What is Overtime?
Overtime refers to the hours worked by an employee that exceeds their regular work schedule. Most employees have fixed hours in a week that they have to work for. Due to some reasons, an employee voluntarily or involuntarily works for more than their fixed hours, and these extra hours worked by them are called overtime.
Employees work overtime because this is a way they can increase their take-home salary. Though the overtime pay of each company depends on their company policy, each company must follow the fair labor standards act.
Types of Overtime
1. Time off in Lieu (TOIL)
In Time Off in Lieu (TOIL), the employer gives their employees extra time off to compensate for their overtime.
2. Voluntary Overtime
In Voluntary Overtime, the employer gives the employee an option of working overtime which the employee can either accept or reject. Employees who choose to accept this receive overtime pay in exchange for their extra hours.
3. Compulsory overtime
Few companies have terms and conditions that include mandatory overtime. It depends on the employee whether they are comfortable with such terms and conditions. If yes, then employees are expected to work overtime as per their company requirements.
How many hours are employees legally allowed to work in India?
In India, overtime rules and procedures vary according to the working hours under labor law. Most working sectors are unaware of the rights they deserve for working more than their scheduled hours.
According to Section 51 and Section 59 of the factory law – “No employee is supposed to work for more than 48 hours in a week and 9 hours in a day. Any employee who works for more than this period is eligible for overtime remuneration prescribed as twice the amount of ordinary wages.” However, the working hours differ in different states and institutions.
