Is It Legal to Open My Factory on a National Holiday? Seeking Advice on Permissions

Dear Seniors,

Due to overwork, I am planning to open the factory even on 15th August (national holiday). Please let me know if I need to obtain permission from the labor commissioner in this regard.

Best Regards,
Aman

National Holidays and Organizational Compliance

All organizations need to remain closed on the three national holidays. However, if for some reason the organization needs to operate on these days, prior approval from the concerned authority is required. Employees working on these days are entitled to receive double wages, and some states have provisions for claiming compensatory leave.

The matter concerning national holidays is subject to Central Legislation, although some states have made provisions for compensatory leave for workers who work on these national holidays or are paid double wages. You may kindly refer to the National and Festival Holidays Act. Each state has its own Acts in this regard. The enforcing authority will be the State/Central Labour Department within which your company falls.

Regards

Dear Concern,

You have to obtain prior permission from the relevant labor department in written form to open the factory. Additionally, you must provide compensatory time off or a day off in lieu to those workers who are required to work on that day.

Thank you.

Dear Sir,

Could you please inform me about the potential consequences if I do not obtain prior approval to work on a national holiday?

Thank you.

Dear Aman,

If it seems that you have to run the plant, go ahead and send information to ALC/DLC of your concerned area. If your organization falls under the Factory Act, make a copy to ADF as well.

Try to get a summary of all workers and staff who are required to be on duty that day, and submit your return accordingly. You must ensure that all persons called on duty are paid double wages for the particular date.

Thanks

There are a few states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala that have passed legislation regarding the compulsory observance of a holiday on national holidays. However, many other states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Rajasthan do not have such legislation for factories. Therefore, there is no need for any permission or approval from the government department to operate a factory on a national holiday. By keeping the factory open on Independence Day, you are not committing any breach. Obviously, there cannot be any adverse consequences.

Regards

Dear Kishor and all,

Since I have raised the thread, some of the seniors are in favor of taking prior approval, but Kishor Kulkarni is not in favor of taking the prior approval for states like Maharashtra and Rajasthan. According to him, it won't amount to any consequences. As I am getting different opinions from seniors, it leaves me confused about what to do. Therefore, all of you are requested to provide me with any case law in this regard.

Thanks,

Independence Day is a national holiday and a paid holiday. Normally, organizations must remain closed on this day. However, certain essential goods and services providers and manufacturing organizations can remain open with due exemption allowed by the government. Employees required to work on such a holiday must be paid overtime at the prescribed rates or given a compensatory day off in lieu of the holiday.

However, your manufacturing concern does not appear to be producing essential goods or providing essential services to the public. Therefore, you will have to keep your factory closed. Even if you attempt to approach a competent authority for special exemption, it is too late as today is Sunday and tomorrow is the national holiday.

Regarding your request for any case law in this regard, do you believe that possessing such case law would grant you a general exemption from observing national holidays? Even if case law is provided, it may not prevent the labor inspector from penalizing your factory for violating the law, as the implications of case laws are not universal and apply only to the specific case to which they pertain.

If case laws are required for your law school exercise, as a law student aiming to be a talented lawyer, you must develop the expertise to track such legal documents yourself, as they are not readily available to serving executives.

Regards

In this context, you need to refer to the provisions of the law as applicable to the state where your factory is situated.

I tend to agree with Adv. Kishor Kulkarni. To my knowledge, there is no notification by the Central Government or any enactment, except in some states, declaring National Holidays as compulsory holidays. It was shocking to me to learn that there is no order even declaring Independence Day, October 2, and January 26 as national festivals. Please find my post in this regard in the link provided below: https://www.google.com/url?q=https:/...rmRFTeMGUZE2BQ

However, for establishments falling under the Shops and Establishment Act or the Negotiable Instruments Act, the scenario is different. Expert comments are welcome.