Working Hours under OSH Code: Easy Guide to Overtime, Leave and Night Shifts for UPSC EPFO APFC
Working hours under OSH Code rules are short, number-heavy and very easy to mix up with the old Factories Act. That is exactly why UPSC likes them. This page puts every number in one place: the 8-hour day, the six-day week, double overtime, night shifts, women’s night work and annual leave. One mind map, a few tables, and 10 MCQs to lock it in. For more APFC notes, open the Study Directory.
Daily hours (Sec 25)
- Max 8 hours a day
- Intervals, spread-over by rules
Weekly holiday (Sec 26)
- Max 6 days a week
- Lost holiday → compensatory
Overtime (Sec 27)
- Twice the rate of wages
- Only with consent
Shifts (Secs 28–31)
- Night, overlapping, double job
- Notice of work periods
Annual leave (Sec 32)
- 180 days → eligible
- 1 day per 20 days
Women (Sec 43)
- All work, all establishments
- Night work with consent
1Where the rules sit in the OSH Code
Almost everything on working hours under OSH Code is in one chapter. Learn the chapter, then one extra section for women.
| Section | Subject |
|---|---|
| 25 | Daily hours, rest intervals and spread-over |
| 26 | Weekly and compensatory holidays |
| 27 | Extra wages for overtime |
| 28 | Night shifts |
| 29 | Prohibition of overlapping shifts |
| 30 | Restriction on double employment (factory, mine) |
| 31 | Notice of periods of work |
| 32 | Annual leave with wages |
| 43 | Employment of women (incl. night work) |
2Daily working hours under OSH Code: the 8-hour rule
The daily cap is the base of working hours under OSH Code. Section 25 says no worker shall be required or allowed to work for more than eight hours in a day. The appropriate Government notifies the intervals for rest and the spread-over. Hours of an adolescent worker follow the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.
Mines (below ground)
- Hours notified by the Centre
- Work only in shifts
- Present only in recorded work periods
Motor transport workers
- Running time counts
- Subsidiary work counts
- Waiting at terminals under 15 min counts
3Weekly and compensatory holidays
Weekly holidays complete the picture of working hours under OSH Code. Under Section 26, no worker shall be allowed to work for more than six days in any one week. The seventh day is the weekly holiday. If an exemption makes a worker lose a weekly holiday, the worker gets compensatory holidays of equal number in the same month or in the next two months. A notice of periods of work must be displayed (Section 31).
In a motor transport undertaking, an employer may require work on a weekly holiday to prevent dislocation of the service, but the worker must not work for more than ten consecutive days without a whole-day holiday in between.
4Overtime at twice the rate
Overtime is the part of working hours under OSH Code that most often appears in MCQs. Section 27 says work beyond the daily or weekly hours prescribed by the appropriate Government is overtime. It is paid at twice the rate of wages. The overtime period is calculated on a daily or weekly basis, whichever is more favourable to the worker. The worker’s consent is required. The appropriate Government may also prescribe the total overtime hours allowed.
Must
- Take the worker’s consent
- Pay double the rate
- Use the basis (daily or weekly) that favours the worker
- Stay within the total hours prescribed in the applicable rules
Must not
- Force overtime
- Pay a flat “OT allowance” below 2×
- Ignore the register of overtime
5Night shifts, overlapping shifts and double employment
These shift rules sit beside daily working hours under OSH Code.
| Section | Rule in one line |
|---|---|
| 28 Night shifts | If a shift crosses midnight, the holiday is a full 24 hours from shift end; hours after midnight count in the previous day |
| 29 Overlapping shifts | No two relays of workers on the same kind of work at the same time (exemption possible, but not in mines) |
| 30 Double employment | No work in a factory or mine if the worker has already worked in another such establishment in the preceding twelve hours (except as prescribed) |
| 31 Notice of work | Periods of work displayed for every day |
6Annual leave with wages (Section 32)
Annual leave is tested with the same numbers as working hours under OSH Code. Learn the table and the one example.
| Point | Rule |
|---|---|
| Eligibility | 180 days of work in a calendar year |
| Adult worker | 1 day for every 20 days worked |
| Adolescent worker | 1 day for every 15 days worked |
| Below-ground mine | 1 day for every 15 days worked |
| Counting towards 180 | Layoff, maternity leave and annual leave already taken count towards 180 days, but do not themselves earn leave |
| Joining mid-year | If service starts after 1 January, eligibility is one-fourth of the remaining days of that year |
| Carry forward | Max 30 days |
| Leave applied but refused | Carry forward without limit |
| Encashment | On demand at end of calendar year |
| Above 30-day cap | Excess can be encashed |
| Exit, death, retirement mid-year | Worker or heir/nominee gets leave wages, even if 180 days were not completed |
Worked example: Ravi, an adult factory worker, works 240 days in 2026. He crosses 180, so he is eligible. Leave = 240 ÷ 20 = 12 days. A below-ground miner with the same 240 days earns 240 ÷ 15 = 16 days.
7Women and night work (Section 43)
Section 43 sits outside Chapter VII, but it is tested with working hours under OSH Code. Section 43 lets women be employed in all establishments for all types of work. They may work before 6 a.m. and after 7 p.m. with their consent, and subject to conditions on safety, holidays and working hours prescribed by the appropriate Government. Where the Government considers the work dangerous for women’s health and safety, Section 44 lets it require adequate safeguards first.
Consent
- Woman worker agrees
Safety
- Conditions on safety, holidays and hours
Hazardous work
- Govt may require safeguards first (Sec 44)
8Factories Act vs working hours under OSH Code, traps and summary
These are the numbers that change when you move from the Factories Act to working hours under OSH Code.
| Point | Factories Act, 1948 | OSH Code, 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Daily hours | 9 hours | 8 hours |
| Weekly holiday | Yes | Yes, max 6 days work |
| Overtime rate | Twice ordinary rate | Twice the rate of wages |
| Leave eligibility | 240 days | 180 days |
| Leave rate (adult) | 1 per 20 days | 1 per 20 days |
| Encashment on demand | No year-end right in the Act | Yes, year-end, on demand |
| Women at night | Barred 7 p.m.–6 a.m. (limited relaxation) | Allowed with consent and safety |
- 180 days is OSH; 240 days was the Factories Act.
- Adolescents and below-ground miners: 1 per 15, not 1 per 20.
- Refused leave has no carry-forward limit; normal leave stops at 30.
- Overtime is twice the rate, with consent, and is calculated daily or weekly, whichever favours the worker.
- Section 30 bars a second factory or mine job within twelve hours, not merely “on the same day”.
- A 48-hour week or a 144-hour quarterly overtime cap is a rule-level figure, not a number written into the Code, and it may not apply in every State.
- Annual leave is Section 32, not Section 25.
| Idea | One line |
|---|---|
| Daily cap | 8 hours (Sec 25) |
| Weekly | Max 6 days (Sec 26) |
| Overtime | 2× wages, with consent (Sec 27) |
| Shifts | Secs 28–31 |
| Leave | 180 / 20 / 30 (Sec 32) |
| Women | Night work with consent (Sec 43) |
10 practice MCQs with score analysis
Answer all ten, then press Submit. You will see correct, wrong and blank counts, your percentage and an explanation for each question.
FAQ on working hours under OSH Code
What are the maximum working hours under the OSH Code, 2020?
Section 25 caps work at eight hours in a day, and Section 26 bars work for more than six days in any one week. Intervals, spread-over and weekly hour limits are notified in rules of the appropriate Government.
What is the overtime rate under the OSH Code?
Section 27 says overtime is paid at twice the rate of wages, calculated on a daily or weekly basis, whichever is more favourable to the worker. Overtime needs the worker’s consent.
How many days must a worker work to get annual leave?
180 days in a calendar year. Leave is then earned at one day for every 20 days worked (15 days for adolescents and below-ground mine workers).
Can women work night shifts under the OSH Code?
Yes. Section 43 allows women to work before 6 a.m. and after 7 p.m. with their consent and subject to safety, holiday and working-hour conditions.
Official text: India Code and labour.gov.in.