India: Karnataka Government passes the Factories (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2023

On February 22, 2023, the Karnataka legislature passed the Factories (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2023 (“Bill”), to amend the Factories Act, 1948 (“Factories Act”), in its application to the State of Karnataka. Please note that the amendments have not yet been brought into effect by the Government.

Some of the critical proposed amendments under the Bill are as follows:

1. The State Government has been granted the power to notify an increase in the maximum daily working hours of employees from 9 hours to 12 hours, inclusive of the period of rest, subject to the maximum weekly limit of 48 hours.
2. As per Section 59 of the Factories Act, a worker shall be entitled to overtime wages, if they work: (i) for more than 9 hours a day or more than 48 hours a week, working for 6 days in a week, (ii) for more than 10 hours a day or more than 48 hours a week, working for 5 days in a week, (iii) for more than 11.5 hours a day working 4 days a week or where they work on paid holidays.
3. It has been proposed that the quarterly limit of overtime working hours is increased to 145 from 75.
4. It has been proposed that women employees can work beyond 7:00 PM or before 6:00 AM in factories, subject to their consent and implementation of certain safety measures by the employer.

Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-house Counsel

Establishments in Karnataka, to whom the Factories Act is applicable, should keep a close watch on the development of the Bill as such establishments may be required to revise the terms of employment of its employees and their internal policies to implement the proposed amendments.