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Section 26: Weekly day of rest

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (Act No. 37 of 2020) • Official Statutory Text & Plain English Practice Guide

Statutory Mandate
Chapter VI: Hours of Work and Annual Leave with Wages
Competent Labour Forum
Act No. 37 of 2020
Section 25 All 143 Sections of OSH Code, 2020 Section 27

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 26

Section 26 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 establishes the mandatory weekly day of rest, prohibiting employers from requiring or allowing any worker to work for more than six consecutive days in any week, and creating a statutory entitlement to compensatory holidays when weekly rest is foregone under exemption.

  • Six-Day Maximum Working Week Benchmark: Establishes an absolute statutory prohibition barring employers from requiring or allowing any employee to work for more than six days in any one week, guaranteeing at least one full 24-hour day of rest per week.
  • Advance Notification of Weekly Holiday: The weekly day of rest (ordinarily Sunday or a substitute rest day) must be notified in advance on the notice board; no substitution is valid unless the worker receives a rest day within three days before or after the substitute day.
  • Statutory Compensatory Holiday Guarantee: Where a worker is deprived of a weekly holiday due to emergency operations or an exempt continuous process, the employer must grant compensatory holidays of equal number within the same month or the subsequent two months.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Tata Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. v. The Workmen (1972) 2 SCC 383: Supreme Court held that altering the weekly day of rest without adhering to mandatory statutory procedures and notice is illegal, as rest periods directly affect conditions of service and physical well-being.
  • Phillips India Ltd. v. Labour Court AIR 1985 SC 1034: Supreme Court ruled that statutory weekly holidays are designed to protect workers from cumulative physical exhaustion, and compensatory leave provisions must be strictly enforced within statutory timeframes.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

HRMS shift scheduling systems must be configured with a hard rule preventing workers from being assigned to shifts exceeding six consecutive days. When emergency plant maintenance requires working on a rest day, issue a formal written 'Compensatory Off Allotment Notice' within seven days, ensuring the substitute off is utilized within sixty days to avert Section 26 penal non-compliance.

Section 25 All 143 Sections of OSH Code, 2020 Section 27