How many hours can I be made to work?
- You cannot be made to work more than eight hours in a day OSH s. 25(1)(a).
- Under the Central Rules, your week cannot be more than forty-eight hours rule 64(1).
- You cannot work more than six days in a week OSH s. 26(1).
- Work beyond these hours is overtime, which needs your consent and is paid at twice your rate of wages OSH s. 27.
Where this uses the Central Rules, your State's Rules may differ: see your State.
Last checked 1 Nov 2026 · written from the official text · not reviewed by a lawyer. This explains the law in general and does not decide your case.
What the Labour Ministry says
- “The Code prescribes 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week as standard, with some flexibility to extend daily hours with the consent of workers on payment of overtime, at twice the rate wages.” Q3, FAQs on the OSH Code, 19 Dec 2025: official copy · our copy
The question spoke of up to twelve hours a day. That figure is not in the Code or the Central Rules.
This is the Ministry's explanation, not the law. Its FAQs and Handbook say the Codes prevail.