Working hours in India: 48 a week, with caveats

What the new Labour Codes say about hours, overtime and the weekly day off.

Checked 20 October 2026 against the official sources below.

Four Labour Codes replaced 29 older central labour laws, with effect from 21 November 2025. For working hours, the one that matters is the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code.

The baseline

• 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week for a worker.
• At least one day off a week.
• Overtime paid at twice the ordinary rate of wages.
• The spread of the working day, including breaks, is capped too.

The caveats

• Many details sit in state rules, which states are still notifying. Your state's rules can change the specifics.
• Who counts as a "worker" matters. Many managerial and supervisory roles are treated differently.
• Your contract and company policy still matter, especially on shifts and compensatory offs.

Why your salary slip may have changed

The Wage Code also says the parts of your pay counted as "wages" must be at least half of total pay. That affects provident fund and gratuity for many people.

This is general information about how workplaces and the rules usually work, not legal advice about your contract. For your own situation, read your appointment letter and policies, and talk to your state labour department, a union or an employment lawyer.

More guides

• The rules at work, in five countriesHours, overtime, notice, layoff pay and the right to disconnect in India, the US, the UK, Australia and the Philippines, on one page.
• Australia's right to disconnect: what it says and what it doesn'tThe rule other countries are watching, in plain English.
• The 70-hour week: who said it, what the law says, and why it keeps coming backIndia's most famous workplace argument, with the numbers that matter.