Is It Legal to Work on Sundays Due to Power Holidays in Tamil Nadu? Seeking Guidance from HR Peers

Dear Seniors, I am working as an HR Executive in a small-scale industry in Chennai. Recently, the government of Tamil Nadu announced a power holiday for industries across the state. As a result, we have planned to work on Sundays to compensate for this. We are unable to opt for generators due to the high cost involved. My concern is whether working on Sundays would be illegal. Are there any circulars from the Inspector of Factories regarding this issue?

Regards, D. Balavinayagam

Dear Bala, The policy is made to provide only one day of week off for working employees. Since you are going to work on Sunday, just send a letter informing the Inspector of Factories that you will be taking the week off on a specific day, stating the reason. Since every department in the state is aware of it, you will get the approval easily. In all the registers, show the week off day as the specific day and also display the same on the notice board.

Since the power holiday plan is on a monthly basis, send the letter before the end of the next month for the next month's week-off change.