Factory Act Dilemma: Is It Legal to Let Workers Exceed 9 Hours?

Can we allow the workers to work more than 9 hours? We come under the Factory Act.

Working Hours and Legal Compliance

It is possible to ask the workers to do 9 hours' work for one or two days, but it is not practical if it is made a regular practice. As per the law, the working hours should not exceed 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week. However, if you work only for 5 days a week, you can make them work for 9 hours a day.

We are running 14-hour shifts due to extra production requirements. Meanwhile, we are paying double overtime to them.

Impact of New Labor Codes on Working Hours

If the new labor codes are implemented, companies will be able to change office working hours significantly. They can increase the working hours from 8-9 hours to 12 hours. However, they will need to compensate their employees by providing three weekly offs.

The idea is not to alter the total working hours in a week.

The Central Government is planning to implement the new labor codes from July 1, 2022.

Overtime Regulations Under the Factories Act

The Factories Act provides for maximum overtime hours per week and per quarter. The maximum hours an employee shall be asked to work should not exceed 10 hours. The spread over, including the intervals of rest, should not exceed 12 hours a day. The working hours, inclusive of overtime, should not exceed 60 hours in a week. Additionally, the total overtime hours should not exceed 50 in a quarter. This has been extended to 75 hours a quarter by state amendments, I believe. However, a single day shift of 14 hours is not lawful, even if you pay wages at double the rate.

As already pointed out, if this is a one-time arrangement, you can do it, but you should not make it a regular practice. To meet your market demands, you will have to engage additional labor.

Increase in Overtime Hours

The maximum number of overtime hours for workers has been increased from 50 hours (under the Factories Act) to 125 hours (in the new labor codes) in a quarter across industries.

Maximum Working Hours and Overtime Regulations

That becomes applicable only when the code is in force. In various states, the maximum hours per week, including overtime, the maximum hours in a week, and overtime hours in a quarter are different. In Kerala, the maximum hours, including overtime, is 12 hours, whereas the maximum overtime hours per quarter is 75 and not 50.