Night Shifts in Chennai: Are Saturdays and Holiday Policies Fair for Freshers?

I have been working in a company for the past 7 months on night shifts for 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, in Tamil Nadu, Chennai. I have 3 questions on which I want clarification since I am a fresher to IT companies.

1. Is Saturday compulsory for me to work? (as the company is insisting)

2. I am working on the USA Medical Care project. What holiday policy should they provide us? (Currently, I have no holiday policy at all, either Indian or Federal Holidays)

3. Is the night shift allowance mandatory for them to give me? (Currently, they are not providing anything, not even transport)

Please review and let me know if you need any further changes.

If your company policy requires you to work on Saturdays, then you must adhere to it. Typically, a company can have 48 working hours per week (excluding tea and lunch breaks). You have not specified whether your 9-hour workday includes or excludes lunch/tea breaks. Therefore, you should calculate your actual work hours and determine the spread of hours for regular and shift duties. Adjust your working hours after consulting with your top management.

Holiday Entitlement in India

As per our (India) policy, you are entitled to 3 national holidays (Jan 26, Aug 15, & Oct 02) and 5 to 7 festival holidays based on your region/state/locality/staff community requirements as determined by management. Additionally, you can observe additional holidays following the USA holiday schedule, as no work will be scheduled on those days.

Please adhere to your company policy or propose a policy for any compensation/facilities after discussing it briefly with your top management. Express your views to management as these initiatives are cost-effective and serve as motivators.

Thank you.