Is a 2 Days On, 2 Nights On, 2 Days Off Schedule Fair for 12-Hour Shifts?

Dear Sir, Please guide me if the staff performs 12 hours of duty in a day, working 2 days and 2 nights in a week, and the company provides them with 2 days off. Is this correct? If not, could you please suggest how many days off should be given to the staff based on the rules following the aforementioned duty? Regards, Amod

It is not the days off but the hours per day that are the issue. You cannot allow or require an employee to work for more than 10 hours under any circumstance. Normally, it is 8 hours, but if you have 2 days off in a week, out of five days, the total hours should never be 48 hours. Then under any circumstance, the number of hours per day cannot be 12 hours. The proposal of a four-day workweek by requiring employees to work for 12 hours a day is only on paper.

What industry are you in?

12-hour shifts in specific industries

12-hour shifts are only allowed in certain industries, such as hospitals or any workplace where there is an emergency. Other than hospitals, to the best of my knowledge, there is no place where 12-hour shifts are allowed.

Exceptions for maintenance roles

As an exception, certain individuals, mainly in maintenance roles, may be permitted to work 12-hour shifts as it is not feasible to interrupt maintenance work midway. However, they must be listed in Section 68 of the Factories Act (and the relevant rules) and documented in the appropriate registers. Even then, this remains an exception and cannot be transformed into a continuous 12-hour shift pattern.

Overtime compensation

Notably, when working 12 hours in a day, 4 hours will be compensated at double the regular overtime rate (double the gross pay, not double the basic pay).

I don't think that even in hospitals and the hospitality sector, where a system of 24/7 is available, employees can work for 12 hours on a permanent basis. In such cases, the employer is expected to deploy people in 3 shifts of 8 hours each. Similarly, though the Act permits the engagement of workers for additional work to carry out emergency repairs, this will not happen regularly but is confined only to 'emergency' repairs. Urgent repair work will arise accidentally or occasionally, not very often. This also does not mean that an establishment engaged in conducting "repairs and maintenance" is exempt from following the provisions relating to hours of work.