Working Hours Dilemma: How Long Can You Legally Work Beyond 8 Hours?

Working Hours Beyond Regular Time

How long can a person work after the regular eight working hours, as per the law?

Dear Suprava Jena,

Generally speaking, the company authority does not encourage employees to perform overtime work under normal conditions. However, there are always some unpredictable matters that may interrupt our business operations, such as material shortages, machine shutdowns, or engineering changes. To meet operational schedules or maintenance requirements, the company may request an employee to work beyond the normal daily work period with overtime payment.

For your information, according to Chinese law, after the regular 8-hour working day, the extended working hours are regulated as follows:

- General Circumstances: Generally, the extended working hours should not exceed 1 hour per day when the employer, due to production and operation needs, extends working hours after consulting with the labor union and employees.

- Special Circumstances: When there are special reasons requiring extended working hours, the extended working hours should not exceed 3 hours per day under the condition of ensuring the employee's health, and should not exceed 36 hours per month.

Overtime Payment

Non-exempt employees are eligible to request overtime payment. The hourly rate of overtime payment is per the provisions in the Labor Standards Law. Exempt employees are only eligible to request compensation leave after they perform overtime work.

Non-exempt employees who are required to perform work beyond the regular working hours a day should be granted overtime pay at the hourly rate of pay plus one-third times two hours of overtime work, or at the hourly rate of pay plus two-thirds times the number of such hours worked for the second two hours, or at the hourly rate of pay plus twice the number of such hours worked after the first four hours.

Procedure

Overtime work must be approved by the department manager or supervisor via the "Request for Overtime" slip beforehand. The HR Department is responsible for checking the overtime records shown on the Time Cards/Time Records on the computer, calculating the overtime payment that employees earned, and including the amount in the monthly payroll at the end of each month.

Hope this helps.

Thank you and best regards,
John Chiang

Dear Suprabha Jena,

Overtime Regulations as per the Factories Act

The maximum number of overtime hours for an employee in a quarter is 50 hours as per the Factories Act. Therefore, in one quarter (three months), overtime hours can be up to 50 hours. The Factories Act of 1948 also limits the total number of hours an employee can work in a week to 60 hours, including overtime.

State Factory Rules and Additional Overtime

According to the State Factory rules, governments can establish regulations. There is a provision for additional hours of overtime, but approval must be obtained for emergency and exigency conditions from the appropriate government authority by submitting an application.

Indian labor laws establish limits on daily and weekly working hours and regulate overtime. Here's a breakdown:

Maximum Working Hours

Generally, working hours should not exceed 48 hours per week. Daily working hours are typically limited to 9 hours. Some states follow 12 hours for their daily maximum working hours.

Overtime Regulations

If an employee works beyond the stipulated hours (more than 9 hours a day or 48 hours a week), they are entitled to overtime pay at double their regular rate of wages. The total working hours, including overtime, cannot exceed 60 hours in a week. Overtime hours are limited to a maximum of 50 per quarter. However, another source states that quarterly overtime should be restricted to 75 hours. Employees should not work continuously for more than 5 hours without a break. They are entitled to a rest period of 30 minutes for every 5 hours of continuous work.

Relevant Acts

Factories Act, 1948: Specifies that if a worker exceeds 9 hours in a day or 48 hours in a week, they should receive overtime pay, which is twice their usual wage.

Minimum Wages Act, 1948: States that workers should receive overtime pay for every extra hour worked beyond their regular shift. This should be double their regular wage.

Exemptions and Other Considerations

Exemptions to work overtime can be granted, but restrictions apply, such as not exceeding 12 hours of daily working hours. Overtime should generally not continue for more than 7 days at a stretch. Some job roles, such as government workers, contractual workers, and freelancers, may have exceptions regarding overtime pay.