Working Hours explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Chapter V of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Bihar) Rules, 2026 (rules 23 to 25) fixes the working hours, the weekly day of rest, compensatory holidays and the overtime rate for establishments under the OSH Code. It is the OSH-side counterpart of the wage-rule chapter on hours, and a payroll head in Bihar should read the two together.
The rules are the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Bihar) Rules, 2026, notified under notification 1/OSHC-01/2021-100, as notified on 30 June 2026 and published in the Bihar Gazette (Extraordinary) No. Patna 699 of 1 July 2026. Rule 1(3) says they come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. Work is capped at forty-eight hours in a week (rule 23(1)). Overtime is paid at twice the worker's rate of wages, at the end of each wage period (rule 24(8)). A notice of the weekly day of rest is posted outside the office (rule 24(1)).
Later amendments and State notifications under these rules should be checked in the State Gazette. A payroll compliance audit can check your roster and overtime sheet against this chapter.
Hours of work (rule 23)
The hours rule is printed in the same terms as the Bihar wage rule 6, and the table is therefore the same:
| Working week | Overtime begins after (exclusive of interval of rest) | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Daily basis | Eight hours in a day | 23(2) |
| Six days | Eight hours in a day or forty-eight hours in a week | 23(3) |
| Five days | Nine and half hours in a day or forty-eight hours in a week | 23(4) |
| Four days | Eleven and a half hours in a day or forty-eight hours in a week | 23(5) |
The period of work, inclusive of the interval for rest, must not spread over more than twelve hours in a day (rule 23(6)); flexibility needs the consent of the negotiating union or council, or of the employees where there is none (rule 23(7)); and no one works more than five hours in a six-day week, or six hours in a shorter week, continuously before a rest interval of at least half an hour (rule 23(8)). An employee who has worked less than a normal day is paid proportionately, and is deemed to have worked a full day if he worked more than three quarters of it; a monthly-basis worker is paid for twenty-six days when the establishment is closed for a national or festive holiday, Labour Day or the employer's own reasons, except any day the worker is unwilling to work (rule 23(9)). The same rule is explained for wages in our article on working hours under the Bihar wage rules. The Central hours rule is in our post on rule 64 of the OSH Central Rules, working hours.
The weekly day of rest (rule 24(1) to (5))
An establishment posts a notice in a conspicuous place outside the office showing the weekly day of rest; where the day differs by relay, set or individual, the notice shows the day allowed to each (rule 24(1)). Rule 24(2) says an employee gets one day or more each week; in a six-day week it is ordinarily Sunday, and in a shorter week it includes Saturday and Sunday, though the employer may fix other days. The remaining days are paid rest days. Entitlement needs continuous work of not less than six days (or the stipulated days in a shorter week), and the days of attendance without work, lay-off with compensation and any leave or holiday count as days worked.
Work on a rest day needs a substituted whole-day rest on one of the five days immediately before or after, and no substitution may result in more than ten days of consecutive work without a whole-day rest (rule 24(3)). The rest day worked is counted in the week in which the substituted rest day falls (rule 24(4)). An employee gets wages for the rest day at the rate of the next preceding day, and where he works on a rest day and is given a substituted rest day he is paid for the day worked at the overtime rate and for the substituted day at the rate applicable to the next preceding day (rule 24(5)). The Central rules are explained in our post on rules 67 and 68 of the OSH Central Rules, weekly holiday and compensatory holidays.
Spread-over exceptions (rule 24(6))
Rule 24(6) lists works and circumstances in factories and in building or other construction in which the spread-over of a worker may exceed twelve hours in a day: urgent repairs; preparatory or complementary work; work so intermittent that the intervals while on duty ordinarily exceed the rest intervals; work that for technical reasons must be carried on continuously; making or supplying articles of prime necessity every day; a process that can be carried on only during fixed seasons or at times dependent on the irregular action of natural forces; engine-rooms, boiler-houses and attending power-plant or transmission machinery; a process affected by break-down of machinery; loading or unloading of railway wagons, lorries or trucks; exceptional press of work; and work notified by the State Government as work of State importance. A proviso to the rule repeats the overtime guardrail: no overtime for more than seven days at a stretch, no more than one hundred and forty-four hours of overtime in any quarter, and overtime only with the worker's written consent.
Compensatory holidays (rule 24(7))
Except for workers whose work must technically be carried on continuously throughout the day, compensatory holidays under section 26(3) are spaced so that not more than two are given in one week. The manager displays, on or before the end of the month in which holidays are lost, a notice for the following month of the workers allowed compensatory holidays and their dates, where the notice of periods of work is displayed. A later change is made not less than three days in advance of the holiday. Any compensatory holiday due must be given before the worker is discharged or dismissed and does not count as part of the notice period.
Overtime wages (rule 24(8))
| Item | As printed |
|---|---|
| Entitlement | A worker who works more than normal hours under rule 23 on any day as daily wage, or more than forty-eight hours in a week, is entitled to wages at the rate of twice his rate of wages, paid at the end of each wage period |
| Fractions | On any day a fraction of an hour between 15 to 30 minutes counts as 30 minutes; more than 30 minutes is rounded and counted as an hour on actual basis |
| Daily wage for monthly-paid workers | 1/26th of the monthly wages |
Our post on rule 69 of the OSH Central Rules, wages for overtime covers the Central rule. The Bihar wage rules print an overtime limit in rule 6(12) but leave the rate to the Code; this OSH chapter prints "twice his rate of wages".
Double employment (rule 25)
No adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in any factory on a day on which he has already been working in any other factory, except in cases notified by the State Government from time to time.
A worked example
Rohtas Cement Bagging Ltd runs a six-day factory with an eight-hour shift. A worker stays 2 hours 20 minutes extra on a Thursday. Under rule 24(8)(2) a fraction between 15 and 30 minutes counts as 30 minutes and more than 30 minutes is rounded to an hour, so the sheet records the overtime on that basis. Pay is at twice his rate of wages and is paid at the end of the wage period. The company posts its rest-day notice outside the office, shows holiday substitutions by the end of the month, and keeps the worker's written consent on file.
Need help with hours and overtime in Bihar?
Where both the wage rules and the OSH rules apply to the same workers, a single roster must satisfy both. Our payroll compliance audit can reconcile your shift pattern, rest-day notice and overtime pay at twice the rate against rules 23 and 24.
Key takeaways
- A forty-eight hour week; overtime triggers differ for six-, five- and four-day weeks (rule 23).
- A notice of the weekly day of rest is posted outside the office (rule 24(1)).
- Work on a rest day needs a substituted whole-day rest within five days before or after (rule 24(3)).
- Overtime is paid at twice the worker's rate of wages at the end of each wage period (rule 24(8)).
- Compensatory holidays: not more than two a week, notice by the month-end, change at least three days ahead (rule 24(7)).
Read next
- OSH (Bihar) Rules, 2026: employer duties, accident notices, safety committee and safety officers
- OSH (Bihar) Rules, 2026: registers, records, returns and the Inspector-cum-Facilitator
- Code on Wages (Bihar) Rules, 2026: working hours, weekly rest, night shift and overtime
- Rule 69 of the OSH Central Rules: wages for overtime
Disclaimer: Based on the State or Union territory rules named above, as notified under the Labour Codes and consulted on 4 October 2026. Later amendments, State notifications, fees and forms should be checked in the State Gazette and on the State labour department website. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.