Rajasthan 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.
The Rajasthan OSH Rules fix a 48-hour weekly ceiling, require notices of weekly and compensatory holidays, set overtime at twice the rate of wages and list the conditions for women working at night. This article follows rules 42 to 48 and 61 to 62, and notes where the rules point elsewhere for leave with wages.
No worker may work more than forty eight hours in any week (rule 42). Overtime beyond eight hours a day or forty-eight hours a week is paid at twice the rate of wages, and no worker may work overtime exceeding one hundred forty-four hours in any quarter under the listed exceptions (rule 46). Women may be employed before 6.00 a.m. or beyond 7.00 p.m. only on the conditions in rule 61, beginning with written consent.
Which rule set this is
These are the Rajasthan Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2026, as notified by S.O.23 dated 30 June 2026 in the Rajasthan Gazette Extraordinary of the same date. Later amendments and State notifications under these rules should be checked in the State Gazette. Rule 1(3) says they come into force "from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette". The Wages Code rules of the same State treat working hours separately; see Code on Wages (Rajasthan) Rules: working hours, weekly rest and overtime.
Employers who run shifts or overtime in Rajasthan can have rosters checked by our payroll compliance audit team. The Central rule on hours is explained in working hours.
Hours of work (rules 42 and 43)
Rule 42(1) says no worker shall be required or allowed to work in an establishment for more than forty eight hours in any week. Rule 42(2) provides that the period of work in each day, with intervals and spread-overs, shall be as notified by the State Government; the rules print no daily figure of their own. For transport undertakings, rule 43 allows a maximum of fifteen minutes of interruption at any time during which the transport vehicle is interrupted, for the purposes of the Explanation to section 25(1).
Weekly and compensatory holidays (rules 44 and 45)
A notice of the weekly holiday is posted at a conspicuous place outside the office of every establishment. Where the holiday is not the same for all, the notice shows the holiday of each relay, set of persons or individual, in Hindi, English and the local language (rule 44).
For compensatory holidays under section 26(3), except for workers whose work must technically, or for reasons the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator allows, run continuously, the holidays are so spaced that not more than two holidays are given in one week. The employer displays, on or before the end of the month in which holidays are lost, a notice in Form-14 of the workers allowed compensatory holidays in the following month and the dates; a later change is made not less than three days before the holiday. Compensatory holidays due are given before discharge or dismissal and are not reckoned as part of any notice period (rule 45). The Central rule is in weekly holiday and compensatory holidays.
Overtime (rule 46)
| Point | Rule 46 provision |
|---|---|
| Entitlement | More than eight hours in a day as a daily wager, or more than forty-eight hours in a week: wages at twice the worker's rate of wages |
| Payment | At the end of each wage period |
| Rounding | A fraction of an hour between 15 and 30 minutes counts as 30 minutes; more than 30 minutes counts as an hour on actual basis |
| Daily wage of a monthly-paid worker | 1/26th of the monthly wages |
| Exceptions to spread-over | Urgent repairs; preparatory or complementary work; intermittent work; work that must be continuous for technical reasons; articles of prime necessity supplied every day; seasonal processes; processes dependent on natural forces; engine rooms, boiler houses and power plant; breakdown of machinery; loading or unloading wagons, lorries or trucks; exceptional press of work; work of national importance |
| Ceiling | No worker allowed overtime exceeding one hundred forty-four hours in any quarter of a year |
The exceptions apply to factory, beedi and cigar works and building or other construction work. For the Central wording, see wages for overtime.
Double employment and the notice of work periods (rules 47 and 48)
Except for workers on technically continuous work, or as the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator allows, no worker may be required or allowed to work in a factory on a day on which he has already worked in another factory (rule 47). The notice of periods of work under section 31(2) is displayed at conspicuous places, maintained in Form-15, and a copy is sent to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator electronically or by registered or speed post (rule 48).
Leave with wages
Chapter V is titled "Hours of Work and Annual Leave with Wages", but the rules in it do not print the number of days of leave or a leave formula. The rules do print the record: the register of leave with wages under section 33(a) is kept in Form-19, electronically or manually, and preserved for five years after the last entry (rule 53). For that register, see registers, records, returns and the Inspector-cum-Facilitator. Leave entitlement itself is as the Code provides.
Employment of women (rules 61 and 62)
Women may be employed during the night, or before 6.00 a.m. and beyond 7.00 p.m. on any day, only if the following conditions are met:
- written consent of the woman employee;
- no employment against the maternity benefit provisions of the Social Security Code, 2020;
- adequate transport to pick up and drop her at her residence;
- a well-lit workplace, including the passage to conveniences;
- toilet, washroom and drinking water near the workplace, with suitable closed-circuit television surveillance on the way;
- safe, secure and healthy working conditions so that no woman is disadvantaged;
- dedicated telephone numbers of the establishment displayed at conspicuous places and inside the vehicles; and
- compliance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 where applicable.
Rule 62 allows the State Government to declare, by notification from time to time, the classes of establishments and the standards for safeguarding women in hazardous processes or dangerous operations; the rules print no list. See employment of women and dangerous operations.
A worked example
Desert Tech Apparel in Jodhpur runs a second shift ending after 7.00 p.m. with 40 women operators. Its HR head, Farida, takes written consent from each, arranges pick-up and drop vehicles with the dedicated phone numbers displayed inside, checks lighting and CCTV on the way to toilets, and keeps the sexual harassment committee in place. For overtime, a monthly-paid operator's day is calculated as 1/26th of monthly wages and overtime is paid at twice the rate at the end of the wage period.
Common lapses
- Treating overtime as single rate for hours beyond the weekly forty eight.
- Not displaying the Form-14 notice on or before the end of the month in which holidays are lost.
- Changing a compensatory holiday with less than three days' notice.
- Rounding overtime by simple minutes instead of the printed 15 to 30 minute rule.
- Starting late-shift work for women without written consent or transport.
Need help with hours and overtime?
If your rosters, overtime sheets and holiday notices need to be tested against Rajasthan's printed rules, our payroll compliance audit team can review them. Keep the consent letters, the Form-14 and Form-15 notices and the vehicle logs for inspection.
Key takeaways
- Forty eight hours a week is the ceiling; daily spread-over is as notified by the State Government.
- Overtime is paid at twice the rate of wages, with the printed rounding.
- The overtime exceptions carry a ceiling of 144 hours in a quarter.
- Compensatory holidays need a Form-14 notice and no more than two holidays in a week.
- Night work for women follows eight conditions, starting with written consent.
Read next
- Rajasthan OSH Rules: employer duties, accident notices, safety committee and safety officer
- Rajasthan OSH Rules: registers, records, returns and Inspector-cum-Facilitator
- Rajasthan Code on Wages Rules: working hours, weekly rest and 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.