Working hours and overtime pay under the OSH Code, 2026 guide

If you work in a factory, shop, or other establishment, the law caps your normal hours at 8 a day and 48 a week, and any extra work must be paid at twice your ordinary wage. This guide gives you the hard numbers and shows you how to claim unpaid overtime.

The OSH Code, 2020 is one of India's four new labour codes. It sets the outer limits on daily and weekly working hours, fixes a weekly holiday, and forces employers to pay double wages for overtime. The exact spread-over and rest breaks are filled in by government rules.

The rules come from the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code), notified by the Ministry of Labour and Employment. All its provisions came into force on 21 November 2025, alongside the other three labour codes.

• Section 25 says no worker shall be required or allowed to work more than 8 hours in a day and 48 hours in a week, subject to the appropriate Government fixing the limits. The same section lets the appropriate Government fix the spread-over and the rest interval.
• Section 26 deals with the weekly day of rest and compensatory holidays, so you are entitled to a holiday each week.
• Section 27 says that where a worker works beyond the prescribed hours, they shall be paid twice the ordinary rate of wages for that overtime. Overtime also needs the worker's consent, and the period of overtime is counted on a daily or weekly basis, whichever is more favourable to you.

The “appropriate Government” is the Centre for some establishments and the State for others. Several details, such as the exact daily spread-over, are set in the Central or State rules. Those rules are still being notified, so the precise spread-over figure can vary by state and by the type of establishment. Where a number depends on rules, treat it as rule-set, not as a fixed national figure.

How overtime pay is worked out: the ordinary rate is generally taken as your basic wage plus dearness allowance. To get your daily rate, monthly wages are usually divided by 26. Your hourly rate is that daily rate divided by your normal daily hours. Overtime is paid at twice that hourly rate.

For the bigger picture, see our guide to the new labour codes.

1. Note your hours. Keep your own simple record of the time you start and finish each day, including any extra hours.
2. Work out what you are owed. Take your basic plus dearness allowance, divide by 26 for the daily rate, then by your daily hours for the hourly rate, and double it for each overtime hour.
3. Ask your employer in writing. Send a polite written request for the unpaid overtime, with your figures attached. Keep a copy.
4. File an RTI if the employer is a government or public body. Use an RTI to ask for the attendance and overtime registers and wage records that cover your dates.
5. Complain to the labour authority. If the employer ignores you, approach the inspector-cum-facilitator or the labour department for your area with your records.
6. Escalate if needed. If the matter is still unresolved, you can pursue it through the dispute machinery available for your establishment.

• Your appointment letter or any proof of employment.
• Wage slips or pay records showing your basic and dearness allowance.
• Your own day-by-day record of start and finish times.
• Any attendance punch records, gate passes, or duty rosters you can get.
• Copies of every written request you send to the employer.
• RTI replies containing the official overtime register or wage register.

• Assuming overtime is voluntary for the employer to pay. Section 27 makes double wages a legal right, not a bonus.
• Believing the Code created a 4-day week. It did not. The Code only lets the appropriate Government allow the 48 weekly hours to be arranged over fewer days, still within the daily-hour limit. There is no new right to a 4-day week.
• Using gross salary for the maths. The ordinary rate is generally basic plus dearness allowance, not your full take-home with all allowances.
• Waiting too long. Keep records from day one, because old claims are harder to prove without evidence.
• Skipping the written request. A paper trail makes any later complaint far stronger.

Under Section 25 of the OSH Code, normal daily work is capped at 8 hours, subject to limits fixed by the appropriate Government. Hours beyond that count as overtime and must be paid double.

Section 25 caps normal weekly work at 48 hours. Any work beyond your prescribed hours in a week is overtime, paid at twice your ordinary wage.

Section 27 requires overtime to be paid at twice your ordinary rate of wages. The period is counted daily or weekly, whichever works out better for you.

No. Section 27 requires your consent for overtime. You cannot be compelled to work extra hours against your will, and if you do agree, you must be paid double.

Yes. Section 26 of the OSH Code provides for a weekly day of rest and compensatory holidays where the rest day is worked.

Your ordinary rate is generally basic plus dearness allowance. Monthly wages are usually divided by 26 for the daily rate, then by your daily hours for the hourly rate, which is then doubled.

No. The Code does not mandate a 4-day week. It only permits the appropriate Government to allow the 48 weekly hours to be spread over fewer days, within the daily-hour limit.

Spread-over is the total stretch of your working day including rest breaks. The appropriate Government fixes it in the rules, so the exact limit can vary by state and type of establishment.

If your employer is a public authority, file an RTI for the attendance and overtime registers and wage records. You can prepare the request with the AI RTI Drafter.

You can read the full RTI Act on this site to understand your right to information from public bodies.

If your employer is a government department or a public-sector body, an RTI is a powerful tool. You can ask for the official overtime register, the attendance record, and the wage register for your dates. These documents carry far more weight than your personal notes. Learn more in The RTI Playbook, and if you are a gig and platform workers read our sibling guide on your social security rights.

• The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, India Code: https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/22041
• Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India: https://labour.gov.in

• New labour codes
• Gig and platform workers
• AI RTI Drafter
• RTI Act
• The RTI Playbook