Working hours

(1) No adult worker shall be required or allowed to work continuously in a shop or establishment for more than forty-eight hours in a week and nine hours in a day, unless he has been given a break of not less than half an hour after every five hours: Provided that, the working hours or weekly rest may be relaxed in case of work of urgent nature and with the previous permission of the Facilitator. (2) The total number of hours of work in a shift including the rest interval shall not exceed ten and half hours in any shop or establishment and in case a worker is entrusted with intermittent nature of work or urgent work, the spread over shall not exceed twelve hours. (3) Any working hour beyond nine hours a day or forty-eight hours a week shall be treated as overtime and the total number of overtime hours shall not exceed one hundred and twenty-five hours in a period of three months. (4) The State Government shall make rules,- (a) subject to sub-section (1), for fixing the number of hours of work which shall constitute a normal working day for the workers employed in the shop or establishment, inclusive of one or more specified intervals; (b) for providing a day of rest in every period of seven days which shall be allowed to all the workers employed in the shop or establishment and for the payment of remuneration in respect of such days of rest. (5) The provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2) shall, in relation to the following class of workers employed in such shop or establishment, apply only to such extent, and subject to such conditions, as may be prescribed, namely:- (a) workers engaged on urgent work or in any emergency which could not have been foreseen or prevented; (b) workers engaged in the nature of preparatory or complementary work which must necessarily be carried on outside the normal hours of work laid down in the rules; (c) workers engaged in any work which for technical reasons has to be completed before the day is over; (d) workers engaged in a work which cannot be carried on except at times dependent on the irregular action for natural forces; and (e) highly skilled workers (such as workers working in the establishments of Information Technology, Bio-Technology and Research and Development Divisions).