Working Hours and Holidays

Working Hours and Holidays in Industrial & Commercial Establishments 

In industrial and commercial establishments working hours and holidays are regulated under laws. Mechanism of working hours and types holidays are discussed hereunder:

Spread over

Spread over means a period of work or time bracket given to employer to regulate working hours of an establishment in a day under law.

 Spread over under Factories Acts

Under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Factories Act 2013 and Sindh Factories Act 2015, period of work is limited to ten and a half hours or in a seasonal factory eleven and a half hours in a day.

However, in Factories Act 1934, which was made applicable in Punjab through the Factories (Amendment) Act 2012 by legislative assembly of Punjab, period of work is limited to twelve hours or in a seasonal factory eleven and a half hours in a day.

Spread over under Shops and Establishments Acts

Under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shops and Establishments Act 2015, period of work is limited to twelve hours for adult and nine hours in case of adolescents and young persons.

Under Sindh Shops and Commercial Establishments Act 2015, period of work is limited to ten hours in winter and eleven hours in summer for adults and nine hours in winter and eight hours in summer adolescents.

Under Punjab Shops and Establishments Ordinance 1969, period of work is limited to twelve hours for adult and nine hours in case of young persons. There is another restriction on weekly hours in Punjab which elaborates that working hours shall not exceed sixty hours for adult and fifty-four hours in case of young persons.

So, the employer has to regulate working within given spread over which shall include normal working hours, intervals and overtime in daily routine working.