Confused About Sunday Work Pay: Should Employees Get Double Wages for Overtime?

Hi, I have a query regarding Sunday working. We provide contract labor for one of our clients who is from the manufacturing industry. Now, they are planning to make provisions for Sunday working. I am a bit confused about how employees' working days will be calculated.

Payment for Sunday Working

1. Whether the employee is to be paid double his wages if he works on Sunday.
2. Will the work come under OT, and should he be paid double his normal wages? The management decided to pay double the employee's basic salary for OT worked.

Please advise.

Dear Pankaj, The workers must be paid double OT wages for the work done on Sundays and normal wages for holidays, along with the double OT wages for the period of work. If they are not willing to make payment, then the company can divide them into three groups. Each group can be given compensatory time off on the next three days, with one group off on each day (Monday to Wednesday). This ensures that normal work is not hampered.

Regards,

It is mandatory under the Factories Act 1948 to ensure a weekly off of 24 hours within the next three days. For example, if Sunday is supposed to be the weekly off and is converted into a working day, then Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday should be the paid weekly off. Only payment of overtime at double the normal rate does not serve the purpose.

Regards,
P.K. Sharma

Understanding the Factories Act, 1948 for Working Hours and Holidays

I would advise you to go through the Factories Act, 1948, where all your queries can find answers. The following provisions are important as detailed below:

Section 51: Weekly Hours

- No adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in a factory for more than forty-eight hours in any week.

Section 52: Weekly Holidays

- (1) No adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in a factory on the first day of the week (hereinafter referred to as the said day), unless (a) he has or will have a holiday for the whole day on one of three days immediately before or after the said day. No substitution shall be made which will result in any worker working for more than ten days consecutively without a holiday for a whole day.

Section 53: Compensatory Holidays

- (1) Where, as a result of the passing of an order or the making of a rule under the provisions of this Act exempting a factory or the workers therein from the provisions of section 52, a worker is deprived of any of the weekly holidays for which provision is made in sub-section (1) of that section, 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 an equal number to the holidays so lost.

Section 54: Daily Hours

- Subject to the provisions of section 51, no adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in a factory for more than nine hours in any day.

Section 59: Extra Wages for Overtime

- (1) Where a worker works in a factory for more than nine hours in any day or for more than forty-eight hours in any week, he shall, in respect of overtime work, be entitled to wages at the rate of twice his ordinary rate of wages.

Note

- Any variation in the above shall only be made after the previous approval of the Chief Inspector of factories.

Regards,
BS Kalsi

Thanks for your valuable reply from the learned members. Is it legal to pay them only double their basic salary for the OT worked instead of including all other components of their salary?

In reference to your subsequent query, it is to add here that as explained earlier, Section 59 deals with the provisions relating to overtime, which stipulates that a worker shall be entitled to wages at the rate of twice his ordinary rate of wages. Further, the Act has defined the "ordinary rate of wages" as basic wages plus such allowances, including the cash equivalent of the advantage accruing through the concessional sale to workers of food grains and other articles, as the worker is for the time being entitled to, but does not include a bonus and wages for overtime work.

The Kerala High Court, in the case of Jossie v. Flag Officer, has examined the question of eligible allowances that form part of 'ordinary rate of wages'. The court held that 'ordinary rate of wages' includes only salary and allowances for the work like Dearness Allowance (DA). It does not include such allowances which are either compensatory in character or incentive in nature. As such, House Rent Allowance (HRA), City Compensatory Allowance (CCA), Transport Allowance (TA), and Small Family Norm Allowance (SFA), etc., are not part of 'ordinary rate of wages'.

Regards,
BS Kalsi
Member since Aug 2011