Are There Legal Concerns with a 4-Day, 12-Hour Shift Roster? Seeking Expert Advice

Hi, we planned to implement a new roster system with 4 days x 12-hour shifts and 3 days off each week. I wanted to inquire about any legal implications regarding this roster pattern. Could an expert please provide their opinion on this matter?

Thank you.
Best regards,
Uthiramoorthy H

Criteria for 48-hour working days in a week are fulfilled. Though it's a new concept for me, I believe legal implications are not involved. However, I would advise you to update the company manual/standing orders accordingly and forward it to the labor commissioner for his approval, as per the standard procedure.

What type of office/factory are you running? Criteria of 48 hours per week is fulfilled, but what about daily hours of work? 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.

Extract of Factory Act

The extract of the Factory Act is appended below:

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:

*[Provided that, subject to the previous approval of the Chief Inspector, the daily maximum specified in this section may be exceeded in order to facilitate the change of shifts.]*

I think a 12-hour shift is okay if it's been approved by the Chief Inspector. Here, I would also request you to please clarify the following:

- Simple definition of a 'worker' and the difference between a 'worker' and an 'employee' or 'office staff'?
- What is the difference in the definition between an employee who is highly educated and doing a white-collar job in an office and not a worker engaged in skilled/semi-skilled/unskilled jobs?

Is the Factory Act applicable to every establishment? What if the query is raised for an employer who has limited strength in his office, say, below 50, and is running a shop or an establishment and not having a factory license? Isn't the Shops and Establishments Act applicable to him instead of the Factory Act?

Regards

My first query was, what type of office/factory are you running?

The working hours as laid down in the Shops and Establishment Act and the Factories Act are by and large the same. A 12-hour working day will require a rest break, etc., and would spread over 13 hours. This would be problematic.

No, this is not allowed.

The Factory Act states that no one can be asked to work or allowed to work for more than 9 hours a day. The inspector can allow a change for a shift change. That change will be an extension of 15 minutes. No one can claim it takes 3 hours to change shifts.

In a shop as well, the 9-hour duty/shift rule holds true. An extension of time to 12 hours by the use of overtime is allowed in exceptional cases and cannot be a normal pattern.

Legally, this is not allowed.

Dear Uthiramoorthy, all the learned members who responded to your query so far, except Mr. Nathrao, have confined their replies to the maximum number of hours of work as per the provisions of different establishment-oriented labor laws. Apart from the type of establishment to which the query is related, I am constrained to state that a clear-cut understanding of the difference between the "hours of actual work in a day" and the "period of spread over of working hours in a day" will prove that the proposal mentioned in your question is not a new concept but a misconception of the legal provisions relating to working hours. Everyone will accept that "hours of actual work" needs no detailed explanation. But "spread over" refers to the time-stretch the workman/employee is at the disposal of the employer. We all know pretty well that a workman/employee can be allowed to work continuously for a maximum of 5 hours only, beyond which he should be allowed a rest interval of at least half an hour. The exceptions, as far as I am able to remember right now, are Sec.15(1) of the Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961, which totally exempts rest intervals in the case of a motor transport worker who is not required to work for more than 6 hours on any particular day, and Sec.55(2) of the Factories Act, 1948, empowering the Chief Inspector to exempt any factory from rest intervals subject to the condition that the total number of hours worked without an interval does not exceed six. So, the spread over is the stretch of time the workman is at the disposal of the employer, like I said earlier, including the interval for rest. Therefore, three days weekly off with 48 hours of total work on the basis of 12 hours continuous work for 4 days in a week cannot be legally permissible at all.

Understanding Employee Terminology

Coming to Brijendra's questions, 'employee' is a generic term indicating a person who is paid to work for somebody, whereas 'workman' is the person employed to do physical work. The term 'staff' collectively refers to all the workers employed as a group. Apart from 'blue-collar' and 'white-collar', there is yet another one called 'gold collar', indicating higher-level managers.

Regards.

Hello Uthiramoorthy,

I wouldn't wish to touch upon the scope of the clarifications given by other members. But can you please elaborate on the need/reason(s) for this step by your company? Is it to reduce the employee headcount or for any other reason? A 3-day weekly off looks odd, especially in addition to the 12-hour duty roster you plan.

Regards,
TS

If your organization is not a factory, check the provisions of your state's Shops and Commercial Establishments Act as well.

You need to get approval from the Labor Department to implement this. Legally, no one is allowed to work for more than 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week. Since your plan is violating the law of the land, it needs to be ratified and approved by the Commissioner of Labor. Otherwise, management may be prosecuted.

"As your plan is violating the law of the land, it needs to be ratified and approved by the Commissioner of Labour. Otherwise, management may be prosecuted.

The Factories Act or Shops and Establishment Act will not permit such working hours that are beyond what is laid down by law. The powers of regulatory authorities to approve 12-hour shifts will be very limited, as it can have a cascading effect, and many industries may demand similar working hours."

Further to my above post regarding maximum working hours, the powers of the Chief Inspector are as below:

Sec 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: [Provided that, subject to the previous approval of the Chief Inspector, the daily maximum specified in this section may be exceeded in order to facilitate the change of shifts.] I really doubt whether approval for 12-hour shifts can be legally given.

After all the discussion on working hours spread over, Chief Inspector, the conclusion on the legality of a 12-hour work schedule on a daily basis is that such working hours will be illegal. One needs to avoid such extended working hours.

Interesting. After all the discussions we have had here, the original poster has not bothered to reply or give clarification to any of the points raised or comments given, which, unfortunately, is a regular feature on this forum. I hope some other person with a similar problem may benefit from the discussions we have had. But that also is a far stretch since people seem to search previous threads but put the point afresh next time. 

Dear Brijendra_Singh, Nathrao, Saswatabanerjee, and Umakanthan53, I sincerely apologize for the delayed response, and I appreciate all of your valuable opinions on this subject. I would like to clarify some of your queries:

- We fall under the Shops and Establishment Act.
- The 12-hour working shift is inclusive of breaks.
- Since the 12-hour shift totals 48 hours per week, there will be no reduction in manpower.
- The adjustment in working hours is for the convenience of both management and employees.

Our management intends to seek exemption under section 6 of the TN Shop Act from the government authorities before implementing this system.

Thank you.

Regards,
Uthiramoorthy H

This does not match up with your original post. You are talking about 12 hours spread over. I hope you know what "spread over" means. Are you trying to tell us that in the 12 hours the employee will be in the office, they will actually be working only for 8 hours? In that case, what's your break pattern? "Spread over" will mean 4 hours of break in the work schedule. So here is something like a break shift, with (say) 4 hours of work, then 4 hours break, and 4 hours of work again. Umakanthan53, I hope I have understood "spread overs" correctly.

Clarification on Working Hours

Really sorry for the delayed response and thank you all for your valuable opinions on this subject. Just wanted to clarify some of your queries:

- We come under the Shops and Establishment Act.
- Working hours of 12 hours are spread over only, which includes breaks as well.
- As the 12-hour pattern also ends with 48 hours a week, there will not be any manpower reduction.
- The working hours adjustment is only for management and employees' convenience.

Our management proposes to get an exemption as per Section 6 of the Tamil Nadu Shop Act from the government authority prior to implementing this system.

Thank you,

Regards,
Uthiramoorthy H

"Our management proposes to seek exemption as per Section 6 of the TN Shop Act from the government authority prior to implementing this system.

The scope of Section 6 of the above-referred act may not extend to the fixation of regular working hours on a permanent basis beyond what is laid down in the Act. The working hour pattern has health effects on workers."

Definition of Spread-Over in the Shop and Establishment Act

The definition of "spread-over" in the Shop and Establishment Act is: "Spread over" means the period between the commencement and the termination of the work of an employee on any day.

Extract from the Shop and Establishment Act

17. Spread-over in commercial establishments - The spread-over of an employee in a commercial establishment shall not exceed eleven hours in any day; provided that the [State] Government may increase the spread-over period subject to such conditions as it may impose either generally or in the case of a particular commercial establishment or a class or classes of commercial establishments.

So, only eleven hours are allowed, instead of the 12 hours as you propose. Not recommended. Is there a Plan 'B'?