Is It Fair to Expect Employees to Work 11-12 Hours Without Extra Pay?

It is not right to push your employees to work for 11-12 hours daily without compensating them for the extra hours that exceed 9 hours.

I think you already know that, as per the Shop and Establishment Act, no one can be asked to work more than 9 hours a day. The only exceptions to this rule are "Managers," and even then, it cannot exceed 5% of the total workforce in the office.

So, what is your question? Are you talking about legal rights or moral rights? It depends on what your position is. If you are a manager or a highly paid person, you must have been aware that the company is offering you high pay because it expects you to work long hours. Someone working 9-5 shifts gets paid much less.

Finally, what do you intend to do about it? If you plan to take legal action, then how long before your company terminates you? Private banks like HDFC are not unionized to be able to protect you.

Absolutely, the offense is made out by the company when:

- If there are 9 working hours per day, then it should be 5 working days a week.
- If there are 8 working hours per day, then it should be 5 and a half days a week.

Working hours extended beyond that are subject to payment for overtime. Failing to do so, the company is subject to an offense that can be contested through the labor court for the claim of overtime payment along with compensation. It is considered a criminal offense to force employees to work extra hours, causing mental agony.