Not for a full second shift. When the relief crew does not turn up, a site can ask the outgoing crew to stay, but only within limits. Under the OSH Code 2020 and Tamil Nadu's draft rules, the extension needs each worker's consent and is paid at twice the ordinary rate. The day can reach 12 hours of work inside a 14-hour spread only in the listed situations, and the quarterly overtime cap still applies. A back-to-back 16-hour day is not one of the options.
The normal limits
Eight hours a day, 48 a week, a 12-hour spread and a break every five hours. Section 25(1) of the OSH Code bars any worker from working more than eight hours in a day, and leaves the spread-over and intervals to the appropriate Government. Tamil Nadu's draft OSH rules of 11 April 2022 set them in rule 27 [VERIFY: whether Tamil Nadu has since notified final rules]:
| Limit | Normal day | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hours of work | Eight a day; 48 a week | OSH Code s.25(1)(a); TN draft r.27(1) |
| Spread-over, including rest intervals | 12 hours | TN draft r.27(2) |
| Continuous work | No more than five hours before a rest interval of at least half an hour | TN draft r.27(3) |
| Weekly rest | No more than six days in a week | OSH Code s.26(1) |
When the day can stretch
Only in situations the rules list, and only so far. Rule 30(4) of the Tamil Nadu draft allows the total hours in a day to reach 12, and the spread-over 14, in twelve circumstances. They include urgent repairs, work that for technical reasons must run continuously, a breakdown of machinery, the loading or unloading of wagons, lorries or trucks, and "exceptional pressure of work". The Central Rules list the same kind of circumstances for docks, mines and construction (r.69(4)).
- Consent. Section 27 says a worker "shall be required to work overtime by the employer subject to the consent of such worker". A crew member who declines to stay cannot be made to.
- Double pay. Hours beyond eight in a day or 48 in a week are paid at twice the ordinary rate, counted daily or weekly, whichever is better for the worker, and paid at the end of the wage period (s.27; TN draft r.30(1)).
- The quarterly cap. No more than 125 hours of overtime in a quarter under the Tamil Nadu draft (r.30(4)), or 144 under the Central Rules (r.69(4)).
- Rest still applies. Even in a 12-hour day, the five-hour limit on continuous work and the half-hour interval in rule 27(3) remain.
So a worker on an eight-hour shift can be held for up to four more hours of work, if the reason is on the list, the worker agrees and the spread-over stays within 14 hours. Holding the full crew for another eight is outside the rules.
The traps on a contract crew
A held-over contract crew raises three issues that a site's own staff do not:
- Whose register. The contractor records its crew's hours and overtime, and keeps the muster roll for the workers it employs (TN draft r.33(1)–(2)). If the site holds the crew over without telling the contractor, the overtime may never reach the register or the payslip.
- A second job the same day. Section 30 bars a worker from working in a factory if they have already worked in another such establishment in the preceding twelve hours, save in prescribed circumstances. A crew member who arrives from a shift elsewhere cannot simply be added to the roster.
- Overlapping relays. Section 29 prohibits a shift system in which more than one relay of workers does the same kind of work at the same time, unless an exemption is given. Keeping the night crew on while the day crew starts the same work can run into it [VERIFY: whether a short hold-over pending relief engages section 29].
What a site should do when relief does not arrive
- Ask, do not order. Each worker who stays has agreed to; record the consent and the reason.
- Call the contractor at once, so the overtime goes into its register at double rate and its supervisor arranges relief from its bench.
- Cap the hold-over at four hours of work, keep the spread-over within 14 hours, and give the half-hour break before five continuous hours.
- Check each worker's quarterly overtime before holding them, against the 125-hour Tamil Nadu cap.
- Fix the cause. Repeated no-shows on the relief shift are a staffing problem for the contractor to solve, not a reason to normalise long days.
How Velura Services helps
Our supervisors arrange relief from our bench when a shift is short, so a crew does not have to be held over. When workers do stay on, it is only with their consent, the hours go into our overtime register at double rate, and we track each worker's quarterly overtime so nobody is held past the cap.
Sources
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (Act 37 of 2020), Gazette text hosted by DGFASLI. Sections cited: s.25(1) (eight hours a day; spread-over and intervals to be notified), s.26(1) (six days a week), s.27 (overtime at twice the rate; consent; cap to be prescribed), s.29 (overlapping shifts), s.30 (double employment within twelve hours). Opened and read.
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Tamil Nadu) Rules, 2022 (draft), G.O. Ms. No. 38, 11 April 2022, Tamil Nadu Government Gazette Extraordinary No. 216. Rules cited: r.27 (48 hours a week; 12-hour spread-over; five hours and a half-hour interval), r.30 (overtime at twice the rate; 12 hours and 14-hour spread in listed circumstances; 125 hours a quarter), r.33 (registers and muster roll). Opened and read.
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026, G.S.R. 345(E) dated 8 May 2026, mirrored copy of the Gazette. Rules cited: r.64 (48 hours a week), r.69 (overtime; listed circumstances; 144 hours a quarter). Opened and read [VERIFY: against the e-Gazette original].