I work for a Japanese company as HR Manager located in Greater Noida. The company is into deemed manufacturing and supply automobile parts to car makers. Since we are only doing trading business so dispatches are planned in week days only. We are also registered under Factories act since we are termed as Manufacturing unit. since we are working 6 days a week and since all employees are coming from very far so they have started requesting for Saturday's off. Management is ready to give two Saturday off but only as a Leave without pay. Our office timings are 9 to 5.30 so we cannot increase the time as well since everyone is coming from too far locations. Please suggest some good options as how can we cover the productivity which is not being if Saturdays are given off.

I have given the management of Rotational Saturday off as we have back of each department but they are not ready to accept the same.

Secondly is working hours 8.5 inclusive of Lunch break ? Since on many sites, this point is having a conflict. Request you to please clarify the same and provide some solutions to this problem.

regards

Yamini

From India, Delhi
Changing the hours of work involves a number of complications. If you increase the working hours per day, you can reduce the pressure of reduction in the number of working days. But abnormal increase in the working hours is not permitted by law and it may have serious health issues which in turn may lead to absenteeism and subsequent loss of man hours.

Law permits that you can reasonably employ a workman for 8 hours in a day and this is excluding the intervals of rest. The working hours including intervals of rest which is called Spread over can be 10 hours and 30 minutes per day. At the same time, on any particular day you can permit one to work for 9 hours without paying overtime for the additional one hour he has worked. Overtime is payable only if he has worked for more than 48 hours in a week. That means if you have 9 hours per day and have only 5 days working the normal working hours in a week will be 45 hours and there is no question of paying overtime wages since nobody should have worked for more than 48 hours.

5 days working with one day as loss of pay leave is not a good HR practice. Loss of pay is marked when the establishment is open but the worker does not turn up for work. This will have impact on Pension, Gratuity and other terminal benefits. Moreover, for one who has put in some additional hours or overtime, may fail to get it just because he is absent on one day. On the other hand, if the normal working hours is 45 hours per week then any person who exceeds 45 hours will be benefited by overtime payment. Please see that working of 48 hours is not required in such cases where the company is working only for 45 hours and in such a scenario, 45 hours will be taken as the bench mark for deciding overtime. Please refer Philips India Ltd Vs Labour Court, Madras ( 1985 AIR 1034)

Now, if you make the shifts like 1st and 3rd weeks with 9 hours of 5 days and 2nd and 4th weeks with 8 hours of 6 days, you will be losing 6 hours per month. This can be ignored as an employee welfare scheme. But if you cannot even ignore this, please do not go for 5 days week. It should never be at the cost of employee.

Madhu.T.K

From India, Kannur
Increase work hours and pay OT wages and cover for production.
From India, Madras
No, we can not pay overtime wages permanently because there is a limit for the number of overtime hours like 50 hours per quarter (in some states as per their rules, it is 75 hours per quarter). Reducing the working days per week can be done by increasing the working hours per day but each day should not have more than 9 hours. At the same time, the management is not ready to lose 3 hours per week, naturally it will account for a very big loss of man hours per annum.
Reducing the number of holidays or leaves per annum subject to the statutory holidays as per your state's industrial Establishment (National and Festival Holidays) Act and the Factories Act/ Shops Act, as the case may be, is another option. This is possible only if you have more number of holidays and leaves than what are prescribed under their above Acts.
Madhu.T.K

From India, Kannur
There does not seem to be any viable option other than what Mr.Madhu suggested. Then the establishment will be loosing three hours per worker per week and it will turn out to be a huge man hour loss and consequent loss in annual production turn over.This apart, the Establishment has to pay wages for Saturdays also as it is the establishment which is giving off on that day.. Find out whether the employees residing far off can work from home on Saturdays and if so how you monitor and supervise them.
B.Saikumar
HR & Labour Law advisor
navi Mumbai

From India, Mumbai
When you consider the cost of running a full day, ie, Saturday, like electricity charges, wages for daily rated workers etc, the loss will be minimal. Therefore, you have to present the matter from this angle also. Obviously, those who are in sales may not get the benefit of 5 days week and this happens to be the same for all establishments who work for 5 days.
Madhu.T.K

From India, Kannur
Probably your Japanese Boses do not understand Indian law requirements
What they are basically saying is that they will give 2 days a week off, but you need to lower the pay proportionately
That is a bad idea, first because it's complicated and likely to cause dispute
If you have to do it at all, do it during your next increment cycle. Lower increment is allowed, lowering actual wage rate is not.
You are a trading company. Dispatch is not in Saturday, so only paper work probably happens.
If you are willing to work an hour extra every day (allowed under law), then the differential productivity loss is minmimum. If employees are not willing to work the extra hour also, then don't change. They knew the job timing and Saturday working when they Joined

From India, Mumbai
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