Understanding C-Off: When Should It Be Assigned and How Long Should It Last?

Dear all, I would like to know about C-off. When should we assign it to the employee, and how long will it be? Could you please provide some clarification on it?

Regards, Veeramanikanta

Under the Factories Act, there is a provision for compensatory off (C-off) under Sec-53. As per Sec-53 of the Factory Act, if a worker is deprived of any of the weekly holidays, he shall be allowed, within the month in which the C-off was due to him or within the 2 months immediately following that month, a C-off of an equal number to the holidays lost.

Other than the Factories Act, as far as my knowledge goes, there is no provision for C-off. However, as a common practice, many establishments, after reaching an understanding with employees/unions, provide C-off convenient to both parties.

Regards, S K Bandyopadhyay (WB, Howrah)

Hi, In general, if an employee works on a declared holiday (whether it is a national holiday, festival holiday, or weekends) for stipulated hours, one day of additional leave will be added to their leave credit. This is called compensatory off.

We practice the following procedure for Comp Off in our office:

Comp Off Procedure
If any employee works a full day (8 hours) on a weekly off or paid holiday, we can adjust their extra working hours against leave (leave should be taken within 30 days). If the employee has not taken any leave, we can compensate for this extra work by paying overtime.

Regards,
Yashashree Sawant
Manager, Human Resources

There are two sections under the Factories Act to deal with Compensatory Off (C-off) for working on weekly holidays/off.

Section 52: Weekly Holiday

As per Sec-52, no adult worker shall be required to work in a factory on the weekly holiday/off unless he has been or will be allowed a holiday for a whole day on one of the three days immediately before or after the said day. In this case, there is no question of paying overtime (OT) as per the Factories Act.

Section 53: Compensatory Off and Overtime

As already explained in my first post, if the C-off day is not provided immediately, resulting in more than 48 hours of work for the week, the employee will be eligible for OT payment in that particular week. Therefore, bypassing Sec-52 or 53 and allowing one worker to work on a weekly holiday/weekly off day by just providing him one extra leave or one day off at any time is not legal. In Sec-52, it is possible to avoid OT, but in Sec-53, OT payment cannot be avoided; only C-off can be adjusted by mutual consent.

Regards,
S K Bandyopadhyay (WB, Howrah)
CEO-USD HR Solutions
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USD HR Solutions – To Strive towards excellence with effort and integrity

Weekly Off and Compensatory Off under the Factories Act

Section 52 of the Factories Act is very clear about the Weekly Off. It states, "No adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in a factory on the first day of the week unless:

a) he has or will have a holiday for a whole day on one of the three days immediately before or after the said day, and
b) the manager of the factory has, before the said day or the substituted day under clause (a) whichever is earlier:
i) delivered a notice at the office of the Inspector of his intention to require the worker to work on the weekly off-day which is to be substituted,
ii) displayed a notice to that effect in the factory;

Provided that 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.

It is evident that the Compensatory Off due to working on a Weekly Off day must be taken within 3 days preceding or following the Weekly Off day since workers are not permitted to work for ten consecutive days without a full day's rest.

Compensatory Off for Paid Holidays

Section 53 addresses Compensatory Off for Paid Holidays, which can be taken within 30 days from the day of such a lost holiday.

Even the weekly off cannot be compensated by paying Overtime at double the normal rate. Overtime payment can be made for extra hours worked or for working on Paid Holidays, excluding Compulsory Holidays.

Many individuals tend to confuse Sections 52 and 53. These two sections should be treated distinctly, and the effectiveness of an HR professional's argument relies on their understanding and application of these regulations.

I hope this clarifies any potential confusion on this matter.

If a staff member works on a weekly off-day or any declared holiday due to business exigencies, he/she shall be entitled to avail one day of compensatory off.

In our company, if a staff member works for not less than 6 hours a day, he is entitled to avail one day of compensatory off.

As per service rules applicable to the Central Government Servants, non-Gazetted officers can avail the 'C-off'. Gazetted officers are not entitled to this benefit.

Few more clarifications of Sec-52 and Sec-53 of the Factories Act, 1948.

Sec-52(3) Interpretation

Where, in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) as mentioned earlier in one post of HR-Head, any worker works on the said day and has had a holiday of three days immediately before it, that said day shall, for the purpose of calculating his weekly hours of work, be included in the preceding week.

The interpretation of the above is under Sec-52, as the worker is enjoying one C/off on one of the three days immediately before or after the said day - the total hours of normal work are restricted to 48 hours as mentioned in the above paragraph. Usually, maintenance people are working on said day for preventive maintenance as the production is not done on the said day. Therefore, there is no question of extra wages for overtime as per Sec-59.

Sec-53 and C/Off Provision

Now, as per Sec-53, the C/off is provided within the month or within the two months immediately following that month. Therefore, working on the said day - the total hours of work in that week are 48 + 8 = 56 hours instead of 48 hours like Sec-52. So the worker will be eligible for extra wages for OT in that week as per Sec-59 over and above one C/off. Usually, for major breakdowns, extra production pressure, etc., workers are allowed to work under Sec-53 when it was not possible for management to provide C/off within 10 days as per Sec-52.

Regards, S K Bandyopadhyay (WB, Howrah) CEO-USD HR Solutions [Phone Number Removed For Privacy-Reasons] [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons] USD HR Solutions – To Strive towards excellence with effort and integrity