Understanding Indian Law: What Are the Maximum Working Hours Per Day and Week?

Can someone tell me about the maximum working hours per day as per Indian law, both per day and per week?

As per my knowledge, the maximum working hours per day are 9 hours, and the maximum working hours per week are 48 hours.
Regards.

Every state is specified by its own Act. Under the Shops & Establishment Act, the maximum working hours per day are 9 hours (with a 1-hour break), 48 hours per week, and with a spread over of 11 hours in a day.

Factories Act Regulations

As per the Factories Act, working hours should not exceed 9 hours in a day and 48 hours in a week as per Section 51 of the act. If the working hours of the workers exceed the weekly closing hours more than 48 hours, the exceeding hours shall be paid as overtime at a rate of double the wages as per Section 59 of this act.

Under Section 56, the spread over of 10 and a half hours a day is the maximum work hours for an adult worker. If the factory wishes to increase the working hours, it can apply in writing to the Factories Inspector to increase the same but should not exceed 12 hours a day.

Hope you were looking for the above information.

As per the Factories Act, 1948:

Maximum Working Hours

Section 51 of the Factories Act, 1948, prescribes that no adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in a factory for more than forty-eight hours in any week. Further, Section 54 stipulates that subject to the provision of Section 51, no adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in a factory for more than nine hours in any day. However, there is a provision to this section which states that subject to the prior approval of the Chief Inspector, the daily maximum hours specified in Section 54 may be exceeded in order to facilitate the change of shifts.

Weekly Holiday

Section 52 of the Act states that no adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in a factory on the first day of the week, i.e., the weekly holiday.

Compensatory Holidays

Section 53 of the Act further states that if the worker is deprived of any of the weekly holidays for which provision is made in Section 52, he shall be allowed, within the month in which the holidays were due to him or within the two months immediately following that month, compensatory holidays of equal number to the holidays so lost.

Rest Intervals

Section 55 of the Act lays down that the periods of work of adult workers in a factory each day shall be so fixed that no worker shall work for more than 5 hours before he has had an interval for rest of at least half an hour. The Chief Inspector of Factories can exempt any factory from this provision; however, the total number of hours worked by a worker without an interval does not exceed six.

Spread Over Hours

Section 56 of the Act stipulates that the period of work of an adult worker in a factory shall be so arranged that, inclusive of his intervals for rest under Section 55, it shall not spread over more than ten and a half hours on any day. The Chief Inspector may, however, increase the spread over up to twelve hours on specific grounds.

Ordinary Rate of Wages

Section 59(1) states that it has to be paid on the "ordinary rate of wages." (2) defines ordinary rates of wages as basic wages plus such allowances as the worker is entitled to for the time being, excluding bonus and wages for overtime.

Hope the above is in order for your consideration and knowledge. Thanks!

Maximum Working Hours in a Factory

1. Maximum normal working hours on any day for a worker in a factory cannot exceed 9 hours.

2. Maximum normal weekly working hours cannot exceed 48 hours.

3. A workman must be given at least a ½ hour rest after a maximum of 5 continuous working hours.

4. The maximum stay of any worker in the factory cannot exceed ten and a half hours, including rest intervals.

5. A workman can be required to work overtime beyond 9 hours, up to a maximum of 50 hours in a quarter. This means a workman is allowed to work approximately four extra hours in a week. For certain continuous industries, the appropriate government can allow a maximum of 75 hours of overtime in a quarter.

6. If a workman is required to work on his weekly off, he should get the off before the 11th day. There should be a minimum of one weekly off in a span of ten days.

7. If due to work exigency, a workman is compelled to work on a weekly off even on the 10th day, he should be given Compensatory Off and not overtime. The worker should avail the leave (the CO) within three months of its generation. The provisions apply to factories that have been exempted from section 52, or else it is mandatory to provide a weekly off latest on the 10th day, which means either three days before or three days after the week.

8. Generally, every person working in a factory is a "workman" for the provisions of the Factories Act, except for the provisions of overtime where managerial manpower is exempted.

9. Even female employees, irrespective of their designations like Manager, are governed by the Factories Act. Hence, there is a restriction on working hours. Normally, they can be allowed from 07:00 a.m. to 06:00 p.m. The appropriate government can issue permission to allow them from 06:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. in certain industries with certain conditions like providing them transportation and security.

10. Every factory should publish the work hours (shift schedules) for different relays (shifts ABC) of employees if it is a continuous industry and follow that pattern normally.

11. There should not be an overlap of relays, which means there should not be two groups (sets) of workers on the same jobs attending duties in different time slots, e.g., one group has time 06:00 to 14:00 and another 07:00 to 15:00.

Regards,
Shailesh Parikh

[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]
Vadodara, Gujarat