at least 6 months of compensatory time off. Many times, even I have worked on numerous weekends without food and water provided by the company, without compensatory time off, and without any overtime pay. The daily working hours ranged from 8 to 12 hours, and it's true. 😢

LOOK AT MY JOB PROFILE:

ORGANIZATION: A very large multinational company (name withheld)

CONS: Only one weekly day off, which is on Friday, not on Sunday.

Working hours range from 8 to 12 hours.

No transportation provided. Even at midnight, you have to manage to get home on your own safely, as the company is located on the outskirts of the city on a highway where reckless driving is common at night, which is risky. The environment is dull, with no life, just work, work, work, and frustration among all employees.

PROS: Canteen facilities available. I had the privilege of taking leaves as I wished with no deduction from my salary, as I was in HR and managed all employee data in SAP. 🙄 Plus, free telephone facilities, including STD calls, and free access to a printer.

SO YOU SHOULD AT LEAST BE CONCERNED ABOUT EMPLOYEES AND BE WILLING TO ASK WHAT TO PROVIDE THEM FOR WORKING ON WEEKENDS.

ORGANIZATION: A

The number of hours that you can work is 48 in a week. Now the ID Act says that you should get at least one holiday once a week or once in seven days, which is usually a Sunday.

If there falls a holiday, say on Tuesday, then the roster or the shift can be changed, but the holiday cannot be denied. Instead of Sunday, Tuesday will become a holiday, and Sunday becomes the working day.

Hope that answers your question!

Dear Debora,

There are two ways to compensate your employees for working on Saturday/Sunday or on national holidays:

1. By making holiday payment:
Amount of holiday payment = (Basic pay + Dearness allowance) / 30

2. By offering Compensatory Rest (CR) for each day.

I hope this may help you to frame the policy.

Manoj