Year-End Dispatch Dilemma: Can Workmen Refuse Overtime Even When Paid Fairly?

Due to year-end, one of our client companies has a lot of dispatches pending as the workmen are denying to do overtime. They are paying overtime as per the act. My question is, can workmen deny to do overtime?

Is Singapore labor law the same as India? If yes, then the following are the rules for overtime:

Work Hours and Overtime Pay in India

Working Hours in India: As per the Factories Act 1948, every adult (a person who has completed 18 years of age) cannot work for more than 48 hours in a week and not more than 9 hours in a day. According to Section 51 of the Act, the spread over should not exceed 10-1/2 hours.

How many hours (maximum) per day, week, and year can a person work?

As per the Factories Act 1948, every adult (a person who has completed 18 years of age) cannot work for more than 48 hours in a week and not more than 9 hours in a day. According to Section 51 of the Act, the spread over should not exceed 10-1/2 hours. The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 also specifies the working hours under rules 20 to 25, stating that the number of work hours in a day should not exceed 9 hours for an adult.

What are the provisions under the labor law for overtime in India?

Provisions under the Factories Act, 1948

Details are mentioned regarding the working hours, spread over, and overtime in Sec. 51, 54 to 56 & 59 of the Act:

Under Sec. 59, it is mentioned that where a worker works in a factory for more than 9 hours in any day or for more than 48 hours in any week, he/she shall, in respect of overtime work, be entitled to receive wages at the rate of twice his/her ordinary rate of wages.

If the above-mentioned statement is not applicable in your case, then the worker may deny overtime.

Experts on citehr, please correct if my statement is incorrect.

Thanks & Regards,

Davinder Makhloga

Hi Himanshu,

As per my knowledge of the Factories Act and State Factories Rules, working overtime in India is a voluntary act. The worker has the right to say yes to overtime or no to overtime. Factories cannot force them to work overtime, nor can disciplinary action be taken if they refuse overtime. If the workload is high, encourage the worker by providing incentives above and beyond the legal requirements.

Regards,
Smita

Thank you for your response. Well, Davinder, our client complies with all the rules, yet the workers refuse to do overtime. Can we take legal action against them?

If the establishment has certified standing orders, it will be there - refusal to do overtime when required. Please note that it is the business requirement which calls for OT, and employees have no option to deny.

To add further, the employer can initiate disciplinary action in case of refusal to do overtime. If more hours are required, then the employer can seek approval from the Additional Director (Safety & Health), earlier known as the Joint Chief Inspector of Factories, if the establishment is a factory.

Agreeing to do overtime is optional and is not a matter of right.

Col. Suresh Rathi

Clarification on Overtime and Employment Obligations

Col. Suresh Rathi, please validate your statement that overtime is optional. I differ with your views. An employee is engaged primarily to meet the requirements of his or her employer, and within the confines of the law, this does not imply a lack of willingness on the employee's part. It is not solely at their pleasure.

Payment of wages also confirms that wages/salary are payable when the terms of employment are fulfilled. It was on this basis that a textile spinning mill stands firm on workers not being paid wages on a national holiday if they did not respond to the overtime call. This decision was upheld by the Madras High Court and later by the Supreme Court.

Any viewpoint supported by authentic judgments will convince members. Thank you for understanding.

Thank you all for your views.

Pasupathieswara, I have one last question. If the client does not have a certified standing order, can we take disciplinary action based on the Industrial Employment (Model Standing Orders) Act of 1946, which I have read? If so, under which misconduct category would this fall?

Overtime and Disciplinary Actions

Please correct me if I am wrong. No disciplinary actions can be taken if a worker refuses to work overtime. Overtime should always be voluntary. You cannot force a worker to work overtime, as it would amount to forced labor. Furthermore, adding the same to the certified standing order would be a violation of the Constitution of India (free movement). If the worker denies or does not work for the period to which they are legally entitled, then disciplinary action can be taken, but not for denying overtime.

Thank you.

Regards,
Smita

What is Overtime?
Overtime refers to the time worked in excess of one's regular working hours, which in India is eight to nine hours per day and forty-eight to fifty hours per week, depending on the establishment one is employed under. If someone works beyond these regular working hours, they are eligible to receive remuneration for that period at twice their normal wage.

Overtime Laws in India
Several statutes govern overtime and overtime payment, with different Acts providing for different periods of working hours. The hours prescribed under the Factories Act, 1948, are taken as a standard period. According to Section 51 of the Act, one is not supposed to work for more than 48 hours in a week and, under Section 59, not more than nine hours a day. The time worked in excess of these 48 hours and nine hours would fall under overtime under the Act and would require the employer to pay such employees wages at a rate twice the ordinary wage.

Section 14 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, states that where the minimum wage of an employee is fixed for a period of time and the employee works beyond that period, they are to be paid for that extra time at an overtime rate.

Under Section 33 of the Mines Act, 1952, if any mine worker works for more than nine hours above ground and more than eight hours below it in a day or works for more than 48 hours in a week anywhere, whether above or below, they are entitled to be paid at twice their ordinary wage for the extra time worked. Also, the Act does not allow anyone to work for more than ten hours in a day, inclusive of overtime, under Section 36.

Under Sections 17 and 18 of the Bidi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966, no one is to work for more than ten hours a day and fifty-four hours a week, including overtime. Similarly, under the Plantation Labour Act, 1951, if one works beyond the normal number of hours, they are to receive overtime wages, and also one should not be allowed to work for more than nine hours in a day and 54 hours in a week in any case.

Overtime Laws for Women and Children
The Factories Act, 1948, restricts the employment of women between 7:00 pm and 6:00 am, which can be relaxed by the Chief Inspector of Factories in certain cases. If the relaxation exceeds the normal period of working hours, they are to be paid overtime. Even this relaxation is time-bound, i.e., women, in no case, may be required to work between 10:00 pm and 05:00 am.

Under the same Act, Section 75 specifies that no child below fourteen years of age can be employed in any factory, and children above fourteen who are eligible to work in a factory cannot be allowed to work for more than four and a half hours in a day and are not supposed to work between 10:00 pm and 06:00 am. Especially, girl children are not allowed to work in any factory except between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm.

Other Things One Should Know
It is seen that many employment agreements include a clause stating that workers must/may be required to work overtime. However, working overtime should be voluntary and not forced through an agreement. It should be the worker who decides whether they want to do overtime or not.

When the employer asks for overtime, it should generally be in special circumstances, such as to meet a sudden increase in demand, etc. Even in that case, employees should not be forced to do overtime.

Every establishment should have a register of overtime containing the details of the worker, the extra time they have worked, and the calculation of the overtime amount.

Regards,
Col. Suresh Rathi

Thank you all. Thank you, Mr. Pasupathieswaran. What I gathered from our discussion is that we cannot force employees to do overtime. However, in cases of business requirements, if an employee refuses, it may be considered insubordination as per the standing order act.