Labour Working Hours:

The ILO Constitution, adopted in 1919, considers the improvements in working conditions especially regulation of the working hours including the establishment of maximum time in a working day and week to maintain peace and harmony in the world. It is of the view that lasting peace can only be built through social justice and once the perilous working conditions are improved.

Working Hours  and Overtime Pay:

According to the law, normal working hours per day are 9 hours including one hour break for lunch and prayer time. But with overtime, the daily working hours are can be extended up-to 12 hours. Working hours should not exceed 48 hours per week and with overtime, 56 hours per week. It means that maximum overtime allowed in a week is only 8 hours and on an average 1 hour and 20 minutes per day. The rate of overtime pay is double the ordinary rate of pay whereas it is triple the rate of ordinary rate of pay during festival holidays.

Supporting Laws:

a. The Shops and Establishments Ordinance, 1965

(1) Section 8 (Hours of Work). “Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Ordinance, no adult employee shall be required or permitted to work in any establishment in excess of nine hours a day and forty-eight hours a week”

(2) Section 9 (Overtime) “When any employee is required to work over-time in any establishment, as provided in the proviso to section 8, the wages payable to such employee in respect of such over-time work shall be calculated at double the ordinary rate of wages payable to him.”

(3) Section 10 (Spread-over of Daily Working Hours). “The period of work of an adult and young person shall be so arranged that inclusive of the interval for rest or meals, it shall not spread-over more than 12 hours.”

b. The Factories Act, 1934.

(1) Section 34 (Weekly hours). “No adult worker shall be allowed or required to work in a factory for more than forty-eight hours in any week, or, where the factory is a seasonal one, for more than fifty hours in any week :

Provided that an adult worker in a factory engaged in work which for technical reasons must be continuous throughout the day may work for fifty-six hours in any week.”

(2) Section 36. (Daily Hours). – “No adult worker shall be allowed or required to work in a factory for more than nine hours in any day”

(3) Section 38 Spread-over of Daily Working Hours. “The periods of work of an adult worker in a factory shall be so arranged that along with his intervals for rest, they shall not spread over more than twelve hours”.

(4) Section 47. Extra pay for overtime. –

“(1) Where a worker

(a) In a non-seasonal factory works for more than nine hours in any day or for more than forty-eight hours in any week, or

(b) In a seasonal factory works for more than nine hours in any day or for more than fifty hours in any week,

he shall be entitled in respect of the overtime worked to pay at the rate of twice his ordinary rate of pay.”

(5) Section 49-I. Festival Holidays. –

“(1) Every worker shall be allowed holidays with pay on all days declared by the Provincial Government to be festival holidays.

(2) A worker may be required to work on any festival holiday but one day’s additional compensatory holiday with full pay and a substitute holiday shall be allowed to him in accordance with the provisions of section 35.”

Explanation. A worker may be required to work on a public holiday but one day’s additional compensatory holiday with full pay and a substitute holiday be allowed to him. This equals to 300% of ordinary rate of wages.

Summary:- Summary of Law of Working Hours and Overtime Pay is as under:-

a. Daily working Hours: 9 hours including one hour break. Maximum 12 hours including overtime.

b. Weekly Working Hours: 48 hours. Maximum 56 hours including overtime.

C. Rate of Overtime Two times of the pay rate. But it is three times of the pay rate during festival holidays.

How is overtime calculated?

The first thing to remember is that your overtime is calculated on the basis of your ordinary pay or gross salary. Considering that you work in an organization other than Railways, your overtime rate is twice the rate of ordinary pay. Consider the following case.

Your monthly wage: PKR 13,000 (you are minimum wage worker)

Normal working hours: 8 hours/ day ( 48 hours a week)

Working days in a month: 26 days (one weekly holiday)

Total Overtime hours that you worked: 20 hours

Here is the formula:

Overtime formula 2015:

Similarly, you can calculate your overtime payments by incorporating 1.25 in place of 2, if you are a railway worker.