Section 59 Factories Act 1948: Extra Wages for Overtime

Section 59 of the Factories Act, 1948 dealt with the right of a factory worker to receive extra wages for overtime. The legal framework has since changed. From 21 November 2025, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 became the current central law governing this subject, and overtime is now addressed principally by Section 27 of that Code.

Current legal position: Section 27 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 provides for overtime wages at twice the rate of wages when a worker works beyond the hours prescribed by the appropriate Government. Overtime is to be calculated on a daily or weekly basis, whichever is more favourable to the worker. Overtime work is also subject to the worker's consent, and the appropriate Government may prescribe the total number of overtime hours.

What Section 59 of the Factories Act, 1948 provided

Under the former Section 59(1), a worker who worked in a factory for more than nine hours in a day or more than forty-eight hours in a week was entitled, for the overtime work, to wages at twice the ordinary rate of wages.

Meaning of ordinary rate of wages under former Section 59

Section 59(2) treated the ordinary rate of wages as basic wages plus the allowances to which the worker was entitled, including the cash equivalent of the advantage arising from concessional sale of food grains and other articles. Bonus and overtime wages were excluded from this calculation.

Piece-rate workers

Section 59 also contained a method for determining the time rate of workers paid on a piece-rate basis. Broadly, it used the daily average of full-time earnings on the same or identical job during the relevant preceding period, subject to the detailed statutory formula.

Concessional food grains and other articles

The former provision further dealt with calculation of the cash equivalent of benefits arising from concessional sale of food grains and other articles and empowered the State Government to prescribe the method of computation and the registers to be maintained for compliance.

Important: Section 59 remains useful when examining rights, liabilities, records or disputes relating to a period when the Factories Act, 1948 governed the matter. For present compliance after commencement of the new labour-code regime, the applicable provisions of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and the relevant rules or notifications of the appropriate Government should be checked.

Section 27 of the OSHWC Code 2020: Current overtime rule

Section 27 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 is titled "Extra wages for overtime." It requires payment at twice the rate of wages for overtime work when a worker works beyond the daily or weekly hours prescribed by the appropriate Government.

The provision requires overtime to be calculated on the daily basis or weekly basis, whichever is more favourable to the worker. It also makes the worker's consent relevant to overtime work and permits the appropriate Government to prescribe the total number of overtime hours.

Section 59 and current Section 27 at a glance

Point	Former Section 59, Factories Act 1948	Current Section 27, OSHWC Code 2020
Overtime rate	Twice the ordinary rate of wages	Twice the rate of wages
Trigger	More than 9 hours a day or 48 hours a week	Beyond daily or weekly hours prescribed by the appropriate Government
Calculation	Applied to overtime work under Section 59	Daily or weekly basis, whichever is more favourable to the worker
Worker consent	Not expressed in Section 59 in the same form	Overtime work is subject to worker consent

Practical point for workers and employers

For a current overtime claim, first identify the establishment, the appropriate Government, the applicable working-hour rules and the period for which overtime is claimed. Payroll records, attendance records, shift records and other prescribed employment records may be relevant. For older claims arising under the Factories Act period, Section 59 and the rules then applicable may still be material.

Official legal sources

For the authoritative statutory text and current implementation material, refer to the official India Code and Ministry of Labour and Employment resources linked in the sidebar. State-specific rules and notifications should also be checked where applicable.

Last reviewed: 26 September 2026. This page is a general legal information resource and should be read with the applicable Central and State rules, notifications and judicial decisions.