India Working Hours Law 2026: What Employers Must Know
India does not have a single working hours law. Factories, commercial establishments, and different states each follow different rules - and the central government's new Labour Codes, passed in 2020, are still being implemented at different speeds across states.
This guide covers the key frameworks and where they apply.
The Factories Act, 1948
The Factories Act governs manufacturing facilities registered as factories under the law. The limits: 9 hours per day, 48 hours per week.
Overtime kicks in above 9 hours per day or 48 hours per week, whichever threshold is crossed first. The overtime rate is double the ordinary rate - 200%. The annual cap on overtime is 75 hours per quarter, which means 300 hours per year per worker.
Exceeding the quarterly overtime cap requires prior approval from the relevant state government authority. This is not a formality that can be skipped during peak production periods.
Shops and Establishments Acts
Commercial establishments - offices, retail stores, restaurants, hotels, warehouses outside factory registration - fall under state-level Shops and Establishments Acts. These vary by state.
Most states set limits of 8-9 hours per day and 48 hours per week. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, and Tamil Nadu each have their own Acts with slightly different requirements on maximum hours, rest days, and mandatory breaks.
A business operating in multiple states must comply with each state's Act. There is no single compliance answer for a national retail chain.
The Labour Codes, 2020
The central government consolidated 44 labour laws into four Codes:
- Code on Wages - covers minimum wage, overtime payment
- Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions - covers working hours
- Code on Social Security
- Code on Industrial Relations
The Code on Wages sets double pay (200%) for overtime above the standard hours threshold. The Code on Occupational Safety sets the standard at 8 hours per day with a maximum of 12 hours per day when overtime applies.
Implementation status in 2026: most states have drafted state-specific rules but not all have notified them. In states where the Codes are not yet notified, the old laws - Factories Act, Shops Acts - continue to apply. Check your state's current notification status before restructuring payroll under the new Codes.
Night Work and Women Workers
Several state Shops and Establishments Acts restrict night work for women - typically the period from 22:00 to 06:00. Some states have lifted these restrictions in recent amendments; others maintain them or require employer-provided safety measures (transportation, security) as a condition for employing women during night hours.
There is no uniform national rule. Check the specific state Act for each operating location.
Record-Keeping
Both the Factories Act and state Shops Acts require employers to maintain attendance registers, overtime registers, and wage registers. These must be in the prescribed format, kept on site, and available for inspection by labour officers.
The Code on Occupational Safety requires similar record-keeping once notified in a state. Digital records that can be exported in the prescribed format satisfy the requirement in most jurisdictions.
Labour inspectors have authority to inspect premises, demand records, and issue show-cause notices. Non-compliance penalties include fines and, for Factories Act violations, criminal liability for the employer and factory manager.
Central vs. State Jurisdiction
Factories registered under the Factories Act fall under state labour departments. The central government enforces labour laws for establishments under its jurisdiction - railways, ports, banks, central government undertakings.
For most private businesses, the state labour department is the relevant authority.
Rezano for Indian Compliance
Rezano supports dual overtime rate configurations - standard hours and double-time thresholds - matching the Factories Act and Labour Code requirements. Attendance registers export in formats accepted by most state authorities. Overtime is tracked per employee per quarter, with alerts when approaching the 75-hour quarterly cap. For multi-state operations, each location can run its own compliance configuration.
Scores - Directness: 8 | Rhythm: 7 | Trust: 9 | Authenticity: 7 | Density: 8 = 39/50