Is a 10-Hour, 6-Day Workweek Legal and What Can Employees Do About It?

Dear Seniors, My friend is working as a Senior HR Executive in a private limited firm where, after long discussions and meetings, the company established a rule that the working hours for a normal shift will be 10 hours, with working days spanning 6 days a week. Additionally, the company requires employees to potentially work extended hours of 11 to 12 hours a day without any overtime compensation.

Queries Regarding Work Hours Policy

I have two queries:
1. Is a 10-hour shift legal?
2. Can an employee take action against this? Will there be any negative repercussions for the employee in the future due to legal action taken?

Moreover, what suggestions can my friend offer to the organization's management regarding this policy?

Thank you.

I don't know under which section it falls, but if it is a six-day workweek, then employees cannot log in for more than 8.5 hours officially.

Understanding Working Hours and Overtime Regulations

48 hours a week are mentioned in the factory, and also the ID Act specifies that working hours at a stretch are up to 9 hours only in a day/shift.

8 hours of work + 15 minutes for tea time twice means 30 minutes, and 30 minutes for lunch, totaling 9 hours. However, when working more than a shift of 8.30 hours, overtime pay is applicable.

The Shops and Establishment Act mentions a stretch of 11 hours.

Regards

Thank you, Seniors. They discussed the same issue with management, but management is not ready to follow the rules. What action can they take against this because management is not at all supportive of them?

Understanding Maharashtra Factory Rule 56

Please refer to Maharashtra Factory Rule 56, wherein the spread of working hours is allowed up to 10 1/2 hours a day. Please note that there is a difference between working hours and shift timing. Working hours are the net hours of work, whereas shift timing includes rest periods as well. In your case, whether the 10-hour shift includes lunch timing and other rest periods, please check and update us.

Normal working hours of the employee should not exceed 48 hours in a week, i.e., 6 working days.

Regards,
Avinash K.

As Mr. Bhardwaj has mentioned regarding the timing period, no one can demand excessive work from employees. If they want more work, they have to pay overtime (OT). I would like to point out that nowadays, most companies do not follow 100% legal compliance to gain more work and money. Even the head of HR is aware of this issue, but management is superior. Moreover, if you are planning to take any legal action against the company, you must first understand all aspects and compliance related to that action. Secondly, you have to be fearless of being terminated from the company, as no company desires its HR personnel to work against it. It is true that as HR personnel, we must provide 100% justification to both employees and management. Our role is to create an amicable climate between management and employees. Most of the time, we have to do the wrong work even though we know all the details.

So, I suggest that if you want to take legal action against management, proceed with a fearless attitude but in a professional manner. Meet the Assistant Labour Commissioner (ALC) of your area, inform them about all the facts, and your work will begin.

Any queries, contact anytime.

Legal Working Hours and Overtime Compensation

Legally, it's allowed to work 48 hours per week for 6 working days. This equates to 8 hours per day. However, if someone is working more than 48 hours in a week, the company must pay overtime to the employee or be prepared to face legal action.

Regards

Legal Working Hours in Factories and Offices

Working time of 10 hours a day is illegal for both factories and shops/offices. The only difference is in hotels/restaurants and movie halls where a break shift is allowed (shift broken into two parts, with employees allowed to go home for the break).

Furthermore, the maximum working hours cannot exceed 48 hours a week. Another point to note is that overtime cannot exceed 2 hours a day under most statutes, and the overtime should not be regular to the extent that it is considered normal work time/shift.

Options for Addressing Non-compliance

You have already informed your management of what the law requires. If they are not willing to listen, you have three options:

- Ignore the problem and live with it.
- Quit and move to another company.
- File a complaint with the labor commissioner with evidence where possible. You should file the complaint anonymously or have one of the employees file the complaint without involving you. A worker filing the complaint cannot be terminated without causing more problems for the company, so they are better protected than you.

However, if you are involved in the complaint, it is likely to adversely affect your career as future employers may not want to recruit you.

Regards.

Question on Working Hours

Do these 48 hours refer to actual working hours? Should lunch hours be counted separately, or are they included in the 48-hour total?

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Does this mean that if the 48 hours are considered actual working hours, lunch hours should be counted separately, or are they already included in the 48-hour total?

Legality of 10-Hour Shifts

First, the original post discusses 10-hour working shifts, which are definitely not allowed in a normal course. The concept of a spread over of up to 10 hours refers to break shifts. No company can have 10-hour shifts in the normal course. A lunch break is 30 minutes, and at most, two tea breaks of 10 minutes each will be counted in shift hours. A 1:30 hour break is not allowed except in a break shift, which is permitted for restaurants, hotels, etc.

Dear Seniors, thank you for all your valuable responses. My friend is considering filing a complaint because she and her employees are facing issues. After discussing with her staff, they all find themselves in a situation where, although the standard working hours are 10, they are being stretched to 12 to 13 hours without overtime pay. Consequently, all are very dissatisfied with this rule.

What Would Be Your Suggestion on This?

Thanking You & Regards,
Maniiri Aher

Is this law related to working hours applicable to IT companies as well? Many times, I hear that only workers on the shop floor are protected by labor law, while for white-collar jobs like IT consultants, they have to work irrespective of working hours—meeting deadlines is important; otherwise, they risk losing their job. Please advise.

Thanks and Regards,
Mihir P.

Understanding Employee Working Hours and Legal Actions

An employee is allowed to work for a maximum of 8 hours per day and a total of 48 hours per week with a weekly off; excess working hours need overtime allowance. Here, the case is different as the working hours are already defined to be more than the limit. So, if you want to complain about it, go to the labor office in your area.

Unity in these matters is crucial. If you can convince all the employees regarding this issue, select a volunteer to represent all the employees and then submit a written complaint with the signatures of all employees to the labor officer. This collective action will facilitate quick resolution. However, be prepared for the possibility of termination by the employer for going against their policies.

Regards

Dear Sir, Thank you for your concern. In her company, the shift timing is 10 hours, i.e., from 9 AM to 7 PM, and management is asking them to stretch it up to 11 to 12 hours daily, without OT.

Thanking You & Regards, Manjiri Aher

Dear Manjiri, as you mentioned, being in the IT/ITES service industry, could you please clarify whether it is governed by the Factories Act or the Bombay Shops & Establishment Act?

Working Hours Regulation

If it falls under the Shops & Establishment Act, then the spread of working hours should not exceed 11 hours per day. This implies that the employer can divide the 11-hour shift in a way that incorporates lunchtime, rest periods, or team time within the 11 hours.

Consequently, the employees are expected to work for 11 hours without receiving overtime pay. If your management also shares this perspective, they are in compliance with the law; however, they must be able to justify the additional 3 hours beyond the standard 8-hour workday.

I recommend discussing these matters with the management.

Regards, Avinash K.

I assume that the query pertains to a factory in Maharashtra. It will not be out of place to mention here that the excessive working hours have factually led to the passing of the Factories Act in India more than a century ago. The Factories Act clearly specifies, or rather restricts, the everyday working hours as well as weekly working hours. Working hours shall not be more than 48 hours per week (Section 51 of the Factories Act) and not more than 9 hours per day (Section 54). The working hours do not include recess. Hence, in case 9 hours of work (means 9 and a half hours - Shift Time) per day is planned, then obviously for 6 days of work, the working hours will be 54 hours and thus are excessive by 6 hours. Therefore, on the last working day, the office shift is kept to 3 hours only (9x5=45h + 3h = 48h).

In any case, in the given situation, the two necessary conditions of per day working hours and the total working hours of a week are violated. The remedy is simple. One can make a complaint to the Factory Inspector. If the Manager insists on such a work plan, the factory inspector can file a criminal case against him together with the occupier of the Company.

I am working in a software company. In our company, the working hours are 11 hours per day. According to policy, we have Saturday and Sunday as holidays. However, management is now saying that due to workload, we have to come in on Saturdays and work for 11 hours on Saturdays as well.

Kindly help me to determine if this is legal or not.

Thanks